The mother of a teenage boy who disappeared from a Moncton youth home is making a plea for his safe return.
Colleen LeBlanc says her 16-year-old son has run away before, but this time it’s different, and she wants him to come home.
“He was fun. He was such a fun, happy kid. He is still a fun kid, he is just lost.”
James Hannah left the group home on New Year’s Eve and LeBlanc hasn’t heard from him since.
This is the fifth time Hannah has disappeared from the home. LeBlanc says she doesn’t blame the home for his disappearance, but believes her son is not a good fit for the system.
“He is ADHD, severely ADHD, OCD, conduct disorder, severe sensory disorder, but not a lot of mental issues,” explains LeBlanc. “He just…Jamie doesn’t like the rules. He doesn’t like to follow the rules at all.”
Group home administrator Mel Kennah says there are rules in place at foster and group homes, but they are not prisons.
He says integration within the community is part of the program and that includes the ability to come and go.
“These are not warehouses where people are just being maintained,” says Kennah. “They are greenhouses where we are trying to advance them forward with their goals and build on their success and get them more connected.”
Hannah is one of four young men who disappeared from the home in the last month.
Tyler Noel, 15, Kingsley Matthews, 16, and Travis Timothy Prosser, 17, are also missing.
Codiac RCMP declined an interview request but said in an email that officers are trying to locate the four teens to ensure their safety.
Meanwhile, LeBlanc hopes her son will hear her plea.
“Jamie, if you are out there, just call me and tell me that you are OK. Tell me that you are alive. It has been 29 days. It is not fair.”
With files from CTV Atlantic's David Bell
