Treating Mothers’ Trauma as a Way to Prevent Youth Violence

Treating Mothers’ Trauma as a Way to Prevent Youth Violence
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Pat Davis is a survivor of domestic violence who started with SURE Moms in the summer of 2016. Like many parents in her circumstances, Davis could not bottle up the pain she experienced at the hands of her abuser. It bubbled over in depression, and in anger.

Sitting in SURE Moms meetings, Davis said she got to “cry, scream, and yell.” After nearly four years into the program, she counts herself as a success story. She got herself back in school and earned a degree in Human Services. She still appreciates the steadying effects of the SURE Moms meetings.

“I can’t wait for Wednesdays,” Davis said.

SURE Moms’ budget has grown to $90,000 this year, and Roberson is now a full-time employee. This year, Jackson plans to begin tracking the impact of the program, measuring how many children of SURE Moms stay out of detention and jail — and which ones go back in. Already, there’s reason to believe that the program represents a bargain for policymakers. The most recent data on the cost of incarcerating juveniles dates back to 2014, but back then, Michigan was spending more than $266 a day per incarcerated teen. A 90-day detention stay for a single juvenile cost taxpayers nearly $25,000.

SURE Moms will need to grow further in order to meet demand for its services. The two dozen moms who now show up to the weekly meetings is about as many as Roberson and the two trauma therapists can handle. The group has expanded to hold a second meeting each week. It might soon need a third.

While SURE Moms is embedded inside a law enforcement agency, Jackson never intended for the mothers to act as liaisons for the Sheriff’s Department. But he recalled attending one meeting and asking the mothers to notify him if they discover their children have a gun. He got a call later that night. Since then, he has recovered four firearms from the homes of SURE Moms.

Sometimes, meetings turn into sessions where beefs are settled. Community violence is typically concentrated among a small number of actors; in Ann Arbor, they include children of SURE Moms, or young people a few degrees removed. When shots ring out in the city, the reverberations are felt at the group’s next meeting. “The mothers know the victims, the shooter, or someone in the car, or the house where the incident went down,” Roberson said. Along with Jackson and Doyle, she has witnessed mothers as they’ve forged peace agreements between their families.

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About Mary Weyand 15954 Articles
Mary founded Scoop Tour with an aim to bring relevant and unaltered news to the general public with a specific view point for each story catered by the team. She is a proficient journalist who holds a reputable portfolio with proficiency in content analysis and research. With ample knowledge about the Automobile industry, she also contributes her knowledge for the Automobile section of the website.

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