WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (WAVY) — This fall marks one year since a Williamsburg father and husband died in a motorcycle crash.
The wife of 28-year-old Stephen Peoples was expecting twins at the time, as well as raising three other kids.
“My husband went out to a cookout and he never came back,” said Martine Peoples, who shared her grief with 10 On Your Side in the weeks after her husband’s death.
As Peoples marked one year without her partner, she reached out again to share how she’s risen since.
“[WAVY] had reached out for the community to help us,” she said. “It really, really meant a lot.”
After the report aired, help for the Peoples family poured in. The NAACP took care of Christmas. A local church still provides three meals a week for the family. High school administrator Linda Lia is covering the twins’ monthly diaper supply for their first year.
“I still haven’t had to really buy anything,” Peoples said.
Even total strangers recognized Peoples, including a woman who saw her after a breastfeeding class and ordered her a twin stroller. Another saw her in Target and bought bassinets off her registry.
“There are people that just have a passion for caring for others,” she said. “You don’t realize that until your back is against the wall.”
An online fundraiser also brought in more than $15,000 for the family.
With the community support keeping her afloat in the months after Stephen’s death, Peoples was able to relaunch and expand his cleaning business.
“We’re going to be okay,” she said. “This is not the end.”