Speakers highlight value of youth mentorship

A Multnomah County Commissioner called for action against youth gang membership and human trafficking during a youth mentor awareness luncheon Wednesday in the College Center.

Commissioner Diane McKeel explained to between 75 and 100 students and members of the community the importance of positive role models in the lives of children and teenagers in the community.

Carolyn Becic, executive director of Oregon Mentors, also spoke about what mentoring is and what it does to positively affect children in East Multnomah County. Specific examples she discussed included group mentoring, peer mentoring, goal-based mentoring­ and skill-driven mentoring programs.

Becic said, “Mentoring relationships build on trust. That’s really the foundation of what is a successful mentoring relationship.”

Asked what are the outcomes of quality mentoring programs, Becic said, “Kids in mentoring relationships are less likely to use drugs and alcohol, they’re less likely to drop out of high school, and they’re less likely to get involved with the juvenile justice system.”

There are about 54,000 youth across the state being mentored by about 25,000 volunteer mentors. About 74 percent of the volunteers are female and approximately 60 percent of the referrals to be mentored are male. While Becic said 54,000 seems like a high number, she also added that still only one out of four youths who need mentors volunteers are receiving help.

Up next was Rob Ingram, the director of the Office of Youth Violence Prevention, who has served under two Portland mayors, Tom Potter and Sam Adams. Ingram shared a personal experience from working with Potter in which the mayor moved his entire staff into a classroom at Jefferson High School for a week.

Ingram said he was proud of the work he and the mayor’s staff did that week at Jefferson. He, along with the mayor and a good percentage of the staff, spent a large portion of the week in the classrooms with students, finding out what they thought they needed help with, and then acting on those requests. After that week at Jefferson, 12 members of Potter’s staff started as volunteer mentors for North Portland youth.Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Nan Maller then took the podium to share her experience with the juveniles she’s dealt with for more than 20 years as a judge.

“Everybody needs somebody. Each of us has the ability to be that somebody,” Maller said about the need for volunteer mentors.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Rod Underhill and Amanda Swanson, a victim’s advocate with SARC, spoke about problems with young women and girls, some as young as 8 years old, being victims of human trafficking.
Underhill explained how Portland is part of a large human trafficking circuit, along with other West Coast cities such as Seattle, Tacoma and Las Vegas.
He also spoke of the critical role of providing stability for victims of human trafficking, who he said may not have to testify for three to five months after the indictment is handed out.

Swanson expanded on the idea of stability for victims by talking about a home being opened by Janus Youth at the end of this month that will have seven beds and allow for a stable, safe environment for victims between ages 14 to 17 who are in transition.

Underhill and Swanson invited attendees to ask questions, where again the main point was the need for volunteer mentors in the community and that the need is not limited to a certain demographic. Youth of all ages, genders, races and income levels need positive role models, according to Swanson; she said it’s all across the board.

Persons who would like to get involved as a volunteer in the community may contact Big Brother Big Sisters Columbia Northwest at 503-249-4859 or at www.bbbsnorthwest.org, SARC (Sexual Assault Resource Center) at (503) 626-9011 or at www.sarcoregon.org, SMART (Start Making a Reader Today) at (971) 634-1634 or at www.getSMARToregon.org, Family of Friends at (503) 813-7724 or at www.family-of-friends.org, I Have a Dream foundation–Oregon at (503) 287-7203 or at www.ihaveadreamoregon.org.