The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence fights the stigma and the disease of alcoholism and other drug addictions.

Fighting Back School-Based Mentoring Program

Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse
Santa Barbara, CA

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Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America proved long ago that mentoring programs really do make a difference in the lives of impoverished children who lack positive role models at home. The problem has been finding adults with the time to make the commitment necessary for mentoring to really work.

After deciding that a mentoring program could best be conducted through the school system, which offers easy access to children of all socioeconomic levels in a highly structured environment, the Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, the NCADD Affiliate in Santa Barbara and a member of the local Fighting Back coalition, turned to the community for help in finding adult mentors. The Council discovered that the city government and private businesses were eager to play an active role in recruiting mentors and, more importantly, to give employees the necessary incentives.

Rob Dayton, a 32-year-old transportation planner, signed up when he learned he could mentor a child for an hour a week during his regular work day. Now he meets with 10-year-old Alex at his school late on Monday mornings. They like to have lunch together, but sometimes they go back to Dayton's office where Alex can observe Dayton in his job.

"That's the really good thing about the program," says Dayton. "You're there at the child's discretion. There's no predetermined use of the time. Mostly I just listen to what Alex has to say. He feels like he has a lot of control over the situation."

Dave Gustafson, another city employee, has a different rapport with Sergio, a 6th grader. "Sergio's a quiet kid, so mostly we play basketball. We don't talk much in the sense that we sit down and discuss serious issues like gang involvement. It's more just being together."

Alex and Sergio entered the mentoring program, which currently serves 150 boys and girls, ages 8 to 14, through the Santa Barbara school system. Teachers and guidance counselors have identified these children as being at high risk for violent behavior, truancy, academic failure, use of alcohol and other drugs, and other problems.

Jean Carroll, who directs the program, matches the children to adult volunteers, including college students who come from similar backgrounds, based on information she receives from the schools, and personal interviews she conducts with each of the potential mentors. Common interests such as reading or body surfing help break the ice when the children meet their mentors for the first time.

"I look for shared experiences that will help them make strong emotional connections with one another," explains Carroll.

Dayton suffered from dyslexia and learning abilities as a child so he recognizes the similar frustrations Alex deals with in the classroom. Sergio, who lives with his mother and little sister, needed the companionship of an older man like Gustafson who could "shoot hoops" with him or teach him computer skills on his laptop when El Nino frequently prevented outdoor play earlier this year.

Carroll also admits that her "matchmaking" has a hidden agenda. "I want to get the mentors to fall in love with their children so that they will want to exceed the minimum requirements of our program."

With Dayton and Gustafson she certainly has succeeded. The men have mentored Alex and Sergio for two years and the relationships extend well beyond the weekly, hour-long commitment they made originally for a period of at least six months. Alex mows Dayton's lawn on weekends to earn extra money. Gustafson, who has three children including a boy Sergio's age, asks Sergio to join them for family activities. This summer they went to see Godzilla together.

Sergio recently asked Gustafson how long he would "be around."

"I'll be here to see you graduate from high school if you want me to," replied Gustafson.

Evaluations of the four-year-old program, winner of the 1998 NCADD Prevention and Education Meritorious Award, indicate that nearly half of the children had developed academically as demonstrated by satisfactory grades, improvement in attendance and classroom participation, and a series of other measures. More than half also improved their self-esteem and self-confidence, and their ability to get along with others.

The mentors themselves see more subtle, but equally significant changes. "At first, Alex could barely leave an intelligible phone message if we had to make other arrangements for meeting," notes Dayton. "But now it's a whole different story. He's a lot more responsible."

(9/98)

National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc.

244 East 58th Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10022 phone: 212/269-7797   fax: 212/269-7510 email: national@ncadd.org   http://www.ncadd.org HOPE LINE: 800/NCA-CALL (24-hour Affiliate referral)