Parents of Troubled Teens Now Have Support in Jefferson

B.I.L.Y. has come to town.

No, B.I.L.Y. is not a person. It stands for Because I Love You, and it’s a support group for parents of troubled children. And now Jefferson Township has its own B.I.L.Y. group. It is facilitated by township residents Heather Marsh and Pam Kelly, and meets every Monday night from 7 - 8:30 p.m. in a conference room at the offices. Marsh and Kelly started the group with a grant provided by the . The local group had its inaugural meeting on Monday night.

Because of B.I.L.Y.’s guarantee of confidentiality, Marsh and Kelly were unable to divulge how many people were at the first meeting, or what was discussed.

Dennis Poncher started the first B.I.L.Y. group in California in 1982 with just eight parents. According to its web site, the organization has grown to “numerous groups throughout the country and in Canada,” and “several thousand parents have attended our program and have seen runaways return home, truants return to school and graduate, children who were dependent on substances have become clean and sober and families have been reunited.”

B.I.L.Y. works on the principle of rules and consequences. According to its literature, the organization aims to “help parents build a stronger role within the family and, as a result, help the children in the family understand the responsibility they must take for their actions within the family unit.”

In its literature, B.I.L.Y. makes it clear that it is a support group, not a therapy group, and that the facilitators are not professionals, but can recommend professionals. The group offers no guarantees but offers suggestions, hope, support and sharing.

For more information on Jefferson’s group, contact bilyofjefferson@yahoo.com.