HOUSTON – A family that was split apart because it lived in a shed is reunited and has a new home.
The Leonard family of nine said the $300 per month shed was all it could afford. It gave them shelter, had air conditioning and kept them all together.
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When Child Protective Services found out about their home, it removed the children and placed them in foster care for two weeks.
The family was reunited Wednesday, after they were given a home to live in free of charge for six months.
The children said they do not miss the shed.
"It has a living room," 7-year-old Saleem Leonard said, about the family's new home. "It has places where we can play. We have our rooms, so we don't have to be squooshed up or anything."
"It's better and we can have more fun now," 12-year-old Sabrina Leonard said.
"I think it's much better, because we get to live with our parents, have our own bedrooms and stretch out," 8-year-old Raheem Leonard said.
The landlord said that when the six months are up, the family can stay in the home for the same amount they were paying to rent the shed.
Prince Leonard, the children's father, is a welder by trade and has a job. The family said it is optimistic it will be able to pay the rent and start life over in their new home.