CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A new year brings a new beginning for the three children of a South Side anti-violence activist who was shot and killed this past summer.
Andrea Stoudemire was a leader of MASK, Mothers Against Senseless Killings. Last July, she was shot and killed.
Since then, family friends say her three children have drifted from home to home.
"Since she passed, I have not been happy at all," said her 15-year-old son Michael Johnson.
Now, community leaders have surprised the children — ages 21, 15 and 11 — by finding them a home in Englewood and paying their rent for a year.
21-year-old Brinity Johnson, Stoudemire's eldest daughter, toured her new home with surprise and said she was shocked by the new house.
"I was not expecting this," Johnson said. "Oh my God, I'm so happy."
Early Walker, the businessman of a towing company who was intstumental in organizing the gift for the family, was not done giving. He had another surprise.
Walker told WBBM that he wanted to make sure the family can start the year off on a better foot than last year and that they know they have support from the community.