Mom has son arrested to get him help

I can truly sympathize with this mom. I am the mom of a 12 year old son who sounds just like her son. Network 180 was useless. We showed up at Network 180 where we were told to go with our son only to be told we had to sit and wait for hours. At the time we showed up my son was in a violent rage and hitting my other children. During the course of the wait of several hours my son calmed down inside the building and by the time they finally got to my son they told us there was nothing they could do because he was not out of control. We have also turned to the Community Mental Health System in Ottawa county. It does not matter, the finger is always pointed at the parents until they do something like this and it takes something like this for people to finally stand up and be willing to help. It is truly a sad thing that it is these kids who are the ones suffering because you know no one wants to be bad. I hope this boy gets the help he needs and maybe this will open the eyes to the kids who fall between the cracks and get ignored like this woman, my son and others like this.

I commend you Wendy for finally getting someone to listen to you. My thoughts and prayers are with you both.

my thoughts and prayers are with you both,hopefully he will get the help he needs now.

It's sad that so many children fall through the cracks, such as this man has. I congratulate his mother for making the decision she did to get him some help. It took a lot of courage on her part.

I hope that he can, now, get the help he needs and there can be some sort of peace in this family. My prayers are with them.

This kid needs some serious help. If he continues to fall through the cracks, we will read about him again. Only the next time it will have a victim's name within the article.

Whatever it takes Wendy, see it through even though it is probably the toughest thing you will ever do. It is best for him and anyone he could potentially harm. You will be in my thoughts...stay strong!

tough love is hard!! I can say this is possible one of the best moms I have ever heard a story on.....not many of us could have done the same thing!

I pray the family receives the help they need.

it took courage to turn your very own son in! Thank you to this mother for protecting our children by this courage and ultimately for protecting your very own son.

Kudos to Wendy for turning her son in. It's a hard decision to make but it shows she truly loves him. I hope that someone out there will be able to help her get the treatment she needs for her son.

Mom must be physically and emotionally exhausted and constantly scared of what comes next...not a way to live! We really need boot camps, more institutions and work camps for some of these kids. Of course, this is sensitive due to the medical/emotional needs...but, we need to do something.

Sounds like the mom is doing the right thing. Sometime it is hard and doesn't seem right at the time. Hopefully in the long run it will straighten the kid's life out. But get him some teeth for his smile.

My heart breaks for this woman, and her having to do this to get her son help. That system is so broken!

I had a similar situation with my daughter a few years back. She was 17, nothing I could do legally. She had left home, getting into drugs and hanging with the wrong crowd. I could not get her to come home and legally the law said there was nothing I could do. I went to the Wyoming police, they told me to go to Network 180, I did and I waited too. But then I got in at Network 180 and filled out paperwork, petitioned the courts to have her put into an institution to be evaluated. Went down and waited at the courts to have a judge sign the papers and then return to the Wyoming police to give them the papers. Then I had to find where my daughter was and have Wyoming police go get her. They did and she got her evaluation. Unfortunately, she was only held for 5 days there because she knew how to act to get out. But things did turn around for her after that visit. She had made some mistakes along the way but she is growing up. I hope this story helps Wendy get the help for her boy. Its frustrating and heartbreaking to have to deal with this stuff but stay strong and you'll get through it. Thoughts and prayers to you and your boy.

The Lazy-T Nice place.

Way to go Wendy! I commend you on a great job with parenting. If more parents were proactive I think we would start to see a change in the news to kids doing good things. My thoughts and prayers are with you in this tough time.

Wendy, I personally know how hard this is. I had a child I had taken in. He was 11 years old (I no longer have him) I did go through Oaklands Face to Face (Livonia) which I thought was a great program (great staff) he was beyond what they could offer him. He was institutionalized at Hawthorn Center in Northville, MI (I cried every day going, and leaving this dreadful place). The State of Michigan really does not have a good knowledge on Mental Health issues, and as citizens we should be outraged as to how our tax dollars are spent, and what laws are there to protect or not to protect the mentally ill, and the support of the families. We need to start writing our State Reps etc. on these issues, and start speaking out publicly to educate. Our society judges parents/families so harshly when a loved one (mentally ill) commits crimes or misbehaves. My deepest sympathy goes out to you in your struggle to find the proper help you, and your son need. I know this may not help right at the moment, but know that there are people who care about you, and your situation.

Wendy, there is also the Promise Village here in Michigan. Excellent outcomes for troubled youth/teens.

gambler2 wrote:

The Lazy-T Nice place.

Couldn't agree more, it's beautiful. Especially in the springtime. Only place that really rivals it is the Motel 6 on 28th Street with the pool out front...

This poor Mom is begging for help and no one will give it to her. Yes I think her son is falling thru the cracks of the mental health system.. Hopefully something can be done before he does hurt someone or himself..

Wendy, what a strong brave thing you have done. I hope and pray your son gets the help he needs, and you finally have some peace in your life.

Maybe if the state of MI spent more time helping these kids when they are young, then maybe the prisons won't be so packed.

God Bless you mom, for going to extremes to get some help for your son. It must of been very hard. Its people like you we need more of to help get children with problems in the right direction.