The ability of a mentor to dramatically influence the life of a child is a powerful force — one that was clearly evident on Mohammad Amhed’s face on a cold January evening earlier this year as he stood before a crowd of potential volunteers and told his story. The Hammond Middle School student knew how important mentoring was in his own life, yet he was struggling to explain it to the standing-room only crowd at the Lyceum. His mentor, Caroline Myers, stepped in to help out.
"Sometimes I feel like I get more out of mentoring than they do," she said to the surprise of many in the room. "By this I am inspired, and because of this, I feel like I am involved in something important — something that really does mean something."
Now — seven months later — the city is holding a second free information session at the Lyceum. The free event is an opportunity for potential volunteers to find out how many opportunities exist, how they can take part in them, and what they need to do to get started. Michael Mackey, the city’s Gang Prevention Coordinator, said that the city is looking for about 200 new mentors.
"Mentoring is proven to help prevent crime, youth violence, gang involvement, teenage pregnancy and poor school performance," said Mackey. "No prior experience or training is necessary — just a willingness and desire to help kids."
THE CITY’S EFFORT to recruit mentors is a coordinated campaign that has its roots in a partnership forged last year, which Mayor Bill Euille dubbed the "Year of the Child" during his 2006 State of the City Address. The partnership was forged through a series of meetings between the Alexandria Gang Prevention Community Task Force and the Community Services Board. The collaborative partnership now includes 15 mentor programs, and city officials are eager to match potential mentors with kids who need their guidance.
"A lot of these children don’t have fathers in their homes," said Mary Riley, chair of the Community Services Board. "This came out during a 2006 public hearing on the needs of youth in our community."
Riley said that she sent a letter to the mayor after the hearing, which set into motion a series of events incorporating the work of the Gang Prevention Community Task Force. John Liss, who was a member of the task force at the time, said that preventative efforts such as mentoring are vastly superior to the law-enforcement approach that is typically taken by jurisdictions. According to Liss, the city has a gang presence but not yet a gang problem. So the city’s mentoring initiative could head off a serious problem before it emerges in Alexandria.
"Policing isn’t always be best solution to problems," said Liss. "Mentoring is certainly one way for the city to take more of a preventive approach, and I would certainly encourage people to get involved."