NEW ORLEANS — Using the African proverb, “the children that are not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth” Dr. Ashonta Wyatt says she feels like the City of New Orleans has turned it back on the youth of this city.
Her non-profit ‘Mother 2 Mother” works directly with moms who have lost their children to violence in the City of New Orleans.
Dr. Wyatt says she’s made several attempts to partner with the city, saying there’s been more than a handful of occasions she spoke to Mayor Cantrell directly.
“I wanted to help the children and I wanted to help my community. So, I don’t need anything from them other than to validate the work that the grassroots organizations and people are actually out here sacrificing to make certain we have a safer city,” she says.
One person who appreciates that sacrifice is Rhonda George who lost her son to gun violence 5 years ago.
“I grieved so much, I developed breast cancer,” said George.
George also says she remembers being a place of wanting to take revenge on her son’s killers.
She says the 5 years Dr. Wyatt has worked with her have dramatically changed her life.
“She has made me strong enough to come to where I’m at today. I wasn’t talking to nobody,” said George.
Dr. Wyatt says she often faces the same struggle as the city in coming up with ways to provide a safer future for young people.
The former elementary school principal says being able to reach the whole family is an important step in the effort to slow down this latest crime surge.
Understanding the attention being paid to a need for increased policing, Dr. Wyatt says she hopes the city can look at a more holistic approach by supporting groups like hers, claiming what’s been done in the past isn’t working.
“The organizations that are doing that kind of work need funding so that they can provide those resources for families. I go back to the village mentality, I’m not one to say what you’re not doing and I don’t know why you’re not doing it. What I’m saying, it’s not happening how can I help you.”
A question Dr. Wyatt says she hopes to one day get from city leaders.