Big brother is watching: Why kids can’t get enough
Mentoring system carefully matches children with older ‘siblings’
Once a week, 9-year-old Heath Lineham spends an hour or two with a couple who until recently were total strangers to him. Will and Olya Prosor, from Auckland, take him to the movies, to the library or to the beach. They go fishing or play video games.
They’re not family, but they get on very well. That’s because they’ve been carefully matched after an assessment process which takes into account their personalities and needs.
They were matched by the Auckland branch of a global group called Big Brothers Big Sisters, which provides mentors to kids who don’t have a steady adult presence in their lives.
“Everything has changed since they came along,” Heath said. “I have a more active lifestyle, even started walking to school or riding a bike.”
Will and Olya — who call Heath their “little” — also benefited.
“Other than the huge sense of pride in him . . . the biggest impact is how we view our place within the world,” Will said.
“Before having [Heath], it could feel overwhelming in trying to make a positive impact on the world because often you don’t see a result.
“With our little, it is a constant gratification when we spend time together, or often in between.”
Big Brothers Big Sisters started taking referrals in Auckland in January — and said it had been well received with plenty of Aucklanders volunteering.
“Our mentors come from all walks of life — young professionals, retirees, or those whose children have grown up and flown the nest,” said programme manager Jessica Finucane.
People volunteer because they didn’t have a role model themselves while growing up, and they want to be that person for a child. Or they had experienced the positive impact mentoring has had on their lives.
While it had been easy to find “big brothers” and “big sisters”, huge demand for the service meant the organisation has had to find funding to expand the service. It is launching a fundraising campaign this month.
A grant from SkyCity has allowed it to sponsor 40 kids this year. In all, 100 children have signed up for mentoring so far. Matching them, recruiting and vetting their mentors costs about $1500 a year per child.
Finucane said the large number of referrals was partly because of New Zealand’s relatively high family violence rate. But not all referrals were from broken homes. Many kids just lacked a role model or did not get enough adult attention because they were in big families.
In Heath’s case, he was struggling to manage his emotions and behaviour at home, and he did not have a relationship with his biological father. He is the oldest of four kids.
“Having one-on-one time while doing the activities of his choice is a bit more rare than for some kids,” Olya said.