House of hungry kids strains budget

Raymond Butler and Stacie Chunka already had a full house when Stacie's sister died, leaving three children without a home.

So just over a year ago the longtime couple took in Joshua, 17, Zach, 15, and Justine, 8. The three joined their four children and a granddaughter, ages 14 to 6.

Add it all up and 10 people, three dogs, a cat and a guinea pig share a household in Bellevue, just east of Offutt Air Force Base.

“They'd probably take in anybody that walks into the house,” said Stacie's father, John Chunka. He and his wife, Bev, help provide food and rides, among other things.

The house is crowded, with Joshua sleeping on a basement love seat, Zach on the living-room couch and Kayla, 14, Ashley, 10, Justine and Ravin sharing one set of bunk beds. Two of the teenagers, Amanda, 17, and Brandon, 13, get their own rooms.

Meals around the dining room table are elbow-to-elbow. But the tight quarters don't bother the family.

“We talk, we laugh,” Brandon said.

What has been a struggle is feeding eight children, especially when five of them are teenagers.

Raymond is kitchen manager at Stella's Bar and Grill in Bellevue, and Stacie works in the fraud department at First Data Resources. Both have full-time jobs, but the extra groceries could strain any budget.

Plus, there's driving to five different schools a day, maintaining troublesome cars and a creaky furnace, and paying a swelling Metropolitan Utilities District bill.

During the summer, Raymond said, “the bills became overwhelming.”

Raymond called United Way of the Midlands for help, and Goodfellows stepped in with its emergency assistance program, paying the family's $600 utility bill.

If Goodfellows hadn't helped, Raymond said, “catching up would have been virtually impossible.”

Being stretched paper thin can be difficult, Raymond said, but he supports his family the best he can.

“Sometimes,” he said, “you get emotional about it.”

Contact the writer:

444-3110, joel.fulton@owh.com

« Metro/Region

Share