RANIA MANKARIOUS
Leading Crime Stoppers
and Mothers Against Crime

Never underestimate the power of a bunch of mothers determined to improve public safety for   themselves and their children

That is exactly why Mothers Against Crime (MAC) was created earlier this year by Rania Mankarious, executive director of Crime Stoppers of Houston. As a mother of three, Mankarious feels passionately about keeping schools, streets and communities safe for her children. She knows too that other mothers feel exactly the same way!

According to Mankarious, discussions about forming MAC began after the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. To prevent a similar tragedy in Houston, Crime Stoppers of Houston began to focus on empowerment and education.

“I always say there’s power in education and in numbers, and that’s what we are really working on,” she said. “Our goal is to get every mother involved, every mother a part of the conversation and, hopefully, to encourage all to take those conversations home to their children.”

She added, “When women come together, there are ideas exchanged; there are programs and plans that come out of our meetings, things we can do to help each other. We create conversations with different groups and start expanding the messaging, and that alone makes a difference.

"People are finding they resonate with this new approach we are taking as an organization,” added Mankarious who holds a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy, as well as a law degree from the University of Houston.

“Crime Stoppers’ mission is to solve and prevent crime, and we’ve done an incredible job on the solving side. Everyone in Houston is familiar with our tip line, 713-222-TIPS, but what they don’t know is what we do on the prevention side.”

Read more: CURRENT May/June 2014