West Virginia daily

A caseworker for the state Department of Health and Human Resources in Boone County, Sutphin readily offers that she once was the one asking for help.

Sutphin hopes Daily Mail readers will share her compassion for her agency's neediest clients. She and dozens of other caseworkers for 15 agencies in West Virginia have submitted more than 400 cases for consideration in the Daily Mail's Neediest Cases Appeal, a holiday campaign that kicks off today.

She came to her agency as a $7-an-hour temporary worker answering phones. At the time, it was a thrilling jump up from the $4-an-hour job she took at a video store after she fled a bad marriage to a man who ended up in prison.

Sutphin recalls the joy she felt when her job with the human services agency became permanent and full time with benefits -- and she no longer needed food stamps or public assistance.

So when a young mother arrived at her office recently with twin infants in tow, Sutphin's heart went out to her. The woman has two other children in school and she's trying to get back on her feet after she fled a life of domestic violence with little more than her children and the clothes on her back.

The woman now has a safe home and assistance until she can secure a job. With the help of Daily Mail readers, Sutphin hopes she soon will have some beds, furniture and warm clothing for her children.

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