“I didn’t want my daughter to pass away and no one remember who she was and what she stood for.”

These are the words of Michelle Roberson, and they describe how The Bianca Nikol Merge With Mercy Foundation was started. The nonprofit honors the legacy of Michelle’s daughter, Bianca Roberson, a Rustin High School graduate, who was a victim of road rage two years ago in West Goshen.

Before her death, Bianca had accepted a four-year scholarship to Jacksonville, with the goal of one day becoming an FBI agent.

“She just loved everybody, and she wanted to take care of people who were harmed by the type of person who harmed her,” said Michelle. “I just knew I had to help and needed to continue to do what I knew she would do.”

The Mission of the foundation is to Empower and Reach out to Communities and the Youth about the impact of gun violence, with a focus on providing emotional support, educational assistance, advocacy, and outreach initiatives. Through its grief support program, for example, the foundation reaches out specifically to mothers and families who have lost a loved one to gun violence.

“I noticed that a year or two after losing a child, people tend to forget that we’re still hurting, and we’re going to always be hurting,” said Michelle, who also previously lost her son to a heart attack. “Grief is not talked about a lot. A lot of people don’t know what to say or do when someone has lost a child, which is very devastating. I feel like we need to be taken care of. We need to be loved and nourished, encouraged and uplifted, and I don’t believe we’re getting that.”

Staffed by volunteers who are themselves bereaved parents, the grief support program offers understanding, compassion, support, and hope to help other families survive the loss of a loved one to a gun-related death.

The program is just getting under way, but the team has already touched a few lives, according to its Director of Grief Support, Melanie Ross.

“We’ve reached out to a woman in Delaware whose daughter was killed on Route 202 and reached out to a lady in Texas who lost a daughter,” she said. “We want to help as many people as we can.”

Other initiatives planned by the foundation include college scholarships and a youth summer camp that will provide a fun outdoor experience based on the values of humility, goodwill, honesty, unity, fairness, and responsibility. The foundation sees this and other upcoming outreach events as ways to bring the youth and the community together.

“We want the youth to see that we are interested in one another,” said Michelle. “It’s to show that we care about people for who they are – without regard for race, creed, or color – and that we can love them for their souls, just as Bianca did.”

In addition to her work with the foundation, Michelle plans to become an activist for stricter gun laws.

“For mothers who are dealing with gun violence, I think it’s time that we come together, grow stronger together, and make a statement,” she said. “We have to go to Washington and pound on some doors. That’s one thing I’m working on as well.”

Closer to home, Bianca’s death led State Rep. Carolyn Comitta and State Sen. Vincent Hughes to introduce “Bianca’s Law,” legislation that would prohibit Pennsylvania motorists from carrying loaded firearms in their vehicles. According to Michelle, “If that law was in effect when the situation came about with my daughter, she would be alive today.”

The Bianca Nikol Merge With Mercy Foundation’s website provides more information on its programs and how to make donations. There is also information on upcoming fundraising events, such as a Flapjack Fundraiser Breakfast at the West Goshen Applebee’s on March 30 and a Beef and Beer at the Moose Lodge in Coatesville on May 10.

“The hatred and gun violence needs to stop,” said Michelle. “I just can’t sit around and see another family or another mother go through this.”

Click here to learn more about The Bianca Nikol Merge With Mercy Foundation.

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