Even with steady progress, program still seeks mentors

By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register

There is a calculated optimism that runs through the words and efforts of Jen Rose, the mentoring coordinator for Helping Services, as she attempts to get the Clayton County youth mentoring program off the ground and into something that is beneficial for the communities she has spent countless hours in, talking with businesses and schools and stopping by libraries to find individuals willing to dedicate their time to helping those who need it.

Finding mentors is an aspect of the program that has proved more difficult than Rose first imagined. Along with the undeterred positivity regarding the purpose and goals of the program, there is also the notion that slow and steady will win the race. Over the next three years, the length of the grant that was provided to fund the program, Rose is convinced she will meet the lofty goals to reach at least 160 rural youth.

The program is still in a sort of “planning phase” focused on marketing and recruiting mentors and mentees. Rose is visiting local chambers of commerce, making radio and movie theater ads and sending out a monthly newsletter for Clayton County. She also had her husband make Jack and Jill cutout displays to hold pamphlets for potential mentors.

This all led to some more moderate success, as Rose trained four high school students, or school-based mentors, around Clayton County, as well as one community-based mentor in Elkader. Those training sessions are broken down into three sessions that cover the do’s and don’ts of being a mentor, as well as what the role is, safety and maintaining confidentiality.

Rose also mentioned the possibility of revising the training manual to more accurately reflect the type of mentor she’s working with, since high school students and community members are likely to have different experiences. This includes the limitations of school-based mentors, who are often mentoring a younger student and can only choose activities that can be done on school grounds and during school hours. The connection often ends when the school year ends.

One aspect about the training process that was important for Rose was making the process less intensive and better suited for school-based mentors. The main issue Rose is trying to confront is in situations where a mentee might disclose something the mentor is unable or not prepared to respond to. In such cases, they should inform Rose or the school counselor. 

Such a situation occurred in Delaware County, where a mentor couldn’t handle something happening with the mentee. There is an element of making the mentor aware of their options in uncomfortable situations, like the one Rose found herself in when her 9-year-old asked “Where do babies come from?”

An interview with Rose at the beginning of summer revealed some moderate successes, though challenges persisted, as making connections since March wasn’t leading to the numbers anticipated. She spoke at some local churches and visited the library in Garnavillo and family resource centers, handing out applications. 

Rose also made appearances at all area schools, including attending a parent/teacher conference night in Guttenberg, hoping to reign in some applicants. While that didn’t yield large numbers, there was some success at MFL MarMac, where Rose got five mentors trained and ready to go, but in an odd twist, she’s having trouble finding mentees.

One aspect of this problem is that, when Rose started as the program coordinator in January, she was aware of a long waiting lists of mentees without mentors. There was a focus on getting mentors since, a few months ago, the program in Clayton County didn’t even exist. It’s also a problem she didn’t foresee due to waiting lists in other counties.

“I didn’t have very many mentors, so I wasn’t really getting that big push at the beginning to get mentees because I wanted to find mentors first,” Rose explained.

A possible reason is due to the newness of the program, as well as the recurring issue of follow-through when it comes to receiving paperwork back on potential mentees.

However, since realizing this was a problem, Rose has started a full-court press effort that included library visits across the country called Donuts & Direction. This program, coupled with other efforts, has led to well over 40 applications being handed out county-wide, as well as over 100 pamphlets. Early estimates suggest the program is well on its way to approaching 20 matches.

The first match in Clayton County was when Ann Gibney matched with a young girl named Maddie. In the last month as a match, they’ve gone to movies and made zucchini bread together.

The effort has also yielded three mentees. With school starting back up, Rose hopes some back to school events, speaking at assemblies, interacting with teachers and working with school counselors will lead to more referrals for mentees. 

Though the program is seeing growth, there are challenges Rose is working to overcome. Among them, similar to the unreturned paperwork for mentees, is getting the application back from potential mentors. It’s a problem Rose attributes to its length, coming in at 10 pages with a background check and training required. The four-hour-per-month time commitment is also a potential drawback for some. 

One main challenge that still exists is the lack of male mentors. Out of the 11 new mentors over the last few months, 10  are women.

This is not a problem unique to this program or  Iowa either. The Mentor Michigan program concluded that “Many men have liability concerns about being alone with a child, driving another person’s child or being perceived as unusual for wanting to spend time with a child or youth.” 

One solution, which Rose is clearly implementing through the surging number of events and community visits, is personal recruitment, which has proven most effective in solving this issue.

It’s a problem that, when solved, will open doors for many mentees to gain access to the benefits of mentor programs, like increased high school graduation rates, healthier relationships and lifestyle choices, higher college enrollment rates, enhanced self-esteem and self-confidence, stronger relationships with parents, teachers and peers, improved interpersonal skills and a decreased likelihood of initiating drugs and alcohol.

Sometimes it’s as simple as someone believing they won’t make a good mentor. Rose recalled such an interaction with a janitor who said exactly that. Getting them to believe, to make that first step, is just as important as everything else.

“You don’t have to be a hero,” Rose said. “You just need to be able to be a friend and be able to give someone your time.”