Kevin Bonds With His Mentor, Changes Life
Kevin is described as a troubled youth with a heart of gold by the adults who work with him.
An eighth grader who has relatives in prison, he used to think that going to jail would be his destiny as well. Then, Kevin started going to mentoring night at a local church, Dominion & Power Ministries. This congregation is one of several that participate in Volunteers of America’s Mentoring Children of Promise program for kids with an incarcerated parent.
There, Kevin met Shawn Henry, son of the church’s minister and Jefferson Parish sheriff’s deputy.
Shawn became Kevin’s mentor and friend. Shawn also changed Kevin’s view of the police. Now, Kevin thinks Shawn is cool and a nice police officer. Sometimes, all it takes to change the perspective, and the life, of a youth is a few hours of time each week.
Shawn ways he volunteered with the program because he saw so many young men in trouble. In his job at the Correctional Center, he often talks with young inmates and recognized that they came from homes and communities with social and economic problems. He noticed, too, that the criminals were getting younger and becoming repeat offenders.
With a burning desire to make things better, Shawn and other mentors are doing all they can do show young people a better way.