There is a familiar pitter-patter of two-year-old feet as Maliek Murchison-Willie runs across the carpeted hotel floor to the window, disappearing behind the curtains. His twin brother is still napping, sprawled across an unmade bed, once crisp white sheets twisted and piled. Baby Isabella sleeps silently through the toddler babble in a portable playpen on the other side of the room.
“I feel like a bad mom,” said McKayla Murchison, peeling a banana for Maliek. “I feel like I’m not doing what I’m supposed to be doing for my kids.”
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McKayla Murchison spends time with baby Isabella.
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Maliek Murchison-Willie looks out the window from the hotel where his family is living.
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The desk in the room is for bulk snacks like cereal, granola bars, fruit cups and pudding.
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McKayla Murchison, stuck living in a hotel, has to use a coffee pot to warm bottles for her daughter.
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Maliek Murchison-Willie, left, looks at an electronic toy while brother Malakhi rests on a bed.
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Malakhi Murchison-Willie stretches out on the floor while eating a snack.
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McKayla Murchison changes her son Maliek’s diaper. The single mom and three kids are living in a hotel while they try to get a landlord to rent to them.
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Maliek Murchison-Willie peeks out through the heavy curtains for a look at the world outside.
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McKayla Murchison holds a tablet for son Maliek.
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