Mentorship group helps girls without a mother: "Even without my mother, I can be successful"
While millions of families celebrated Mother's Day last weekend, many young girls are growing up without a mother. Tragil-Wade Johnson, the older sister of former NBA superstar Dwyane Wade, is working to help those girls through the mentoring group, America's Big Sisters.
Wade-Johnson, who founded the group in 2017, told CBS News she helped raise her siblings when their mother was absent from their lives.
"When you don't have that one person that birthed you, it's a different type of loneliness," she said.
One of the women Wade-Johnson mentors is Adrianna Norfleet, who is the caregiver for her five siblings — including a sister with cerebral palsy.
"I'm the oldest out of all of us," Norfleet said. "And I'm always felt like I'm alone, like I always have to take care of them by myself and stuff."
She said she's felt less alone over the last two years, thanks to Wade-Johnson's guidance.
Wade-Johnson also mentors Jaliyah Henderson-Elliot, who said having a "big sister" showed her that "even without my mother, I can be successful."
Wade-Johnson mentors dozens of young women, forming connections that are especially important during this time of year.
"Mother's Day is a big deal for me because I did not have her," Wade-Johnson said. "Every girl always wants their mom."
