Mentoring Programs for At-Risk Youth

The word learn derives its origin from a character in Homers epic poem The Odyssey. When Odysseus, King of Ithaca, went to charge up in the Trojan War, he entrusted the circumspection of his Kingdom to instruct. Mentor served as the instructor and overseer of Odysseuss son, Telemachus.1In our society today, learns by and large atomic number 18 volunteers who atomic number 18 committed to aid students or juvenility identified as at-risk and/or as a authorisation dropout get back on give chaseacademically, socially, mentally and physically.The specific roles of mentors ar multifaceted and varied. Mentors are big br others/sisters, role models, friends and confidantes. Their death is to make a connection and then, victimization that connection, convey a plus heart to their mentee. Mentors build self-esteem, motivate and help four-year-old persons set goals and work toward accomplishing those goals. at that place is slim doubt of the richness of mentoring plans and the benefits they yield. Studies of existing programmes signal that juvenility who fortuneicipate in mentoring relationships obligate bring out attendance and attitude toward inculcate less drug and alcohol handling improved social attitudes and relationships more rely relationships and better communication with their parents and a better chance of going on to high education.2Unfortunately, all those who could be benefiting from having a mentor are non. According to Mentoring in the extracts deuce hundred5 A Snapshot of the rate of flow State of Mentoring, Of the 17.6 meg young people who could especially benefit from having a mentor, only 2.5 million were in formal, whiz-on-one mentoring relationships. 3In the put up of computerized axial tomography, over 160,000 childrenor 25 % of computed tomographys callownessare in life situations that place them at risk for personal and academic failure.4These situations involve poverty, inadequate early childhood experie nces and homework for school, family drug use, violence, fight in the venomous justice system and lack of advance to needed social and mental wellness go.Government, familiarity and civic groups and individuals are onerous to change that trying to make a difference. Since 1989, The governors Prevention union has worked with the State of computerized axial tomography, computed axial tomographys corporate and business communities and other public, nonpublic and community organizations to provide the leading and resources to assist 387 schools, 249 community organizations and 93 businesses in efforts to keep the children of the state safe, successful and drug-free.5This is being accomplished, in part, through the following programs.The computed tomography Mentoring confederationCreated in 1977, The Connecticut Mentoring Partnership (CMP) challenges business leadership to help give rise a statewide mentoring initiative as a prevention strategy to treasure jejuneness fr om drug use, school failure and other related problems.The program provides leadership, resources and reproduction to schools, businesses, community and faith-based organizations throughout the state in an effort to increase mentoring confederacys and promote safe, character reference mentoring programs.The Partnership also works to offer public awareness CMP has partnerships with NBC30, CBS Radio, Buckley Radio and others, a statewide media campaign recruits mentors during National Mentoring month in January. Raising awareness of the importance of mentoring is also done year-round. A toll-free number, 1-877-CT-MENTOR, provides information on mentoring and ties into a statewide database of mentoring programs.Recruit and refer mentors Business and community groups are assisted in recruiting their hands or members to serve as mentors. crack new mentoring resources, including public and private accompaniment power and promote public policies and order that strengthen mentoring and collect and track data.Activities and services of the CMP accept The Mentoring Training Institute practiced assistance and actualize on Connecticut Quality Standards for mentoring programs and assistance on program design resources and mentor recruitment, screening, training and program design Regional Mentoring Networks for program providers mentor recruitment and a toll-free Mentor Referral Line annual mentoring showcase league and workshops The Mentoring bodily Honor Roll and incarnate Mentoring Round Table that promotes, supports and recognizes corporate involvement and program valuation tools and resources.Since 1997, CMP has created over 200 new programs and more than 3,000 new mentoring relationships. Since 2001, 70 schools and businesses arrive at joined the Partnerships School Business Mentoring Alliance and 90 companies have been recognized through the 2005 Mentoring Corporate Honor Roll.6The urban Mentoring InitiativeThe Urban Mentoring Imitative (UMI) was cre ated in 2005 in partnership with the state of Connecticut. Over the next two years2006-2007the CMP get out initiate a mentoring expansion effort in Hartford, Waterbury, Norwich, Bridgeport, sassy Haven, New Britain and Windham.During that time, The UMI allow for be obligated for attempting to significantly increase the number of mentors for at-risk children in those communities. This impart be done by increasing the capacity of existing mentoring programs to pass more children developing new mentoring programs and models to process existing gaps and identifying and accessing additional resources.The two-year funding appropriated by the State legislature will be matched by corporate and private sector monies secured by The Governors Prevention Partnership. determine picking Mentoring design realise resource Mentoring Program (PCMP) is use to helping the young of the City of Hartford. Its relegating is to empower committed delinquent youth to make positive life choices th at will enable them to maximize their personal potency and be successful in their community.The program provides caring mentors who are fully dexterous and supported by the professional faculty of give resource and nutmeg tree liberal Brothers Big Sisters, according to Eddie Perez, Mayor of Hartford, CT. Project Choice mentors strive to be a positive support system to the youth as well as to the family by forming a relationship based on trust and respect. This allows Project Choice mentors to advocate for the youth in academic, community and family settings darn opening doors of opportunity that otherwise would not be available to them.7Project Choice started as an desire of David Norman in August 2001 at the Connecticut Juvenile Training School (CJTS). Norman took on the challenge of becoming a positive role model for one in need youth. Over time, the baby bird responded to Normans efforts with improved behavior, make others to notice the change. As a result, the idea of role model became more wide accepted and the term was gradually changed to mentor. This toleration allowed Norman and others to work with more youth at the CJTS facility and Project Choice was born.Project Choice works with Connecticuts Juvenile Justice and at-risk youth amidst the ages of 11 and 21. The program operates on a buy-in premise. It is completely youth-driven, ensuring that the youth have the option to buy-in (or participate). No participant is forced, mandated or court ordered to be part of the mentoring process.In 2003, Project Choice partnered with Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters (NBBBS). Today, PCMP also is partnered with Boys Girls Clubs of the States and together with NBBBS, work under the comprehensive of Connecticuts Department of Children and Families, toilet table of Adolescent and Transitional Services. Project Choice also is networked with the One-on-One Mentoring Program.Project Choice again expanded its resources by establishing a formal collaboration with Project Connect. Project Connect specializes in presenting alternative choices to youth and reinforcing the belief that positive behavior yields positive rewards.Youth Fair Chance, Inc.This national render is funded by the Department of Labor. Established on a case-management basis, this Connecticut program targets individuals between the ages of 14 and 25.Focus is on computer, business organization and life skills training tutoring, which is conducted four measure a week and informal mentoring. There are no specific ramble guidelines for the mentoring program, which currently operates on an as-needed basis. Set up within a peer-to-peer mentor atmosphere, Yale University students once in a while provide assistance.Other services offered by Youth Fair Chance include day care, summer employment assistance, support groups, high school diploma equivalency classes and recreational activities. Four youth program areas are presently being developed that will focus on gender-spec ific prevention programs for female person youth.During the 2005-2006 academic school year a follow-up evaluation of the school-based mentoring program was conducted by the Connecticut Mentoring Partnership. One hundred and xc mentored youth from seven school systems were evaluated.8The evaluation was viewed as a pilot or exploratory study that would serve as a stepping stone for future evaluations and mentoring research. Overall, the results were positive. The states mentoring programs seem to be stint those individuals who are somewhat academically at-risk and are subsequently able to sustain or improve their academic performance during the ply of a mentoring relationship. Footnotes1Reh, F. John. Mentors and Mentoring What Is a Mentor? Retrieved celestial latitude 1, 2006, from http//management.about.com/cs/people/a/mentoring.htm.2Mentoring in America 2005 A Snapshot of the Current State of Mentoring. Results of a poll on mentoring commissioned by MENTOR. Retrieved December 1, 2006, from http//www.mentoring.org/leaders/partnerships/index.php?s=CT.3http//www.mentoring.org/leaders/partnerships/index.php?s=CT.4The Governors Partnership Program Connecticut Mentoring Program. Retrieved on December 1, 2006, from http//www.preventionworksct.org/mentor.html.5http//www.preventionworksct.org/mentor.html.6http//www.preventionworksct.org/mentor.html.7Project Choice Mentoring Program. true from http//www.projectchoicementor.org/index.htm.8Connecticut Mentoring Partnership 2005-2006 Evaluation Results Executive Summary. authoritative December 1, 2006, from http//www.preventionworksct.org.