Customers of a farm north of Edmonton are banding together to help out, after one of the owners was attacked, and stabbed, in her own home.
Back on May 30, Natalie Pepin was at home with her four children, icing a cake for her four-year-old’s birthday, when she was attacked by a man who had broken into the kitchen.
“I’ve never been so scared in my life,” Pepin said.
“I was stabbed six times in the neck, chest and arms.”
Pepin’s partner Sheldon Marco wasn’t at home at the time of the attack, he was out running errands.
The attacker was eventually convinced to leave; Pepin said he is a family member, who is struggling with mental illness.
“My daughter took off with the baby, to the neighbour’s house, and then my son stayed with me to help me, as I was bleeding quite a bit,” Pepin said.
Two weeks later, Pepin’s wounds are healing, but she hasn’t been able to work on the family farm – leaving Sheldon to cover for both of them.
It didn’t take long for customers of their farm, called Stoney Creek Farms near Tawatinaw, to hear about what the family was facing, they organized and many have been stepping in to help out.
“I mean, I paid for a share and now I’m up here and I’m working for free, and happily,” customer and Edmonton resident Anna Brown said.
Tasks include building fences, feeding animals, and other chores around the farm and now, Pepin says the farm is running better than ever, with the extra help making up for the weeks of lost labour.
While the attack has left an emotional mark, along with the physical scars, the family is trying to cope.
“It’s a lot of psychological things that are going on, even between me and her, I mean we don’t sleep very well at night anymore,” Marco said.
However, the breach of trust with the family member – but it’s led to a new trust with strangers.
With files from Jeremy Thompson
