CALEDONIA, Mich. — This Mother's Day was a somber occasion for Brandi Morey-Pols as she remembered her son, Rowan, whose life was tragically cut short at the age of six.
Brandi, a resident of Caledonia, is channeling her grief into advocacy work to prevent similar tragedies.
"It's been really hard," Brandi said. "I've had some really good times where I'm doing okay, and then I hit rock bottom all over again. But this week was pretty bad."
Rowan passed away while in the custody of hisbiological father. Reflecting on her loss and love for her son, Brandi shared, "He took it with him when he died. It's just pure love, and it went with him. I know he has all of our love as I'm already with him. I'm already hugging him."
The months after were tough on Brandi, struggling with self-blame for not teaching her son to seek help when frightened.
"Every day, I go over it and over it, and I went through a really hard time blaming myself or thinking if I would have taught him to run when he was scared, go to the neighbors or call mom."
"This has probably been the hardest week since after losing him," Brandi explained, marking her first Mother's Day without Rowan.
Motivated by her loss, Brandi is working to ensure no mother endures a similar fate. "No mom should ever wait 52 hours not knowing where her kids at ever. That's agonizing, and now that's about to change," she declared.
Brandi alongside her partner Heidi Britten-Zent, have started the non-profit Rowans Project. A way to advocate for children and parents, preventing filicide from happening.
Brandi's efforts have caught the attention of State Representative Angela Rigas. "When it was covered on the news that Rowan was missing, just as a mother, that kind of caught my attention," Rigas said. "This touched me as being a part of my community. So I spoke on the floor about Rowan and what a beautiful boy he was and is.”
Representative Rigas is drafting two bills, one being named after Rowan to address custody kidnapping issues, bypassing judicial delays in favor of immediate police intervention. "It'll be the Rowan Act," Rigas noted.
In an unexpected act of kindness, TikToker Niko Barber, with Neeks Cusom Sneaks based out of New Yourk collaborated with fellow artist, Natasha Gregorio to design custom-made shoes in memory of Rowan.
"I wanted to do, you know, a portrait of Rowan, and I wanted to add in Detroit Lions, because I realized he was a big Lions fan," Barber shared. The shoes arrived just in time for Mother’s Day.
Reflecting on her son's legacy, Brandi expressed, "I'm proud that he's leaving a legacy of kids that's really happy about that part and really sad it had to be him."
As Brandi continues her advocacy, The Rowan Act is set to be introduced this week with plans for Brandi to speak at the state capitol on the importance of these legislative changes.
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