Lamar Austin, 30, felt two things at the same time when his son Caiman was born this Jan. 1. The first feeling was joy—after all, he and his wife had been looking forward for months to meeting their baby boy. But the other feeling was worry.
Austin, a military veteran and father of four, was working as a part-time security guard with a company called Salern Protective Services. He was concerned about the sanctions he would face if he missed work that day. But in the end, Austin decided that being with his family was more important.
"I thought, 'I'm just going to do what I feel is right for my family,' and that's it," he told The Huffington Post.
He was earlier hired by the security firm on a 90-day trial period. But despite having shown up in all of his previous shifts, he received a text message on Jan. 1 informing him that he was being terminated due to his absences.
"I looked at it and I was like, 'Wow. OK, cool,' and that was about it for me," he said. At 7:44 a.m., his son was born.
The Concord Monitor published a story about Austin's sacrifice for his family. Since then, he has been swamped with job offers left and right.
Austin is touched by the kindness of strangers, but he has his eye out on one specific offer. Denis Beaudoin, a business manager from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Concord, invited Austin to apply for an apprenticeship.
"That's the one I'm going to pursue," Austin said.
For now, Austin is receiving financial support from complete strangers. Sara Persechino, a former town board member and family leave advocate, even started a GoFundMe page for Austin and his family. For now, they have already raised almost $9,000.
"I don't think anyone should ever have to choose between their family and their job," Pereschino said of Austin's situation.
