She gives everything to Kansas City victims of violence. We can help her do more | Opinion
Rosilyn Temple is an angel on Earth. We often speak in hyperbole, but I’ve seen Rosilyn’s work, her selflessness and her resilience, and it is nothing short of divine. She is a force — a powerful voice for peace and unity in our often-divided city.
Rosilyn founded Kansas City Mothers in Charge after her son Antonio “PeeWee” Thompson was shot and killed in November 2011, just one day before Thanksgiving — a nightmare most parents won’t even allow themselves to imagine.
This fall, KC Mothers in Charge will be commemorating 10 years of serving our community. And while Rosilyn and all of the group’s staff and volunteers are proud of what they’ve accomplished, Rosilyn’s pain remains ever-present and raw.
Earlier this month, I sat down with Rosilyn to discuss this milestone. Her voice cracked, and she wiped her eyes. “You never get over losing a child. Never.” She is recognized everywhere she goes in Kansas City, and she often tells her story. It’s work, and it’s excruciating. But she does it time and time again because this is her vocation — helping mothers and helping our community.
She described her son PeeWee as a people person who loved his family and friends and was always telling stories. He was excited to start a new job and host a Thanksgiving meal in his first apartment. “He was becoming the man God called him to be,” Rosilyn told me. “He had a light, a glow about him, and he was so excited about his life.”
But his life was tragically cut short by gun violence, and Rosilyn’s world was turned upside down.
The night of her son’s death, she was alone — shocked and devastated. “No one was there who could understand my pain,” Rosilyn said. After burying her son, she knew she would never allow another grieving mother to walk through that darkness without support.
Rosilyn is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. She works with four Kansas City Police Department homicide squads, and comforts victims’ families at the scene of their loved ones’ murder. She always goes. Always.
She helps mothers identify their children’s bodies. She serves as a liaison between law enforcement and families. She envelops the grieving with love and support and brings them into the KC Mothers in Charge community.
From counseling services, to support groups to assisting with the state-level victims compensation fund, this organization is critical and helps families (mostly mothers) navigate the most painful, traumatic moments of their lives.
“I stepped into my purpose. I never had done anything that felt so right,” Rosilyn explained.
Fittingly, the 10-year celebration’s theme is “purpose through pain.”
What Rosilyn, many of the organization’s staff members and their Core Mother volunteers have endured is every parent’s hell. And yet, these women keep going and honor their loved one by lifting up and supporting other mothers of our city’s homicide victims.
To Rosilyn, outreach specialist Latrice Murray-Watts and the Core Mothers: You are true servant leaders. You give, and you give, and you give, and you never stop. Your strength, resilience and dedication to our community make everyone who knows you better. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
What can you do to help? Listen, learn and get involved. These women are guided by hope and empathy and embody the age-old adage, “Love thy neighbor.” With the leadership of KC Mothers in Charge, we can make Kansas City a safer, more prosperous community for everyone.
To learn more about Kansas City Mothers in Charge, including how you can volunteer and support their 10-year celebration, please visit kcmothersincharge.org
Anna Dudenhoeffer Simpson is an attorney, gun violence prevention activist and proud supporter of Kansas City Mothers in Charge.
