BROOKLYN (WABC)– As many people sit down to eat their Thanksgiving meal, there is an empty seat at the table.

No one knows this better than Tammara Tillman.

“I lost my daughter 7 years ago on Thanksgiving and my birthday and it’s hard because she passed away in front of the kids,” Tillman said.

Her 30-year-old daughter died suddenly of a heart attack. Overnight, Tillman became the primary caregiver for her two young grandchildren.

“I got a call that she wasn’t breathing and my whole world changed,” she said. “There was no question whether I would take the children, which I did, and I received no allowance.”

The Brooklyn grandmother turned to The Family Center, a nonprofit that helps families stay together.

“At this time, it’s bittersweet, but they provided a way to help us enjoy times like Thanksgiving now, just to keep the pain away,” Tillman said.

On Thanksgiving afternoon, the Family Center helped feed 800 people at a Brooklyn church. Many families present experienced similar difficulties.

“What we want to do is provide stability for families,” said Ivy Gamble Cobb of the Family Center.

The help they provide is not just today, but all year round.

“We created the Family Center to ensure that parents can give their child what we believe is the best gift a parent can give a child, and that is the gift of safety,” Gamble Cobb said.

They offer a variety of services to keep children at home, ranging from financial assistance to mental health services for children and adults.

“People always say my grandchildren are very grateful to have me, I would say it’s the opposite, I’m grateful to have them,” Tillman said.

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