Mother seeks help for troubled son

It's the story of a broken mother and her troublesome teenage son. At age 15, Roy* is thrown out of the family home and now has to fend for himself in the streets. His mother, Dawn*, said she loves her son unconditionally but has very little choice except to ask him to leave her home after his involvement in a string of illegal activities.

She told THE WEEKEND STAR that he currently has a matter before the court, but did not show up the last time the case was set to be mentioned. She has also sought the assistance from The Child Protection and Family Services Agency, but said their intervention has done very little for her son, who she said refuses to change his ways.

"Mi woulda really waah somebody help mi steer him ... Prove to me say it really take a village to raise a child, because mi alone can't manage him at all. Mi do everything you can tink of an fail. More time, him wah fight mi off. Mi naah tell no lie, pickney like him make people fraid to have kids," she said.

Currently, Roy and Dawn are not on speaking terms, and the youngster has not attended school for almost a year. His mother said he refused to attend classes and would rather try his hands at robbing people.

BACK GUN PAN MI

"Him rob a lot of people them money and sometimes mi fraid to walk on the road, because mi nuh waah people lick mi down because him take dem tings. Mi send him go school and him stop guh. No matter how much money mi give him, him still rather tief. When mi talk to him, all gun him back pon mi," she said.

Roy admits to most of his mother's accusations, but said that he feels unloved by his family.

"Mi would really waah go back a school and would really waah me madda take mi back, but she say mi involve in too much wrongdoings and she nuh waah nuh police come to her yard. Mi feel say she nuh love mi still, because a bare girl she did want," the troubled boy said.

Roy aspires to become a famous cricketer, but said there are very little opportunities in his St Catherine community. His only means of survival comes from doing odd jobs for persons. He said that he sometimes steals to make ends meet.

"A nine months now mi deh pon di street and mi have to hustle for a ting. Mi wash car sometimes and more time, people send mi out and give mi a change. Sometimes mi sleep on people veranda. Mi use to sleep over a church, but school start now and dem use it for classes so mi can't do it now," he said.

* Names changed to protect identity