Member-only story
Giving Moms What They Need for Mother’s Day…and Beyond
Do we value mothers? Do we recognize their sacrifices?
It’s moms and apple pie time. We need something to celebrate. Who doesn’t love Mother’s Day?
In my years of interviewing mothers experiencing homelessness for the documentaries I’ve made (www.hearus.us) I’ve heard and witnessed both inspiring and horrific stories. Some moms spoke lovingly of their moms. Others shared that treatment by their mothers had a devastating — traumatic — impact on their lives.
In my beginning shelter-running days, I was more than a tad judgmental of mothers. For example: seeing a mother disciplining her young child by shouting and swatting. No! Give your child a time out, we’d declare. And our determination of the mother as a bad parent was set. Not. So. Fast.
My white, middle class upbringing comes with baggage. It took many years and much work to shed my unenlightened viewpoints. I’m sure vestiges still linger.
