1 week Ago
Volunteers for Youth Justice office Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Cammi Handy, who coordinates youth mentoring programs for the Volunteers for Youth Justice , could use your help. Handy and the VYJ are seeking men and women to mentor local middle school and high school youth. The program has been around since 2008, first as Girls Empowered to Move Successfully.
Later, a program was added for boys, Gentlemen Excelling and Navigating Toward Success. "I've seen that children today need a lot of nurturing from someone who is on their side," Handy said. "Just from watching the connections I've made, I can see the value.
It's for someone to lean on, to be there for you at this time of life." Mentors, who must be at least 21 years old and go through training, should plan to make contact by calling or texting at least once a week and via in-person visits or activities twice a month. VYJ has 15 mentees, ages 13 through 18, awaiting mentors.
Volunteers for Youth Justice logo Tyrell Walton volunteered for the first time just before COVID hit. He met his third mentee this week. "My first time doing it was a very rewarding thing," he said.
"We learned from each other." Walton first mentored a 15-year-old boy who had missed 89 days of school the year before. He's now 19 and about to enlist in the U.
S. Navy. "We're still in communication to this day," Walton said.
"He grew up in an environment that wasn't the best. He just needed an outlet, listening without judging him. He tried me at times, but I'm proud of him for working hard.
" Potential mentors can contact Handy at 318-425-4413, extension 105, or [email protected] .
Advocates for neglected, abused foster children That isn't the only volunteer opportunity through the organization. A $50,000 grant from the U.S.
Department of Justice has been awarded to the VYJ's Court Appointed Special Advocate program, which provides volunteers who are "the eyes and the ears" for monitoring foster children involved with courts due to abuse or neglect. "I don't think it's a secret that the (Department of Children and Family Services) is overwhelmed and is not always able to keep an eye on that as much as would be warranted," Erin Woods of the VYJ said. Kelli Todd, the group's executive director, called the grant "a significant step forward.
" The local program is one of 941 around the nation that fills this role, and it handles cases in Caddo, Bossier, DeSoto, Webster, Bienville, Claiborne and Jackson parishes. "That was a big, big, big deal for us," Woods said. More advocates will now be recruited and trained to follow closely with these foster children.
Anyone interested in being a court-appointed special advocate can visit the Volunteers for Youth Justice web site ..
