The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Boys 2 Men mentoring group needs volunteers
A mentoring group seeks to build positive relationships with youth and then to help them with school work.
School district representatives and prospective mentors gathered Jan. 25 for a Boys 2 Men informational event at the Harrison Cultural Community Centre, 1922 Hamilton Ave. in Lorain.
Jay Nimene, trainer with the reading and mentoring program and director of student and family outreach with Lorain City Schools, spoke to a handful of people during the event about what it means to mentor and gain trust in some of Lorain’s youngest residents.
Attendees also received a packet on mentoring training and an application for the program.
Boys 2 Men, which will run from Feb. 6 to May 14 as an after-school program from 3:45 to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, will be serving students in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades.
A Girls 2 Women program is also coming in the near future.
Tamara Jones, dean of scholars and family affairs for Lorain City Schools and one of the Boys 2 Men lead mentors, said participants in the program are behind in their reading levels by at least two grades.
Although the program’s focus will be on reading, Nimene said building trust with each student remains the most important facet of the program, especially in the first few weeks.
Defining trust through conversation is the first step, he said.
“When you have that discussion, it’s going to take some practice on your part,” Nimene said during the event. “It’s going to take some discipline on your part.
“As you correct things, remember we’re comforting and not confronting. We’re connecting. When you do that, it’s trust.”
After that trust is built, Nimene said reading exercises can be based on whatever interests a student, whether it would be magazines or comic books, or featuring sports or other hobbies and passions.
Even reaching out to students’ parents and asking students of places of interest they’d like to travel to can make a difference in mentorship outcomes, he said.
Trust can also be built between mentor and student by the mentor’s being open and accepting of their own mistakes.
There are some issues, however, which go beyond trust, as noted by another lead mentor Inez James.
“I like the idea of trust but in my thinking there are some things that we don’t even consider a trust issue: If the kid is talking about suicide, if the kid is talking about abuse,” she said.
Nimene said all mentors will be provided with emergency contact numbers and will also be mandated reporters.
Oberlin City Schools superintendent David Hall said it is also important to exercise confidentiality in these matters with students.
“That confidentiality within the school system, make sure it stays within the schools system and make sure it gets reported,” he said.
Boys 2 Men will be holding another event Feb. 4 as a meet and greet for parents, with an initial date for mentors and students to meet on Feb. 6.