Toddler's death inspired organization to support single mothers

DUNEDIN, Fla. - There’s a new way for single mothers who are overwhelmed with stress or maybe not prepared to be a parent to get some help.

It’s a new organization called A Mother’s Arms, in Pinellas County, and it was created after the death of two-year-old Jordan Belliveau.

Detectives say there were many cries for help from Jordan’s mother, Charisse Stinson. Law enforcement said she was unprepared for motherhood, but the toddler was returned to her care after being in a foster home and she snapped, allegedly beating her son to death.

Chantala Simmons created A Mother’s Arms after seeing Jordan’s case. Being a single mother, herself, she realized what it could be like for someone who did not have the support of family and friends.

“I had my mother. I had my aunt, I had the neighborhood. We all helped out raising the children. [Mothers] don’t have that now,” Simmons said.

The non-profit's volunteers are also the ones receiving support; 30 women help one another by providing occasional child care. Another 60 are on the waiting list.

In addition to supporting each other, the mothers participate in Simmons' workshops designed to uplift women and help them uplift themselves. 

“When you’re already broken yourself, and then you bring children into the picture and you’re not really ready, mentally, physically, spiritually, it’s a bombshell,” Simmons said.

She says this is way for some good to come from Jordan’s tragedy.