In this Karamo talk‑show episode, Barbara, a 40‑something aunt, shares the challenges of raising her teenage niece Ayanna after Ayanna’s mother was incarcerated when Ayanna was eight. Ayanna, now 16, has been involved with older men, used marijuana, been suspended from school, and repeatedly ran away for up to two weeks at a time, eventually becoming pregnant. The conversation explores Ayanna’s feelings of loneliness, her turn to drugs as a coping mechanism, and her desire for a better future. Barbara describes her attempts to intervene—reporting missing‑person incidents, confronting Ayanna’s peer group, and enrolling her in drug‑treatment programs that Ayanna refused. Karamo prompts Ayanna to consider quitting weed, pursuing education, and committing to a support program. Ayanna affirms she wants to improve her life, focusing on career, finances, and motherhood. The episode ends with a follow‑up: Ayanna gave birth to a son, Amor Ellis, now six months old, and reports that she is no longer running the streets, is attending school, and has a stronger relationship with her aunt. The segment highlights themes of intergenerational trauma, teen pregnancy, substance‑use intervention, and the transformative impact of community support.
Chapters
Barbara came here looking to help her out-of-control niece Ayana. Ayana was 16, pregnant, and hanging out with the wrong crowd.
Here's their story.
Barbara raises her 16-year-old niece Ayana and is terrified for Ayana's future. Barbara says that her niece hangs out with older men.
She disappears for weeks at a time. She's recently been kicked outta school, and now Ayana is pregnant.
I did get her at a young age. Her mom actually got caught up in a little mischief and then now she's in prison. Ayonna just wants her mom.
How old was Ayonna when her mother went to prison?
8.
And so how does Ayonna lash out at you?
She calls me all kinds of foul names. Fuck you, bitch. I don't have to listen to you. And you know, she's just very aggressive.
Do you have contact with Ayonna's mother?
Every day.
You do? Do you tell her what's going on with her?
Every day.
And what does her mom say?
She tries to calm her down too. Allowing her to know that she'll be home soon.
Now, how often does Ayonna leave the house and not tell you?
Every day.
Every day?
She will say, "I'll be back." I think I had probably like 8 or 9 write-ups, missing person, because I can't allow her to be gone for so many hours and not report that she's actually gone.
So how long would she be gone for?
2 weeks.
Have you ever met any of Ayonna's friends?
I have. I tell her they bad influence. One, they're older than her. She's 15. They'll be like 23, 24. If they older than her, then they have no business with her.
I agree with you.
I want her to be back enrolled in school. I want her to know that there's a lot of help out here.
And she is having a child. What was it like for you when you heard that news?
The comfort that she's looking for from her mom.
Why won't they take her back at school?
'Cause she actually brought marijuana to school. Suspension is a regular protocol where, you know, you go into a drug and alcohol program. And I have done that with Ayonna like 4 times, but she wouldn't go to the treatment.
I just acted out because when I lost my mom, I felt like I didn't have nobody, so.
Yeah.
I was just hanging out with the wrong crowd and I thought drugs was a solution.
Do you feel alone right now?
No, I have my aunt.
Does your mom know that you're pregnant?
Yeah, she knows, she's happy.
Are you happy about being pregnant? Why would you run away? 'Cause I heard you would run away for 2 weeks at a time.
Chasing boys.
Chasing boys?
Chasing boys. I guess I was looking for love.
What did you do in order to not be able to go back to school?
I brought drugs to school. I was being hard-headed.
Do you think you can stop smoking weed?
Yeah, I can stop smoking weed. It's not hard.
Yeah.
Have you done it?
What?
Stop smoking weed?
Yeah.
Have you?
Yeah, at this point in time, yeah.
Because you're pregnant?
Yeah, 'cause I'm pregnant.
Even though you have made choices in your past that were reckless, I wanna know for you, Do you wanna be better?
Yeah, I do.
And when you say you wanna be better, what does that mean?
Like career-wise and financially and everything.
This is a very heartbreaking situation for me because I see you, first of all, Barbara, trying. And I also see a young woman who is very smart, does want a better future for herself, but is hurting. Do you get to ever talk about that with somebody?
I don't like to vent to people. Most of the time when I tell people my problems, they laugh at my problems. So it's like, why do I gotta talk to you about it? You don't understand what I'm going through.
'Cause you feel like you're gonna get judged. And I want you to know here you're not being judged. Here I actually believe that you could have a great future. Do you wanna open up to people?
Yeah, I would.
Will you commit to going to this program to get your life back in order?
Yeah, I would.
You will?
Yeah?
I'm glad to hear it.
This was a start for her.
You're not a bad young girl. You're not at all. You just have had a lot of rejection. You've had people made you feel like you weren't worth something. You've had people made you feel like, well, maybe this is just all I get. But I wanna be the first, second actually, 'cause I know Ms. Barbara did this for you, to tell you you are worth so much more. Anything you wanna say to her?
I apologize for putting you through everything I put you through, and I appreciate you for keeping me and my sister and not giving us up.
Absolutely, not a problem.
I'm telling you, I—
I asked you what you like, and you said fishing, because I want to figure out a way—
I told my producer already, I'm personally going to pay for you to take some time for yourself so you can be—
yes.
How you got to make me cry?
No, seriously.
You deserve a moment for you to say thank you.
Thank you.
And I really appreciate what you're doing.
Thank you so much. It's people like you that literally step up and make our world a better place. Y'all gonna be all right. Just know that I love y'all, all right?
I am happy to report things are looking up for Barbara and Ayanna.
Take a look.
Hey guys, it's me, Ayanna, again. I had the baby. His name's Amor Ellis. He's 6 months. You see he's big. I love being a mom. It makes me look at life from a different perspective and you know, it really humbled me. I'm focused on school now. So yeah, thank you for having me back, Karamo.
Amor is really, really nice. You know, it humbled Ayanna a lot. And it's like excitement with having a new baby in the house. Thank you, Karamo, for having us on your show. Ayanna humbled a lot. And she really appreciate everything that you showed and told us as far as her learning experience. Thank you so much. Since the show, we get along a lot, lot better.
I'm focused on me. I'm focused on graduating. You know, I'm focused on getting my life to the next step. I don't even go outside and, like, run the streets no more. I love being home with my baby. And I'm not dating anymore, you know. I don't be running after boys. So, yeah. My main focus is just my child right now.
Since your show, we learned to get along with each other a lot better. We communicate a lot better. And we also get along and we go places.
I love being a mom so much, Karamo.
Thank you so much.
Oh, and by the way, Karamo, thank you so much for my fishing trip. I really, really enjoyed it. I took my mother. She had a wonderful time. Thank you, Karamo.
I am so thankful to hear these positive updates and that I was able to have such an impact on these people's lives. I'm truly grateful for all of you.
Believe me.
Thank you for being with us. Make sure to come back next time, friends, so we can keep talking and we can keep growing. I love you all.
