2020 has been filled with so much sadness and despair
for millions of families.
Today, I want you to hear a story of hope and perseverance.
Four years ago, Kenneth Smith was a college
grad ready to head to medical school
when his whole world changed in an instant.
He suddenly found himself as the sole caretaker
for his six younger siblings.
Kenneth is at home right now with all of them.
Hi everybody.
Hi!
[CHEERING]
Hey Ellen!
Hey Kenneth.
Hey.
[YELLING]
Hi.
Kenneth.
You guys are so sweet.
So Kenneth, we're going to start from the beginning.
Four years ago, your plan was to finish college
and go to medical school.
And then, everything changed.
What happened exactly?
Yes.
Four years ago, I couldn't have been happier.
I was the first out of my family on both Mom
and Dad's side to graduate.
And even go to college.
The next month, I graduated in August.
September, my little brother was born, little Kyrie.
So it was just nothing but happiness.
And then, October, I heard that-- got the worst news
I've ever received in my life.
My little sister gave me a call and told me my mom had passed
and she fell out.
And she was in the hospital for a brain aneurysm.
And that completely took the biggest toll on me.
I had no idea how to deal with that.
You know, that was the biggest--
my mom was the biggest factor and the inspiration in my life,
you know?
So, that happening to me completely broke my spirit.
I just-- it was hard for me.
Yeah.
So what's going through your head?
So you suddenly lose your mom.
And you're responsible for six siblings, including Khari, who
was one-month-old at the time.
Yes.
At the time, I had, you know, during a time
in the hospital, my dad, at the time, he got all of us
together.
He looked me in the face, and he told me, hey, man, I
need you to be the patriarch of the family.
I need you to step up.
I need you to do this.
I can't do this.
And at that moment, I knew that I had no room to be, you know,
to go through that phase of crying.
I had to be the anchor for my family.
I had to step up and do what it took
to make sure I was a strength and a pinnacle of strength
for my family.
Yeah.
Well, you sure have been.
I know how close you were to your mom.
You said she was your best friend.
And she must have been incredible.
Because you're an incredible young man.
So, she's got to be so proud of you.
And-- what were the--
yeah.
I bet she was amazing.
What were the first few months like after she was gone?
Directly after, I was in Baton Rouge at the time.
Right after graduating from college,
I came down to New Orleans in order to provide for the family
because she was the breadwinner for the family.
She made sure to make sure we had any food, any money.
So I went ahead to her old job and got her old position.
And I just started to work.
It was day in and day out.
Got as much overtime as I can to provide and keep
the bills up and manage that.
And I did that for about a year and a half to two years.
So you said your number one priority
is to be a good role model for your brothers and sisters.
I would say that you're doing that.
Yes.
I appreciate that.
Yes.
[APPLAUSE]
Thank you.
Thank you, yes.
My siblings, honestly, they are my beacon of strength.
I know that they may think that I'm that to them.
But they keep me going every step
of the way, any decisions I make in life, any success
that I have, they are the reason.
They are what pushes me to be great because I
have to be that for them.
I have to let them know that things
are better than what we see around us,
than the streets and everything.
You know, I have to let them know that there
is a better life out there.
So I try my hardest.
Well you can, you know, you see that you're
trying your hardest.
Kennae, your brother Kenneth is--
he's incredible.
What does he mean to you?
Everything.
While I was in college, I struggled a lot.
I struggled with mental health.
I struggled financially.
I struggled a lot.
And anything that I needed, a listening ear, anything,
like, he was there for me.
He made sure that I was OK.
And when I made the decision to leave school
and to pursue my dreams, he supported me,
like, all the way, whatever you want to do,
whatever makes you happy, like, I'm going to help you.
Like, and that means everything to me.
Everything.
You're an amazing family.
You're an incredibly-- I mean, to have
that bond between all of you.
Anybody else want to say anything about Kenneth?
I do.
Yeah.
I'm the second to go to--
I'm the second [INAUDIBLE] to go to college in the family.
And you know, him just being that role model,
him being that example, like, you know, you can do it,
you know, like, he was strong-minded enough to do it.
But he was that rock for me to see like,
other than everything else that I'm going through in my life
that, that yeah, that is a possibility that I can,
you know, be something, that it is
a possibility there for positivity, like,
and I was grateful for that.
And I'm--
[APPLAUSE]
Well your family is incredible.
And we're going to take a break.
We're going to talk more right after this.
We'll be right back.
Khari just celebrated his fourth birthday.
Happy birthday, Khari!
Happy birthday Khari.
So, as I said before, your mom must be so proud of you.
What do you think she would say if she were here right
now to you?
I would like to believe that my mom would be very happy what
I've done so far.
I have not had a disconnect with my mother.
My daily prayers, I still talk to my mom.
You know, she's the beacon of hope for me.
Like, every step that I take, any decision I
make, I talk to her.
So I would definitely like to believe
that my mom would be smiling down and thinking
that I'm walking within her footsteps
for the best of the kids.
Yup.
You are.
You are doing that.
She'd be proud of every single one of you.
Because you have to have gratitude and appreciation
for your brother Kenneth.
And you all do.
You know what he's doing.
And I just think you're all amazing.
We know how hard the past four years have been.
You haven't been able to make any payments on the house
since your mom passed.
You're about to lose the home.
So that you live in.
So we want to help.
I have great friends at Shutterfly.
They love helping incredible people like you.
So if you'd go to your door, we dropped something off
at the front door.
What?
Yup.
What?
[INAUDIBLE]
Turn around.
[LAUGHTER]
Come back!
Come back and go inside!
They want to give you $75,000.
That is going to pay off your mortgage.
It's a good thing, Khari.
All right.
We love you.
You're amazing.
We love you.
We'll be right back.