| Description |
As there is an absent generation of parents due to the current ills of society such as drug and alcohol addictions, the AIDS/HIV epidemic, parental neglect and abandonment, incarcerations, mental illness and the deaths of parents, there will be an absent generation of grandparents - grandmothers in particular - for the present generation of grandchildren when they, themselves, become parents. State and other agencies will become more overburdened with assuming the care for the children of this present generation of grandchildren. This descriptive and exploratory study was designed to explore the life experiences, values, beliefs, coping mechanisms, and strengths of single, mostly low-income, African American grandmothers who are raising their grandchildren. These custodial grandmothers are raising their grandchildren without either parent in the home. The grandmothers live in an urban, inner city area of Las Vegas, Nevada, in an area known as the Westside. Data were collected through individual interviews and focus group discussions. The study found that many of the grandmothers prefer not to accept needed assistance from social services agencies or engage with helping professionals because of their belief that no one is interested or concerned about their perceptions; their experiences, values, and beliefs; how they manage to care for the grandchildren; or their strengths. They believe that they do not have a voice in policies and procedures that affect them and their grandchildren. To assist themselves, they agreed to adopt the methods of slave women where many had to raise their children without the benefit of a spouse or other assistance. The participants in this study were willing to engage with each other as a strengths-based, self-help support group within their community, offering each other their strengths, suggestions, and solutions to what they perceive as problematic. |
