'You’re still a mother': NYC advocate who lost son to gun violence sends out Mother’s Day boxes to grieving moms

NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — For the last six years, Michelle Barnes-Anderson has honored her late son Melquain on Mother’s Day by sending support in the form of relaxation to other grieving mothers across New York City, with help from her gun advocacy foundation and the NYPD.

The project sends over 50 handcrafted “relaxation boxes” to mothers in the five boroughs, and this year, Yonkers. Included in the boxes are gifts meant for self-care, like bath bombs, face masks, skincare kits, candles, wine and tea.

When discussing the project’s mission, Barnes-Anderson said that she thought: “Let’s send something out to other mothers who lost a child, because you’re still a mother. We grieve their name, we still talk about them.”

Barnes-Anderson lost her son Melquain to gun violence in 2017, a victim in one of that year’s 789 shooting incidents, according to data compiled by the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice from the NYPD. Between 2017 and 2023, there were over 7,500 shooting incidents across the city.

Melquain was a Brooklyn native, a sophomore at John Jay College studying sociology and he aspired to one day open a community center to help young men receive their GEDs. To honor his life that was cut short, Barnes-Anderson founded the Melquain Jatelle Anderson Foundation, which works to fight gun violence through education.

The boxes are delivered by members of the NYPD’s Community Affairs Bureau to moms who have lost a son or daughter to gun violence, and Barnes-Anderson ensures that the name of the departed child is included on each box. She said that speaking and seeing the names of lost loved ones is crucial to healing.

“You fight for them when they’re here, and you fight for them when they’re not. You’re fighting for them by keeping their name alive,” she said.

This initiative is just one Mother’s Day community event aided by the NYPD. The department also held its fourth annual Mother’s Day tea party in Brooklyn, and a community baby shower in the Bronx providing resources and gifts to new and soon-to-be moms.

Barnes-Anderson’s goal with this initiative is simple: Give mothers the chance to pamper themselves and process their grief by acknowledging them as parents, and their lost children.

“Saying your child’s name to you, like they didn’t forget, you know, your child was here and he meant something,” Barnes-Anderson said.