In this episode of Karamo, mother Lakita, who suffers from sickle cell anemia, confronts her 13‑year‑old daughter Kasiyah about a series of troubling behaviors, most notably the disappearance of Lakita’s prescription medication. Lakita recounts searching for the pills, finding them hidden in Kasiyah’s shoe, and enduring weeks of pain and hospitalizations while suspecting her daughter of theft. Kasiyah admits to taking the jacket to school, feeling scared of her mother’s reactions, and reveals a pattern of stealing money to help friends, getting into fights, and being bullied at school, especially about her late father. The conversation uncovers deep‑seated mistrust, guilt, and fear on both sides. Karamo mediates, prompting apologies, a promise from both to be truthful, and the creation of a safety code word (“Love”) for moments when emotions run high. Karamo also offers financial assistance for groceries, hair care, and a mother‑daughter outing, aiming to reduce stress and rebuild the relationship.
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I feel like my 13-year-old daughter, Kasiyah, basically tried to kill me. I have sickle cell anemia. I was born with it. Sometimes I'm hospitalized every other month, every other week. It's like been one of the worst things to happen in my life. I had previously got my medicine filled. I woke up the next day and I could not find them nowhere. So I'm looking, I'm looking, and I couldn't find them. So I called my daughter, Kasia's school, and I'm like, you know, describing the jacket that I had them in, asking them could they call her to the office. She walked in that office with my Durag jacket on. She didn't have the pills, they wasn't in my coat. So I'm like, where my stuff at? She like, I don't know, I don't know. What you mean you don't know? You got my jacket that they were in. How you don't know where they at? I took her to a police station when she kept denying that she didn't have the pills. She wouldn't even tell the police officer what she did with them. This whole time I've been going through pain. My doctors won't even give me another prescription because I had just got it. I suffered for going on almost 3 weeks. I went in her room to go search for what was missing, and I'm throwing stuff out her closet. And I threw a shoe. I heard the pills rattle, and I found them in the shoe. I can't believe my daughter did that to me. I can't believe she was the one who took my medicine. It was like she was just watching and letting me suffer. I'm going back and forth to the hospital. And then, like, you know, with the previous behavior, she's stealing, she's fighting in school. I'm getting calls every other day now from the teachers. She's 13. I've been a good mom. She knows right from wrong. If she doesn't open up to Karamo, she'll be out my house in a group home, boarding school, boot camp, something.
Listen, we'll meet Lakita shortly, but let's start with her 13-year-old daughter, Kasiyah, who is backstage and did not watch that tape. So everyone, please welcome Kasiyah.
Hi, Kasiyah.
How are you?
Good, how are you?
May I have a hug? Nice to meet you. Thank you for being here. It's very brave of you to be here. So, Kasiyah, let me just confirm. How old are you again?
13.
So your mom is trying to send you to a group home, I heard.
Yeah, because she trying to send me there because she say that I be stealing and it be snacks and that I be taking out the house and she calls that stealing.
Okay. Did you steal your mom's pills?
No, I took the jacket to wear to school 'cause it was cold outside. And I ain't know.
[Speaker] Okay, okay, I hear you. So when your mom came looking for the pills, what went through your mind?
[Speaker] I got nervous 'cause she came to my school with a belt and I got real nervous. Anytime I get in trouble, it's like she yells at me or I always get in trouble for something and she brings up old things that I thought we had got past. And she still brings them up today.
And what kind of thing does she bring up?
She'll get mad because like I took some money or something like that. Like she'll get mad over little things.
Have you taken money out?
Yeah, one time.
Uh-huh.
Because me and my friend, my friend's always paying for me for stuff. So I took money to pay for them.
Got it. So it was like $20? Okay. Do you get in fights in the school?
Yes, I only got into 3 fights last year because they kept messing with me, kept bullying me. They put their hands on me and my mama told me if they put their hands on me, I can hit them back.
What were they bullying you about?
Like they say, they bully me about my mom and my father. I'm musty or my hair always not done and things like that.
So why do you steal those things? I heard some of 'em is because you're trying to help, you wanna like pay so your friends don't have to pay. But why else do you think you're stealing?
Really because my father passed away and they say things about him.
When did your father pass away?
When I was young, like real, real little.
Okay, I'm sorry. So how do you feel about your mom?
I love her.
Yeah. Yeah. Why are you getting emotional right now? What's going on?
'Cause I love her, but then I don't want her to be mad at me all the time.
Yeah, I hear you.
I hear you.
Here you go. Right here. Oh. Well, I think it's time that we talk to your mom and hear Lakita's side of the story. So everyone, please welcome Lakita to the show. Hey, how are you doing? Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you too. So how do you feel about what you just heard?
That's not the total truth.
Okay.
And I do give her chances before I get upset to tell the truth about the things.
Yeah.
And just recently, like coming here, she stole money from me out my wallet, you know?
Did you steal money again out of her wallet?
That's what I was saying about the money and She had got upset. She gave me a chance to put it back. So she said if I put it back, I won't be in trouble. So I put it back and I still ended up getting in trouble.
So how many times have you taken money?
Once and then once when I was little.
So twice.
So twice total. Okay. Is that true, Mom?
That's not true.
How many times do you think she's done it?
Anytime that I'll lay some money down and I don't pay attention, if I don't pay attention, she will get it. She's even taken from her little sister. And I feel like that's going too far.
You told my producers that you said that your mom, when she said put back the money, she said if she don't, she'll kill you.
Yeah.
Is that what you said?
I could have. Yeah. Being upset because it was just from her going to my room to grab my wallet.
I understand.
At the end of the hallway, she had took the money out.
Yeah. So you mentioned this is Kasia's last chance. What do you mean by that?
Yes, because I don't wanna put her out, but she has to go. It's a lot of stress on me.
Kasia, why you feel like you can't ask your mom for money?
Because she won't give it to me.
Mm-hmm.
What I ask you to do to get yours, stuff. I only asked her to do her chores.
Mm-hmm. How long were your pills missing?
They were missing a month.
A month?
Yeah. I had family members trying to help me get medicine so I wouldn't have to go into a withdrawal. I'm having sickle cell crises and she's seeing me have these crises. Mm-hmm. And the whole time they were in my house in her room.
Mm.
And like I said, you know, I went and got so upset and maybe she would've threw 'em somewhere. And I would've been like, maybe I misplaced them and found them. But she didn't do that. They were in her closet. She watched me find them.
Mm-hmm. What do you want from Kasiah now, right now?
I would like for her to open up to you, to find out how we can help her because I'd rather have her in the house than out the house. But if that's what I got to do, I'll do it because I don't wanna see her fail. That's my child. I can't see her fail under me and not do nothing about it.
Yeah, I hear you. Kasiyah, is there more to this story about the pills that you're not telling your mom?
Yeah.
Okay, you ready to tell your mom now? What's going on with the pills? What happened?
Her jacket was right by the basket by her door. I was putting it on, we got to school, she come to my school with a belt, upset, mad. So I'm getting nervous. She getting people talking and stuff. And then one time she go in my room looking for something totally different. And find them. So I was like, yeah, I took it 'cause I was scared.
No, you didn't.
I didn't take it.
When you seen me find them pills in your closet, you still said you didn't know that they was there. You denied it all the way up till I found them in front of you.
Why did you take 3 weeks to tell your mom?
Because I was scared. 'Cause I already knew she was gonna get mad at me.
You scared of your mom's reaction?
And I understand that.
Yeah, I get it. How did you feel when your mom had to go to the hospital?
I felt like a whole bunch of guilt.
Did you know she had guilt about that?
I know, I know, 'cause she didn't express nothing. She just kept denying it. I didn't know that she felt like that.
Were you sorry?
Yeah.
Tell your mom right now. Talk to her. You got to open up to her.
We all we got.
Mama, I'm sorry.
But you know I love you to death because I am. It don't got to be like that. I will listen to you.
But Mama, anytime I do try to open up to you, you always blame it on the stealing. You always say that.
You're right, because that's what I'm used to. You right.
'Cause, Mom, the reason I lie is because your reaction. It just be a lot. And then you already know at school I get bullied. And yeah, sometimes I do get bullied about you, about my father, and sometimes I'll come home and you don't even know.
You tell me, and you know I have your back 100% when it comes down to that. I gotta get you outta that school.
I mean, I'm gonna tell you this, you know you have a good little girl.
I do.
She is. But if I can also be real with you, I'm listening to this and there's a lot of things at play here. Hearing that a young woman lost her father at such an early age and also knowing a mother could also be sick, hearing her talk about guilt and those things. There's a bit of this that is also about like abandonment. I'm gonna, afraid of losing you as well.
What if I lose my mom? Somebody has told me that before, that she's afraid of losing me and has lost her father as well.
It is, it is. But I'm gonna tell you and I'm gonna go the next step for you because even though you're here, when you react a certain way, she feels like I'm losing her again. And again, you're stressed. I get it, I get it.
And I go through that a lot of being overwhelmed.
You're allies, not enemies. You're allies, not enemies. I wanna do this for you because I could see an easy solve for this and a first step solve. You're a kid, so I know you're not gonna ever stop making mistakes. You're allowed to make your mistakes. But if you make a mistake, can you promise to your mom that you'll tell her the truth the first time? And if she reacts.
I make a promise, if she tell me the truth, I will not react. You tell me the truth the first time, I will not react. I promise you.
And I promise I'll tell you the truth more.
So now this is it. If she reacts, okay, I want you to have a little code word, okay? You pick the word right now and this gonna be the word she knows, I'm getting scared. This will be you as the adult to say, I know that she's getting nervous. When she gets nervous, she shuts down. What's that word gonna be?
Love.
Love.
Oh, that's cool.
That's a perfect word.
So anytime your mom, you feel like her reaction's getting too much, you just say love. We've been there. And I also heard you when you said that you got made fun of stuff like your hair not being done. I heard the things about snacks. I got it. I listened. And I grew up in a house where like we needed support, okay? So what I wanna do is I'm gonna offer y'all a gift. I'm gonna go ahead and give you some money. So take off the weight off of you, okay? I'm gonna give you some money so y'all can, you can get groceries, you can get her hair done, you can have a little extra money in your pocket. I'm gonna go ahead and give you also some money that y'all can like have a quality mother-daughter date together. I want you to walk away not only having this but having a little something. Because I know that's part of the stress as well.
Thank you.
Okay, how do you feel about this?
I feel better.
Can you hug your mother? I love you. I love you too. This is a great day. This is a first step, but y'all gonna be all right. Y'all gonna be all right.
