Rev. Helen Sinclair, a retired Illinois chaplain and daughter of the iconic Rev. Jessie “Ma” Houston, who was the first woman allowed to serve as a minister to prisoners on death row in Illinois, urged parents to love their children more and ask them where they hang out to see where they are getting bad advice that leads them to a life of crime. She also urged youth to read the bible.
Know where they are going and who they are with
Reverend Helen “Mother” Sinclair, a 104-year-old mother of six and a retired Illinois prison chaplain, warned parents to pay more attention to their children and to love and praise them more or lose them to the streets..
Having recently lost two daughters, Fahmeeda and Kellie, Rev. Sinclair is concerned about the youth crime in Chicago where she spent most of her life until about two years ago when her son moved her to Jacksonville, Florida, to live with him.
Before she moved to Florida Sinclair, like her mother, the iconic Reverend Jessie “Ma” Houston, who went to prisons to bring toiletries, books, food, and a lot of prayer, followed in her mother’s footsteps and was appointed as chaplain of Illinois prisons.
At 16, Rev. Helen Sinclair accompanied her mother into Illinois prisons and began preaching and teaching inmates the importance of transforming their lives and being good role models for youth who may be following in their footsteps.
Like her mother she brought books for the inmates until prison officials banned that practice. She fought to restore that right. Sinclair wanted to teach the men to transform their lives and to be role models for the youth, so she said they could “stop the cycle of violence.”
To keep her mother’s legacy alive, Sinclair finally got her wish in 1991 when the city named a park at 5001 S. Cottage Grove Ave., one block from the Rainbow PUSH Coalition headquarters where her Jessie “Ma” Houston Outpost was located. She, like her mother, fought for the rights of inmates until her move to Florida.
Her mother, who was born in 1909 and as a child suffered from paralysis, began helping people with disabilities and also prisoners. Rev. Houston died on January 8, 1980, in her home in the 400 block of 41st Street in the same home Rev. Sinclair, who was born in Hots Spring, Arkansas, on July 14, 1920, lived in for more than 90 years before moving to Florida.
Familiar with youth crime, Sinclair referred to the many news stories about youth crime sometimes on a national level but especially in Chicago. She feels greater parental attention to children would curb youth crime. When told about the recent number of carjackings by young people, Sinclair was saddened but not surprised.
She was reacting to Chicago Police Department spokesperson Kellie Bartoli, who told the Chicago Crusader that from January 1, 2023, to December 20, 2023, there have been 1,258 vehicular hijackings, down 21.4 percent compared to this time last year.
Bartoli said from January 1 to December 20, 2023, 118 juveniles have been arrested for vehicular hijacking; 341 juveniles have been arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle and 473 juveniles have been arrested for criminal trespass to vehicles. As of December 22, 932 teens have been arrested for vehicular theft and criminal trespass; these crimes continue every day.
“We must love our children and talk to them more. Find out where they are going because if they are engaging in criminal activity, they are getting that from somewhere, from somebody,” Sinclair told the Chicago Crusader.
“You have to find out where your children are congregating and who are they getting information from.”
When told about the recent teenage takeover of the Loop and told Black men criticized the media for “demonizing” their children, Sinclair said, “Parents should love their children more, and the police should meet with the kids and have activities at the police station, then they won’t be afraid of the police.”
She said the police should reach out to youth and become a friend who could offer them resources and positive activities.
“The children will see the police are our friends who protect us, not our enemy out to arrest us,” she said. “We used to laugh and talk with our police. If they don’t trust the police, they are in trouble.
“We need to talk to and praise our children more, especially when they do something good, and yes, parents should be held accountable for the actions of their children,” Sinclair stated.
When asked what we should tell our children who are in juvenile facilities, Rev. Sinclair said, “We should tell them there would be no problems if they read the Holy Scripture sometimes while they are in jail.”
She suggested that someone bring the children Bibles while they are incarcerated and get involved with the youth. That is what Sinclair and her mother did for decades.
“We need to teach our children the Bible,” Sinclair said.
As a then-member of the St. Paul Christian Methodist Episcopal Church where she was ordained, Sinclair said, “At the age of five, I was reciting the Bible. I loved the Lord, and I had no problems telling and professing my love for Jesus,” she said. “This is what our children need the most.” Her parents were ministers.
Sinclair’s son Eugene thanked the Chicago Crusader for interviewing his mother. “It is a blessing to me to have my mother live with me,” he said.
