George Dent: Mentor-Hero Changes The World
When parents go to jail, they take a piece of their innocent children’s lives with them. Volunteers of America helps restore these missing parts.
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Volunteer To Be A Mentor
It’s Monday night and George Dent checks homework in a room at the Dominion and Power Ministries church in Harvey. The school year just began, and Dent wants the boys at his table to get a good start.
Each boy, busily working his pencil while waiting for pizza, has a father or mother in prison.
For three years, Dent and other mentors have spent every Monday night, and other times as well, shepherding children in Volunteers of America’s Mentoring Children of Promise program.
'I Was A Kid Without A Father
Dent believes the best things he offers his mentees are his presence and his story. Sharing these things is simple and powerful.
“I was a kid without a father,” says Dent. “I was mentored by an uncle
and his son-in-law. Later, I was fortunate to be
mentored by men I worked with.” Dent married young and began working
for Jefferson Parish. “I started on the sanitation truck. I was on the
back of the truck. Then, a supervisor took an interest in me. I earned
my GED. I was soon driving the truck. I became a supervisor, then I
moved even higher to manage a lot of people. I was lucky to have a
great 40-year career and a good family. I was able to rise because
someone saw something in me. I see something in these kids.”
One of three boys Dent mentors is Santana Hudson, a fifth-grader with a
shy smile whose favorite subject is math and whose siblings also are part of the program. Santana says he knows his mentor’s
life history well. What is his his favorite mentoring activity? “It’s going
to New Orleans Hornets games,” he says quickly, identifying Chris Paul as his
favorite player.
It’s easy to see why Dent is committed to the mentees. With their
laughter, good manners, attention and energy, these children are as full
of promise as their leaders could hope. While mentors do many
one-on-one activities with the children, regular get-togethers at the
mentoring sites provide the structure and family feeling the children
crave.
Year-round, the groups meet to play ball, applaud
accomplishments, picnic and go to movies and athletic
events. On the outside, it may appear the focus is on fun, but the
mentors know that this is really an integral part of the healing and
support these children so desperately need. In turn, their caregivers
get a well-deserved break.
We Have A Teen With A 4.0
Average
Barbara Williams, site coordinator who organizes the Monday gatherings,
was motivated to volunteer as part of her activism in the church. Like
other congregations, Dominion and Power was an early, active supporter
of Mentoring Children of Promise as part of its mission to promote
social justice. “Once you get to know these kids, you are certain they
can achieve great things,” Williams says. “We have a teen here with a
4.0 grade average. Some of our kids have been through a lot; their
parents have real problems and continue to have a lot to deal with, but
there’s no reason they can’t do well. It’s our job to encourage them and
keep them on the right path.”
Program
Coordinator Sherlyn Hughes says the program's achievements
depend on the youngsters desire to keep coming back. The program's
benefits are well known in the community. Hughes often gets calls
from parents asking if their children can participate. She has to tell
them the program is designed only for children with an incarcerated parent.
High Rates Of Incarceration Are Hard On Kids
Louisiana has one of the country’s highest rates of incarceration, with
one in every 55 persons behind bars, according to Pew Center research.
When parolees are added, the number rises to one in 26. Thousands of
local children have an imprisoned parent, and each experiences common
vulnerabilities and disruptions. “Every child has his or her own story,” says Hughes, “and Mentoring Children of Promise recognizes that
although there are common losses, each child must be viewed as unique
with their own potential.”
Volunteers
of America teaches mentors—who agree to spend at least two hours a week
with their mentees—how to connect with children facing challenges
associated with incarceration. Social workers educate and guide mentors
and caregivers to understand and address the many issues--substance
abuse, peer pressure and sex, for example--children may face.
Hughes joined Mentoring Children of Promise after Katrina. She
says her goal for training volunteers is to help them understand what a
mentor is and, more importantly, what a mentor is not. “Mentors are not
substitute parents. They are not there to judge. They are
positive role models. If they have to admonish the kids, they must do
so with love. With our mentors, we are trying to build that village it
takes to raise healthy kids.”
The training focuses on issues surrounding the family dynamic among
child, caregiver and incarcerated parent. It is important for staff
members to be aware that by providing for the needs of each of these
persons, the family strengthens itself from the inside out. Each child
is carefully matched with a mentor based on his or her age, gender and
specific needs. Open communication among all involved keeps the program
on track and moving forward to help families create positive change.
While many mentors like Dent work with more than one child and family,
they must agree to give each child the individual attention they need.
Mentoring Not As Time-Consuming As Some People Think
Those who make the heroic commitment to become mentors are a unique
breed. Dent became a mentor when he retired, and his wife has also been
involved in Mentoring Children of Promise. He always encourages others
to join. “You see so many kids not finishing school, going to jail,
doing dope,” says Dent. “How can you not help?” Dent tells people that
becoming a mentor is not as time- and energy-consuming as many think. He
devotes three hours a week to his mentees. “You make time for the
things you want to do. This is one of those things,” Dent said.
Children are referred to the program through a variety of sources,
including staff visits to local jails and prisons. Hughes seeks out
children with incarcerated parents who may be overlooked. She has
visited Orleans Parish Prison and, with the rising number of women
behind bars, she makes a point of visiting a state prison for females in
St. Gabriel. “It’s usually the fathers who are in jail, but more and
more you see kids with imprisoned mothers,” Hughes says. “When we went
to talk with women inmates about the program, most all who had kids
wanted them to take part in the program and were eager to give us
their contact information.”
“Volunteers of America has been in New Orleans for more than 100 years,”
says Jim LeBlanc, Volunteers of America President/CEO. “One of our first actions in the late 1800s was to aid
destitute widows and orphans, who faced extreme challenges. In today’s
New Orleans, children with a parent in prison are one of the great
at-risk groups. Our organization’s mission is to serve at-risk youth and
children, families, seniors and persons with disabilities, so this is
one of the most critical programs we offer.”
Against All Odds
After Katrina, many Volunteers of America properties and programs were lost to the floods, leaving residents, participants and staff members scattered. Catastrophes like Katrina hit the economically disadvantaged and vulnerable harder than most. The Mentoring Children of Promise staff went into action as soon as possible to get the program running. They understood the impact the hurricane would have on their participants. It wasn’t long before the stellar program was receiving community support and providing services.
“We were able to re-energize Mentoring Children of Promise as soon as possible after the storm with the help of many partnering churches who were and still are essential,” says LeBlanc. “Because so many community resources were destroyed, reaching out to children with incarcerated parents became even more important. Our program’s children and caregivers rely on us to help them cope and work through the many issues that come to light when a parent becomes incarcerated.”
Volunteers of America understands the trauma of loss these children experience and the economic and social challenges that result from incarceration. We commit to stay with these families for the long-term, hoping to help them conquer barriers so often associated with those affected by incarceration. This is the key to the program's success.
The program also offers other critical services through its multi-faceted, family strengthening approach. Family visits and referrals to ensure each individual’s needs are met; children are given digital cameras to journal their daily lives and share those priceless moments with their incarcerated parent; parenting education trainings are provided through our Family Resource Center, partner agencies and churches. Volunteers of America understands that by educating persons while still incarcerated helps them to appreciate, improve and embrace their role as a parent and family provider, resulting in a positive reentry experience and reducing recidivism.
Mentoring Children of Promise has continued to blossom with support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the state Corrections Department, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the invaluable generosity of committed donors. The initiative serves more than 350 youths, ages 4 to 18. Much of Mentoring Children of Promise’s success can be linked to its partnerships and support network. A dozen churches and four community organizations serve as mentor sites. In these special places of healing, volunteer mentors and mentees meet to overcome the stigma, heartbreak and trauma that so often surrounds the incarceration of a parent.
Professional, compassionate Volunteers of America staff lead the program—and their efforts have been noticed. The program received a Volunteers of America/Annie E. Casey Foundation Family Strengthening award, confirming the commitment to work toward improving outcomes for children by helping families succeed economically and interpersonally, and connecting to natural community support systems.
In December 2008, the HHS’s Administration for Children and Families recognized the program for making the100,000th match among the Mentoring Children of Promise initiatives nationwide.