Thread: We will never give up mothers of gang-bangers

'We will never give up'
S. SIDE | Moms team up to battle influence of gangs: 'We didn't raise our kids this way'

May 2, 2008Recommend (2)

BY ANNIE SWEENEY Crime Reporter asweeney@suntimes.com
It's what everyone wants to know after a gang member terrorizes a neighborhood: Where are the parents?

For the last several months, at least some of them have been meeting in a South Side church basement to pray and cry and face a deep shame: They are mothers of the gang-bangers on the corners. Or they fear their child is about to join a gang.

» Click to enlarge image These moms and others have been meeting to face a deep shame: They are mothers of the gang-bangers on the corners. Or they fear their child is about to join a gang.
(Chris Sweda/Sun-Times)

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Many are also single parents, struggling to pay bills. They work 16 hours a day, and every time they hear a gunshot, they worry their child has been shot or has shot someone else's child. Some chase after their kids at 2 a.m.; others have stood in defiance when they won't leave a corner.

And yes, they wonder what they did wrong.

"It's very difficult,'' said Lisa Rivera, a Bridgeport mom who goes to police community meetings and baseball games, yet still fights the gang influence over her three teens.

"The first couple of times, all I did was sit there and listen and cry. It's hard to explain, but there is a lot of shame and embarrassment. All we know is we didn't raise our kids this way. ... We are not crackhead alcoholics."

The group of about 25 Hispanic mothers -- Families of the Community -- come from the South and Southwest sides. They were organized by Oscar Contreras, a supervisor for Catholic Charities who works in the Back of the Yards neighborhood.

Some of the mothers have joined the group simply to be a part of fighting violence.

But some will admit their sons are in gangs -- or at least starting to hang out in the wrong place. They see nasty, defiant attitudes developing. Or their girls are starting to hang out with gang members.

In the worst case, they are like Maria Chavez, a member of the group who chased her son off corners his whole life, only to have him join a gang and get killed in 2001.

"We started realizing all these moms are wounded,'' Contreras said. "Who is helping them cope? Who is helping them understand what their son is doing? They feel helpless or hopeless. Now they don't feel alone.''

In a statement on how the violence has affected them, the group speaks about how they fear they "will be the ones left to visit jail and graves." But they also speak of unconditional love.

"Yes, we know what our sons and daughters have become, but a mother will always love her child,'' it reads.

This weekend, the moms will attend a march in Back of the Yards that will draw politicians and police brass such as Supt. Jody Weis. They also will be joined by other Back of the Yards groups who have long worked to steer kids away from gangs and into positive programs.

Now, after several meetings, these moms feel like they, too, can be part of the solution.

"We don't want to hang our heads,'' Rivera said. "We want to continue to talk to our kids, pray for our kids. ... When moms like us come out of their homes and [don't] feel ashamed, that's when you make change.''

The march will kick off at the home of a Back of the Yards mother who was fatally shot last Halloween while trick-or-treating with her children. The shooting became a rallying point.

Chicago Police sent in a team of officers to get to know residents and work with them to gather information. Several community members -- including some of the moms -- gathered information to lead police to the alleged shooter, who was charged in March.

The Rev. Bruce Wellems, pastor of Holy Cross/Immaculate Heart of Mary, helped organize the march to remind everyone, as summer approaches, that there are peaceful alternatives and the community needs to surround the kids. Wellems said he welcomes the moms group as a part of the ongoing response.

"It's terrific. This is moms talking about family and what it is to be a mom in that neighborhood,'' he said. "When you are ashamed, you hide. When you recognize it, you realize people will accept you.''


Excerpt of Oscar Contreras poem
Yes we know what our sons and daughters have become but a mother will always love her child. Even when society says I've done a bad job and the time comes when, God forbid, they are taken from us whether by a judge or by their own bad choices, we will be the ones left to visit jail and graves. There isn't anything we wouldn't do to change what they have become but no matter what, we will never give up, just as God has never given up on us. His love and mercy are unconditional even though time after time we continue to disappoint him.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/9277 ... 2.article#

This is a problem that supports the Globalization Elites with there Mutli-Culture brainwashing . Sanctuary City's this is the price that is paid to the NAU . Not to mention violations of many immigration laws . Thank your Scum Bag Mayor , in LA or Chi-town . It will not end , only fester as even more come to suck the life out of our country.
My Rage and where these mothers should aim their's . Is with the Cheap Labor and Globalization politicians in office . You mothers are being Brain Washed

These "mothers" haven't set a good example for their kids...how many of them have finished school? how many of them were teens who got pregnant? How many of them are married and in stable relationshps with stable men? How many of them live with the fathers of these thugs? .....


The bottom line is that the standards and morals of this population have declined over generations....

"Yes, we know what our sons and daughters have become, but a mother will always love her child,'' it reads.

These are the first to scream "he is such a good boy" as they haul them off to jail.......

Originally Posted by crazybird

"Yes, we know what our sons and daughters have become, but a mother will always love her child,'' it reads.

These are the first to scream "he is such a good boy" as they haul them off to jail.......

Exactly. They say this as if the parents of Americans that die at the hands of their heathen gang bangers don't love their children as much.

Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski one of the Reconquistas in Carpentersville who have led the marches and rabble rousing ....she's a city council member of Carpentersville, and a proud mother of a Mexican Ameirican gang banger who served time for crimes. Ramirez Sliwinski is a big part of the illegal alien advocacy cartel in the Chicago area and is a Democratic party DELEGATE. How about that?

Originally Posted by legalatina

Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski one of the Reconquistas in Carpentersville who have led the marches and rabble rousing ....she's a city council member of Carpentersville, and a proud mother of a Mexican Ameirican gang banger who served time for crimes. Ramirez Sliwinski is a big part of the illegal alien advocacy cartel in the Chicago area and is a Democratic party DELEGATE. How about that?

How did someone with her background become a Delegate ? Educate me,
please . in the mean time i'll google her up

And yes, they wonder what they did wrong.

One question I would ask is, are you here illegally? Because if you are, your kids will never respect you or obey the law. Parents disrespect our laws raise kids who disrespect our laws. And they will join gangs because it calls out to them. Its the way of life in your "sancturary cities".