When she opened her home to a sickly nephew 20 years ago, Veronica Rushin-Long never imagined that she would eventually end up caring for a total of 14 children – nieces, nephews, and nine of Veronica’s own grandchildren, who were left motherless when her daughter died from AIDS.
The children had problems, too: ADHD, learning disabilities, mild autism, and heart trouble among them. “Throughout the years," her son, Toby Lewis, wrote to us, "I saw my precious mother face many, many challenges raising her grandchildren.”
Veronica, known as Mama or G'ma to her grandkids, says that education has been the biggest challenge she faced. "Our grandchildren have had very hard lives," she says. Some were born crack-addicted and others suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome, which caused them to have difficulty in school. And some of those problems continue today. "Even though ours is a success story," she says, "they didn't all fare well after school. Proper education for kids with special needs is difficult to get. It's a long road."
But there have been major accomplishments too. When her grandson Daryl, who is dyslexic and mildly autistic, received his high-school diploma, it was a major achievement.
Veronica's Austell, Georgia, home is still filled with the laughter of children; six continue to live with her. But her contributions extend beyond her home. Realizing that so many other people were in similar situations, she began a local support group for other grandparents raising their grandkids. Between 10 and 15 grandparents, both men and women, come to each meeting, held at a public library, and others who have heard of her group reach out to her from other parts of the country. "We just talk," Veronica says. "It's a hard job being a grandparent and a parent at the same time. But I've got it down to a science now."
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