Mothers with a Purpose
Mothers with a Purpose was formed in July of 2010 when Donna and Kelly (our guest) learned they shared something in common. Kelly was attending an AA meeting with her son, when she saw Donna’s son and realized that both children were struggling with the Opiate addiction. Kelly called Donna’s cell while Donna was on vacation and the two had a conversation and decided to get together and talk when she returned home. When they talked, they both got updated on their children and decided to attend a few Al Anon meetings to get some help. Instead, it seemed they always ended up meeting at Barnes and Noble or sitting outside Donna’s home talking for hours. Finally, after keeping their feelings bottled up inside, they had someone to share their situation and found out their lives had followed a similar path and they had experienced a lot of the same issues. Kelly had been reading a book called ‘The Lost Years’ and got the idea to start a group to bring other mothers together to form a support group. Donna totally agreed and started recruiting friends and acquaintances from her neighborhood, health club, and community, which included several families she had met over the years while the children participated in youth sports. The group quickly grew from 2 to 5, from 5 to 7, and then grew to 12 women. In the beginning there was a lot of crying and consoling, with each telling their heart wrenching stories one by one. No one had any answers, but this was the first time each had openly discussed their family secret, and that in itself started the healing. As each new member joined, the new member would spend 20-30 minutes telling their story, while the others patiently listened, knowingly shaking their heads, and encouraging the new member to continue. It was common to hear the words “we understand”, “it happened to all of us” and “you’re not alone”. The group had lots of energy and the conversations evolved from crying to rational discussion, and believe it or not, laughter. No longer was each person living as a prisoner in her home, with her shades drawn, doors locked, and speaking in hush tones. In isolation they felt helpless and powerless to do anything. As the group got bigger and the women got to know each other personally, the energy and power grew. “It was really magical.”
