Childrens Fund

Agency steps in to help a troubled teen adjust to a new life.

Rosean Monteith was eager to come with his father and live with his grandparents in Florida, even though it meant leaving all he knew behind. When the boy sometimes saw an airplane flying over the rural Westmoreland parish farming town where he lived in Jamaica, he would think: Maybe that’s my grandmother, coming here to take me back with her.

“I thought it was pretty cool,” said Rosean, 18, remembering when he first arrived in North Lauderdale three years ago.

He had so many dreams about South Florida, including that he would see snow. Yet just as he was mistaken about the weather, he soon realized that his life here would be different — and harder — than he had imagined.

The teen discovered he didn’t want to be like his father, who Rosean said was only interested in “just doing something to make quick money.” He grieved for his mother, who had been sick when his father insisted they leave Jamaica immediately without saying goodbye to anyone.

“It kind of broke her heart,” said Rosean, who also left behind his only sibling, a sister.

Grandparents Jennett and Joseph Mottley, of North Lauderdale, grew worried as Rosean became more withdrawn and said little. His father eventually left and vanished.

“Everything had stressed out Rosean,” said Joseph, 68, who works the night shift at a nearby Walmart. Jennett, 66, is a full-time care aide at a Margate assisted living facility, so caring for Rosean “was difficult because we are so busy,” Joseph said.

Then a grassroots program dedicated to supporting children and teens being raised by relatives, friends or foster parents stepped into Rosean’s life in February and made a difference.

Helping Abused, Neglected, Disadvantaged Youth Inc., or HANDY, is a nonprofit agency based in Fort Lauderdale that offers tutoring, life coach-

ing and social activities for these children, youths and young adults. The organization has served more than 45,000 youngsters since it was founded by child advocates in 1985.

HANDY is supported through the Sun Sentinel Children’s Fund, a McCormick Foundation Fund, which benefits South Florida nonprofit organizations that help local families and children in need.

Rosean said connecting with Raquel Campbell, HANDY’s clinical therapist who also was a life coach, helped him open up.

“At first, it felt awkward to be here,” said Rosean, who today seems friendly and self-possessed. “I kept to myself. I was either in my room, at school or at church.”

Campbell said Rosean has talked about someday becoming a psychologist, so he could help other teens struggling with their emotions and life circumstances.

“When Rosean first came to us, there was a lot going on with him and his family,” Campbell said. “He’s come a long way, learning to be more vocal and making friends so he’s not alone during difficult times. He’s very bright, very sociable and gets along with just about anyone.”

HANDY keeps children focused on their futures with tutoring, life coaching sessions, field trips and scholarships. In less than a year with the agency, Rosean has graduated from a leadership forum done in partnership with Broward County, explored his emotions through music in the Motivational Edge program, and gone camping in Ocala, among other things.

A senior at Coral Springs High School, Rosean said he’s received two scholarships. He plans to join the military for about five years after graduation and then attend college — hopefully at University of California, Los Angeles, where he wants to play on the volleyball team and perhaps study sign language, which has interested him since he was a child.

Rosean is also active with the Kappa League leadership program for male teens in high school, sponsored by the Pompano Beach Alumni chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. And on Sundays, he regularly goes with his grandmother to Pentecostal Gospel Temple Ministries in Margate, singing in the choir and performing praise dances.

“He’s well-mannered and a good student,” Joseph said. “We feel we are giving him a good start, putting him on the right path.”

In Jamaica, Rosean said he was bounced between relatives and houses that were crowded and noisy when his mother could not care for him. So living with his Florida grandparents in their white house surrounded by plants, with its bright yellow door, “is pretty cool. They are pretty chilled,” Rosean said.

A number of HANDY kids are being raised by grandparents. “It’s a special bond. It keeps them connected to their families, if their parents are not able to be there at the time,” Campbell said.

Jennett, born in Jamaica, was one of 10 children whose parents struggled to survive on their Westmoreland farm. She left her native country in 1996, and steadily has worked with faith-based resettlement agencies to bring relatives to the United States.

“I always like to be with my kids and grandkids,” said Jennett, who also has family in New York. “It’s nice to be looking after someone.”

“When Rosean first came to us, there was a lot going on with him and his family. He’s come a long way, learning to be more vocal and making friends so he’s not alone during difficult times. He’s very bright, very sociable and gets along with just about anyone.” Raquel Campbell, HANDY’s clinical therapist

MICHAEL LAUGHLIN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Rosean Monteith, right, moved to the United States from Jamaica three years ago because his mother could not take care of him. He now lives with his grandparents, Joseph and Jennett Mottley, in their North Lauderdale home.