Wings of a Bird

Victims' mothers trying to move on, save others - Philadelphia Inquirer
... Mandell's 13-year-old son, Koby, was stoned to death in a West Bank cave six years ago by Palestinian attackers; Giddings' and Washington's loved ones fell victim to Philadelphia's gun-violence epidemic.
...
Several of the women who met Friday with Mandell belong to Mothers in Charge, a Philadelphia antiviolence group that offers mentoring, anger management and other supports. It is headed by Dorothy Johnson-Speight, who started it after her son was shot to death over a parking space in 2001
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Giddings recalled how her son Andre, along with a friend and her mother, were shot to death at her mother's home more than two years ago in a neighborhood dispute by a man whom her son knew. ... "The loss of a child is one thing, then the loss of a mother is another. But to put those two together, do you know what the total sum would be?" she asked.
She tells people she is coping better, but she has her "moments." A nun told her once: "You can have a moment, but don't take an hour."
Her work with Mothers in Charge and her teenage daughter keep her going, she said. ...

Labels: compassionate people, grief