7-year-old boy living in a domestic violence shelter writes touching letter to Santa to ask for books and a 'very good dad'

A 7-year-old Texas boy temporarily living in a domestic violence shelter with his mom has moved people to tears after he wrote a touching letter to Santa.

The boy wrote a letter to Santa to let him know what he wants for Christmas. He asked Santa for books, a dictionary, a compass and a watch. The most moving of his request is a “very very very good dad.”

His mom found the handwritten letter in his backpack a few weeks ago and she shared it with SafeHaven of Tarrant County staff, a shelter for domestic violence victims in Fort Worth, Texas, its president and CEO Kathryn Jacob told CNN.

SafeHaven shared the letter on social media Wednesday morning, noting they changed the boy’s name to Blake for his family’s safety.

The letter reads:

Dear Santa,

We had to leave our house. Dad was mad. We had to do all the chores. Dad got everything he wanted. Mom said it was time to leave and she would take us to a safer place where we don’t have to be scared.
I’m still nervous. I don’t want to talk to the other kids. Are you going to come this Christmas? We don’t have any of our stuff here. Can you bring some chapter books, a dictionary, and a compass and a watch? I also want a very very very good dad. Can you do that too?
Love, Blake

“Blake’s story is like every story we see,” Kathlyn Jacob said. “The problem is so pervasive.”

An average of nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. That amounts to 10 million women and men abused in a year.