Mom Was ‘Doing All That She Knew How’ to Protect Kids, Now 2 Are Dead (Exclusive)

Mom Tateona Williams' 9-year-old son Darnell Currie, Jr. and daughter A'millah, 2, died after spending the night sleeping in a van at a Detroit casino parking garage
Williams says she first realized something was wrong while trying to wake Darnell up for school on Monday, Feb. 10
"She's just been trying to do the best that she could and can with caring for her children with the little support that she had," adds Tamara Liberty Smith, the director of a shelter where Williams and her mother are currently staying

Tateona Williams, whose two young children died earlier this week after spending the night in a van at a casino parking garage in Detroit, says that when her kids went to sleep she thought they were "going to be okay."

Williams, a 29-year-old who is homeless and was previously unsuccessful in getting housing help from city officials, tells PEOPLE that the parking garage at the Hollywood Casino is somewhere the family "normally" goes at night "because it's safe."

She says she kept "the heat on for them" due to the cold weather — police have said temperatures were below 32 degrees at the time — but at some point that night, her car stopped running, which she "didn't notice" until the morning.

The case has since drawn national attention.

"When she awakened, the battery was dead also because the key had been turned forward all night. So the car ran out of gas," says Detroit Board of Police Commissioner Tamara Liberty Smith, who is also the director of Detroit Power Detroit Community Outreach, a transitional housing service Williams was referred to.

Smith says that when Williams went to get the kids ready for school on Monday, Feb. 10, she couldn't get 9-year-old son Darnell Currie Jr. to wake up. "He was already deceased. She didn't know," says Smith. "So she turned him over and saw that after checking him repeatedly and calling his name and asking him to wake up."

But when she saw "stuff coming out of his mouth," Williams says she "rushed him to the hospital" with the help of a family friend, who was already at the parking garage to help with their vehicle.

Williams says that her mother, Yvette Goodman, 48, who initially stayed behind, then realized Williams' 2-year-old daughter A'millah Currie wasn't breathing and the friend returned to take them to the hospital as well.

"I didn't even know my 2-year-old was going through something because I was at the hospital with my son," adds Williams.

At the hospital, both children were pronounced deceased.

Police have repeatedly said that it is up to the medical examiner to determine their cause of death. Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Feb. 11, Interim Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison said "on the surface right now it appears it was exposure to hypothermia."

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While speaking with PEOPLE, Williams suggested that at the hospital she was told that carbon monoxide could be to blame, but Smith points out that officials remain "unsure" of what happened and are waiting for an official autopsy to be completed.

The Wayne County, Mich., medical examiner did not have any updates to share when reached by PEOPLE.

Williams says the family was previously living at a residence with another family that also had children — until they were asked to leave soon after last summer. By that time, it was already cold and Williams’ family, which included Goodman's son, was sheltering in their van.

Smith, the city official, says Williams and her mother have jobs. Williams also says that during the time her family was at the casino’s parking garage, she never left her children by themselves.

“I never would've thought about getting out the car" she insists, stressing that while her children didn't have a home, she made sure they got "everything" else from clothes to cellphones. And when it was time to go to bed every night, she always thought "they were going to be okay."

Williams confirms that her surviving children, ages 8 and 4, are with other relatives, although she hopes to be reunited with them.

Police say the investigation is ongoing.

At the Feb. 11 press conference, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said that, based on preliminary information, Williams’ family contacted the city’s "homeless response team" three previous times, most recently on Nov. 25. Williams says that day she was told there were no family rooms available but that they'd let her know when something became available.

Duggan noted that as far as they could tell, the family never called back, nor did anybody from the program reach out.

But during her interview with PEOPLE, Williams says she "kept calling" for help after Nov. 25.

"I kept calling. I called out of state, cities, different states. I asked Detroit for help," Williams adds. "And they still would say, when I called, they didn't have no beds. But it took two [of] my kids to die ... for them to want to help."

When asked for comment about Williams' criticisms, a spokesperson for the city of Detroit tells PEOPLE that "until we have all the facts, we really are not able to respond.

"For now, the history of contact between the mother and her family with the City is the very first piece of what the Mayor has asked the Deputy Mayor and director of Housing & Revitalization to investigate over the next two weeks," the spokesperson says.

Williams and Goodman are currently staying at the Detroit Power, Detroit Community Outreach, an independently-owned shelter, Smith tells PEOPLE.

“I'm going to make sure that we provide all of the resources that she needs,” she says. “The plan is to get them set straight. I feel that the city owes her that. I know that Tateona feels that the city failed. Housing is a really big issue — but in the midst of failing her, I feel that we owe her."

“She was doing all that she knew how as a mother to protect her children with no shelter because their vehicle was their shelter,” Smith adds. “And Tateona and her mom are working individuals. The children go to school at Ecorse, which is outside of the city. She placed them out there in the school district because she wanted them to have a better education from going to a regular Detroit public school."

Williams echoes that, saying of her young children, "I just want everybody to know I love them."