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Mothers of Sons Offers New Choices for Single Moms
‘We offer one-on-one mentoring to men who are willing to step in and take responsibility for helping single moms raise their sons’

By Cheryl Scott
Bulletin Staff Writer

“I know children who know to hit the floor at the age of 5 because of drive-by shootings,” Lenora LeVias told The Bulletin. “Many of our little boys are exposed to the gang lifestyle, violence, drugs and other negative factors. Keeping them safe and guiding them into a productive lifestyle is an important job that is best done by a mother and a father.”

But what happens if there is no father in a boy’s life?

That’s a complex problem that Mothers of Sons is working to solve. The organization was formed less than a year ago, and already it is making headway with a series of innovative programs focused on empowering mothers who are raising their sons alone.

“We start with boys as young as first grade,” LeVias said. “You need to start early if you are to counteract the influences in the street and prevent these kids from getting involved in gangs.”

The organization’s TOPS program lays the groundwork with basic training designed to develop family and business skills from early in the child’s life. The name stands for Training on Purpose Saves (Our Children). It offers a training discipline called SIFF: Spanish, Integrity, Finance and Fun.

“You can go to school all you want,” said LeVias. “But unless you are bilingual in our society your options will remain limited. We emphasize character development as well as business skills.”

SIFF has partnered with Wells Fargo and Bank of America to help boys become businessmen by buying gum machines, placing them in businesses and servicing their accounts.

“My son is involved in the gum machine program,” LeVias said. “It’s great for him. He had to get a business license and buy the machines himself. Then he had to find business people that would allow him to put a machine in their locations. Now he operates his business himself, saving part of the money he earns, learning how to keep his books, maintaining the machines and stocking them himself. It’s a great program, and we think it will make a great deal of difference to a great many young boys.”

“We also focus on the family connection,” said Edna Thompson, president of the organization’s Board of Directors. “We see young boys gravitating toward the gang lifestyle so they can attain a sense of family. We empower mothers to provide that family connection and we mentor male relatives who will formally commit to helping single women raise their sons.”

“At least 50 percent of households in this area are headed by moms,” she said. “Boys have pressures that are better understood and handled by their fathers, but if the father is not there, most mothers are left alone to fill in the gap. A male family member who is willing to help raise the child can be a Godsend for these single mothers.”

This fall, Mothers of Sons will hold its first conference for single mothers. It will include workshops and mentoring programs. “We are lining up speakers now,” said LeVias. “We hope to have civic leaders, pastors, counselors, educators and other experts speak at our workshops. There are so many single mothers doing the best that they can. They need tools to help them with their sons.”

Volunteers from the group are working with Broadacres Avenue Elementary School in Carson as volunteers in the fourth and fifth grade classrooms. “We provide one on one counseling for many mothers to help them deal with their troubled sons, and we have developed resources to refer mothers dealing with issues that are beyond our expertise,” LeVias said.

Both women said they were overwhelmed by the support the received from the Compton City Council. “They were all so enthusiastic,” said Thompson. “Isadore Hall said he would like to get involved, and all of them complimented us on the program and expressed confidence that it would be effective in helping to solve many of the problems of our young men.”

The program is aimed not only at boys of all ages, but at their mothers as well. “Mothers are the greatest influence on children,” said Thompson. “That is why we feel that the sooner we help theses mothers cope with the challenge of raising a son alone, the more success we will have in preventing boys from getting involved with gangs.”

In the future, Mothers of Sons plans to offer help to young pregnant girls. “You can’t start too early,” said LeVias. “These young mothers have a great many challenges to overcome. They cannot be effective as mothers until they overcome those problems, no matter what they may be.”

“We really believe we will change this whole generation of young men,” said Thompson. “We will see a difference in how these young boys function as they become young men. It’s something that will be part of the re-birth of the city of Compton.”

For more information on Mothers of Sons, call LeVias at (310) 638-6252.