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If he had to make a choice between hanging out with his friends or spending time with his mentor, Jimmie Johnson, 15, said his decision would be easy. Id tell my friends I could see them later, he said. This is important. (My mentor) keeps me focused. He keeps me in line.
Jimmies mentor is Mayor Richard Moccia. He joined the mayor at the podium to help announce a new city initiative, Building Futures Through Mentoring. The program pairs at-risk-young-people with adult mentors who agree to meet for at least one hour a week at a supervised location. The program is a partnership between the city of Norwalk and the Human Services Council, the Norwalk YMCA, Family & Childrens Agency and Serving All Vessels Equally.
We want to bring more people into the program, said Darlene Young, the project coordinator. And we want to show the success of mentoring.
Research has shown that mentoring yields many positive results, she said. These include better school attendance, better grades and lower drop out rates. Providing a high quality mentoring relationship is key to the success.
Mentoring provides such a huge return for such a small one hour a week investment, said Donna Custer, president of the Norwalk Mentor Scholarship Fund. Custer attended the event with the young man whom she has been mentoring, Tony Gomez.
Young said the program hopes to attract 60 adults willing to serve as mentors for two years. Training and support will be provided. Building Futures Through Mentoring is funded by a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. Anyone who is interested should contact the mayors office.
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