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Mentors support at-risk youth
By Tara Gaultney
OntQon D&fy
For most people, adolescence is a confusing age.
they're not quite a < hild anymore, and yet not an
adult either.
However, for some youths, dealing with an abu
sive or neglectful home life, in which parents
either don't provide the guidance they need or
simply aren't able to, that ago can be even more
difficult.
These arc the youths who are more at risk to
drop out of school, become pregnant at an early
age. or get involved with drug use or gang activi
ties
Committer! Partners for Youth was started in
1901 to help provide mentors for such at-risk stu
dents. to provide them support and encourage
ment. and to help them build self-esteem. Current
ly there are 28 mentor-youth pairs involved in the
program Six of the 28 mentors aro University stu
dents.
The seven-month program works with youth
who. with the help of participating middle
schools, are identified as "at-risk." The program is
strictly voluntary, so youth in the program are
there because they have the desire to make a
change in their lives
When young people first decide to become
involvod with the program, they identify three
goals designed to make a difference in their indi
vidual lives, whether it's getting in trouble less,
making more friends or becoming more successful
at school.
The mentors help the youth set realistic goals
and help guide them to succeed in those goals But
they are mainly there for support.
Although the program is like the Big Brother/Big
Sister program in that it provides a one-on-one
relationship between adult and youth, it is unique
in the fact that mentors and youth actually estab
lish a community among themselves.
"We create a community where these kids can
gel support." said Rosanna Galindo, program man
ager "So they don't only develop a relationship
with their mentor, they create a relationship with
34 other adults."
The mentors go through an initial training work
shop to begin building the community and support
among themselves and to start giving them the
We create a community
where these kids can get
support. So they don’t only
develop a relationship with
their mentor, they create a
relationship with 34 other
adults
— Rosanna Galindo,
Committed Partners for Youth
skills they need to work with their youths.
Although the emotional commitment is large,
the time commitment is small.
There are two meetings a month. One is a com
munity meeting with mentors and youths. The
other involves mentors only.
Every third woek there is an event, which in the
past has been anything from a barbecue to a rafting
trip. And, of course, there is the one-on-one time
spent between mentor and youth, onto a week.
Group activities are very structured: however,
time spent between mentor and youth is com
pletely up to the pair and can be anything from
going to a movie to rollerskating with a group of
mentors and youths to simply hanging out on tarn
pus together.
Psychology major David Victor said that even
though the youth he is helping lives in Springfield,
ho had never been on the University campus. Vic
tor said being at tho University was a groat expe
rience for both of them.
Victor was able to show his young person the
opportunities available to him if he stays on tracIA
and Victor learned a few new things from hi9
youth partner about computers while at the Uni
versity computer lab.
No experience in counseling or psychology is
required to become a mentor, only the desire to
make a commitment to a young person who needs
someone to trust and to look up to. Univorsity stu
dents can earn credit through ESCAPE by par
ticipating in the program. Galindo said they would
like to see more University students involved in
the program. With more mentors. Galindo said,
they could reach more youths.
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