[1988] God Bless the Child

Theresa Johnson is a single mother struggling to make ends meet working in housekeeping for a luxury hotel. She learns that she and her young daughter Hillary are being evicted and struggles to find a new apartment after attempts to stay with friends fail, and no family is around to help her. An appointment to see an apartment requires her to clock out early from her job, and she is subsequently fired. Now jobless and homeless, Theresa and Hillary move from shelter to shelter, sleeping on the streets in between. The pair find some hope in a rental house, only to find it filthy and infested with rats. They're evicted again after Theresa turns the landlord in to the authorities, and at some point, Hillary contracts lead poisoning. The poisoning is mitigated, but with a warning from the doctor that a relapse could result in severe, possibly fatal, consequences. With no way to guarantee her daughter's safety as they continue to move through shelters, Theresa turns to Garvin Reed, an outreach worker at a previous shelter, for help in placing her daughter in foster care. Reed tells her that process could take as long as six months, if not more. He does offer an alternative - albeit reluctantly - of having Hillary abandoned. Theresa painfully agrees to the plan and makes arrangements with Reed, who then makes an arrangement with a social worker. Before going through with the plan, Theresa gives Hillary a necklace with a heart-shaped pendant, telling her to remember that her mother loves her every time she looks at it. Later at a park, Theresa tells Hillary to stay behind while she picks up some sandwiches for their lunch. Hillary agrees, and then Theresa takes shelter behind a large tree as she watches Reed pull up in his van. He exits the van with Mrs. McCurdy, a social worker. Reed tells her that they're going to his house, but tells her "we're going to have to talk about some things" as they lead her to his van. Frightened, Hillary begins to cry as Theresa stays out of sight. She too starts weeping as Reed and McCurdy take her daughter away as the movie ends.