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Community Corner

Calling All Mentors: KIDSAFE CT Starts a New Mentoring Program

The KIDSAFE CT program is a Court Support Services Division-funded program that works with youths who have been arrested for minor offenses and is looking for Tolland mentors.

The non-profit organization KIDSAFE CT is starting up a new program in northeastern and north central Connecticut, including Tolland, that provides mentors for children ages 10 to 17 who have been arrested for minor offences. The program, sponsored by a grant from the Court Support Services Division, aims to provide essential support for its target group, many of whom are left with little or no guidance to better their lives.

KIDSAFE Youth Programs and Outreach Coordinator Paula Plante believes that it’s the one-on-one connection of mentoring that can create the change necessary for at-risk kids. “Mentoring definitely is needed,” Plante said. “Mentoring is what’s been proven to work.”

A national study of the Big Brother Big Sisters agency, conducted by the Public/Private Ventures research organization, found that mentors have a hugely positive impact on their mentees’ lives. After 18 months of mentoring, children were 46 percent less likely to use illegal drugs, 27 percent less likely to begin using alcohol, 52 percent less likely to skip school and 33 percent less likely to act violently.

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KIDSAFE CT Youth Programs Assistant and mentor coordinator Mike Wolter credits the everyday “teachable moments” between mentors and mentees for the method’s high success rates. He explained that whether mentors take their kids to the movies or to the grocery store, kids learn essential knowledge like money managing and social skills.

“I had a kid ask me once, ‘How do you get a stamp?” Plante said, explaining that many kids lack practical knowledge about routine tasks.

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Mentors will find, however, that answering questions about the post office is the easy part of the job. While mentoring is in many ways rewarding, Wolter said that agreeing to mentor is definitely a long-term investment.

Residents who want to mentor have to be at least 21-years-old, pass a background test, attend training and commit to a year of mentoring. Plante also cautioned that, while mentors are certainly making a difference, they shouldn’t expect to see any significant changes for months and should never try to change who their child is.

“It takes time,” she said. “It’s not about fixing the kid. It’s about making them the best person they can be.”

Despite the inherent difficulties of the job, Wolter and Plante stressed that the work is always worthwhile. Besides the satisfaction from improving a young person’s life, Wolter said that mentors often learn about new trends and music from the mentors. Some may even learn a new language if their mentee is bilingual.

Most likely though, the relationship between the mentor and mentee will be the most important gift from this program.

“They need that one person who is a constant in their life, who they can talk to about anything,” Plante said.

Mansfield Youth Service Bureau Coordinator Patricia Michalak said that the KIDSAFE program is an excellent new service that can fill a gap for kids in need in the region and encourages interested residents to volunteer.

“It’s a new and expanded way to positively impact a child’s life,” she said.

The program, which launched on May 16, is still looking for mentors. Participants should live in the portion of northeastern Connecticut covered in the program, which, in addition to Tolland, includes Andover, Bolton, Columbia, Danielson, East Windsor, Ellington, Enfield, Hebron, Killingly, Manchester, Marlborough, Mansfield, Plainville, Putnam, Stafford, Sterling, South Windsor, Suffield, Thompson, Vernon/Rockville and Willimantic.

Anyone interested in volunteering in the mentoring program or any of the numerous other programs offered at KIDSAFE CT can follow KIDSAFE CT on Facebook, visit their Web site, www.kidsafect.org or call 860-872-1918.

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