Robert Lalah, Staff Reporter
Doreen Billings, head of Mother in Crisis, gestures during an interview with The Sunday Gleaner.- RICARDO MAKYN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
CONFIRMING THAT many Jamaican women are indeed in crisis, the newly-established female-support group 'Mother in Crisis', has not just been flooded, but nearly washed away by the hundreds of telephone calls and letters it has received since The Sunday Gleaner first publicised the work being done by the philanthropic group.
'Mother in Crisis' is made up of a small group of mothers who have overcome difficulties with their own family members. The group offers advice and support to troubled women across the island in an effort to help them get their loved ones back on track and by so doing, the members of 'Mother in Crisis' hope to help decrease the nation's crime rate.
The collective voice of frustrated Jamaican women has made an echo which has reverberated across the globe.
Founder of 'Mother in Crisis' Doreen Billings, told The Sunday Gleaner that her group has been completely inundated with telephone calls and letters from burden-bearing women from all over the world.
True enough, she showed the news team large stacks of letters from Jamaican women living as far away as Australia and Israel, seeking advice on various matters relating to troubled sons and spouses. Mrs. Billings said most of the letters are from women who know that their sons are involved in vicious criminal activities and want desperately to turn them around.
OVERWHELMING
Other women wrote just to pledge support for the work being done by the group. "It has been overwhelming. There are so many women from all over who have contacted us. I never imagined the response would have been this tremendous. The letters just don't stop coming, and my phone is ringing non-stop. Mothers from all over are calling out for help," she said.
Mrs. Billings said each morning when she gets to her office at Newport West, she is met by a large group of troubled mothers who travel from across the island, waiting to lay their burdens on the group members of 'Mother in Crisis'. From Portland to Negril, the women travel from all over.
Mrs. Billings said she is not on a one-woman crusade to save the world, but sees it as a matter of urgency, that Jamaican mothers take drastic steps to reclaim their loved ones from the clutch of criminality.
A FEW DIFFICULTIES
The determined woman is sticking to her ambitious plan to read and answer every letter the group receives. Her strategy to tackle this gargantuan task is simple. She has separated the letters into two hefty stacks (answered and unanswered), reads, then makes meticulous notes on each. These notes, she then uses to guide her as she goes out seeking advice from experts, to share with the letter writer.
But there are a few difficulties which Mrs. Billings and her group are experiencing which threaten to compromise their ability to function efficiently. The tremendous call for help is spreading the limited resources of the group thin. "We were caught completely off guard. When the mothers come to see us, most times they don't even have bus fare to go home and I have to find it for them. I have even taken some home overnight with me. Many mothers who call us don't want to talk on the phone out of fear for their lives. I therefore have to borrow my friend's car and drive all over the country to meet with these women," she said.
FUNDS RUNNING LOW
Mrs. Billings, who has been operating the not-for-profit organisation with her own money, said her funds are quickly being depleted and she has called on the private sector for assistance. "The need has been proven. These women who write to us have shown that they are ready to take a stand. We cannot let this opportunity to make a significant difference pass us by. I really pray that some organisation will offer a helping hand so that these mothers in crisis can continue to receive the help they deserve," she said.
Though the members of 'Mother in Crisis' do enlist the help of the police from time to time in assisting the women who write to them, they say this is not done in all cases. "Some of the women beg and plead with us not to involve the police. In those cases, what we do is offer counselling and try to convince the women that going to the police themselves may just be the best thing after all. The final decision is left to them," said Mrs. Billings.
Yesterday, police officers from parishes across the island, pledged their support for the group. Several declared their willingness to work with 'Mother in Crisis' in a supporting role, wherever possible.
So, as the dedicated women of 'Mother in Crisis' press on in their concentrated fight against criminality, they wait patiently for some much- needed assistance. Whatever the outcome, Mrs. Billings and her team say they are intent on holding firm to that illusive dream held by so many: a peaceful Jamaica.
