The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

A MOTHER of ten said yesterday since the murder of her son last year she has been struggling to make ends meet while also fearing for the lives of her other children.

“I try my best to make sure my children eat, and I just go to bed on a cup of tea or just go to bed without anything. And then when you try to ask these daddies to help, they look at you different and say they don’t have it. Their daddies could go to bed and sleep good.

“But one like me I can’t sleep because I got to make sure my children come first, they have to eat. God gave me them for a reason,” Natasha Ferguson told The Tribune.

Ms Ferguson explained that life hasn’t been easy since her son Keithon Johnson was murdered in their home last July, adding a month later someone tried to kill her other son in the same house.

“They came back to kill my son, we had to move for safety reasons,” Ms Ferguson said.

She said since moving out of her home she’s been in and out of a shelter sharing a one-bedroom apartment with her nine living children.

Ms Ferguson pointed out that after requesting to extend time in the shelter, her time in the there is winding down. She said she and her children have nowhere else to go.

“They (Social Services) put me in the shelter from August,” she said.

“I’ve been trying to go back every two weeks to them because they give you a letter until the two weeks. And I have to go back and forth to let them know we haven’t gotten straight with anything as yet,” she said.

Ms Ferguson said Social Services has been helpful during her hardships, but said she wants to provide a better life for her children.

The single mother explained that she recently got a job, but is yet to be paid.

Asked what she would tell others who know single mothers who are struggling, Ms Ferguson said: “If you could help see if you can reach out to anybody to assist them. And you know in life, some people may not have it, but they would be scared to ask.”

She added that sometimes she also finds herself still mourning the murder of her son, Keithon.

“I just think about the good times I had with him. I say, Lord, I wish he was here knowing the fact that the Christmas gone past,” she said.

“Some days I find myself crying even when they mention his name.”

According to police reports, Keithon was at his home at around 12.25am when he was approached and shot by a man wearing a black ski mask, black jacket, blue jeans and black tennis shoes.

Police said the victim was taken to hospital by EMS where he died of his injuries.

When asked how she is holding on despite these challenges, she responded: “The only thing I can do is trust God and ask him to give me the space. To help me raise my children how I’m supposed to and protect them.”

Anyone who would like assist Ms Ferguson can send an email to jrussell@tribunemedia.net.