Metro Denver Partners matches girls with mentors to help with life’s struggles
Five years after Essence Scott joined a Metro Denver Partners empowerment program for adolescent girls, a strategy she learned to navigate challenging situations still comes in handy. It turns on a phrase intended to keep her impulses in check.
“To this day, I think of the ‘ lizard brain’ vs. the ‘ wizard brain’ when I make decisions,” said the 17- year- old senior at Denver’s East High School.
Her mother says she’s seen it in action, recalling when Essence, then in the eighth grade, resisted peer pressure to drink alcohol in a large group. Now that she’s nearing her high school graduation, Essence’s mentor through the program says the young woman is taking a considered approach as she weighs her college options.
The Denver nonprofit, a recipient of a grant from The Denver Post Community Foundation’s Season to Share, aims through its Adolescent Females Group to guide girls in Denver Public Schools through high school and on to college. Often, they come from low- income households and face other hurdles on their way to adulthood.
Karen Quinn has overseen the program in its current form since 1995. Three subgroups each take in 13 girls in a typical year, with one serving ages 9- 11, another ages 12- 14, and a third for girls in the older range from the Montbello and Green Valley Ranch neighborhoods.
Although the program has had to scale back during the pandemic, it plans to use the Season to Share funding to recruit and match more mentors with girls.
Quinn cited several keys to the program’s effectiveness, including that referrals are made by school staffers and that the girls and their parents must be eager participants. The girls at first attend weekly group meetings aimed at developing their critical- thinking skills.
Then they receive their match — in Essence’s case, Hollee Hagen, now 32, who works for a health insurance company and had recently moved to Denver from Tucson. Hagen had experience with Big Brothers/ Big Sisters.
“It’s just, I guess you’d say, a gut feeling,” Quinn said of deciding the matches. “I’ve been doing it for such a long time that it’s just been so successful in the matches that I’ve had. We’re trying to allow these girls to have long- lasting relationships with mentors — hopefully lifelong.”
Jacqueline Scott, Essence’s mother, credits the program with helping her daughter grow into a “really level- headed” teenager.
“She thinks before she reacts,” said Scott, 48. “She doesn’t always go on impulse. She steps back and assesses the situation, using a lot of the tools she was taught in the first year. It’s helped her all the way around, I don’t even know where to begin.”
Hagen said the organization was upfront about the strong commitment it was seeking.
After four years of outings and activities together, Essence now counts Hagen as an ally, a sounding board and a source
In these challenging times, 50+ metro Denver nonprofit agencies will help our neighbors in need thanks to grants awarded though The Denver Post Season To Share campaign presented by Denver Active 20- 30 Children’s Foundation.
These agencies provide life- changing programs that help low- income children, families and individuals move out of poverty toward stabilization and self- sufficiency. Donations will be matched by Denver Active 20- 30 at 50%.
To make a tax deductible donation, see the ad on Page 3B, call 1- 800- 518- 3972 or visit seasontoshare.com/donate.
of advice for dealing with teachers, grades and social dynamics at school.
“I get to talk to her about pretty much anything,” Essence said. “She’s not going to judge, and because she’s an adult, she’s going to understand because she’s more mature.”
“I’ve definitely seen her bloom out of her shell a little bit,” Hagen said during a separate interview. “And I also see more confidence in her, which I think comes with age as well.
Essence is now looking at her next step, researching historically Black colleges and universities as well as options in Colorado. She wants to become a teacher. Or, perhaps, someone like Quinn, who helps young people navigate life — “like a social worker for kids,” she said.