City launches new mentoring program

Donna Custer believes she has a second son in Tony Gomez.

Custer, President of the Norwalk Mentor Scholarship Fund, has been Gomez's mentor for over a decade.

Always the dedicated guide and role model, Custer has stuck around long enough to see Gomez progress through middle school, Norwalk High School, and now, finally, to Norwalk Community College.

"I think of him as a second son, as part of my family," Custer said. "What began as a one hour per week commitment turned into an investment."

"She's like a second mother to me," Gomez said.

Now 60 other youths, ages 10 to 18, will have the opportunity to benefit from a similar relationship, courtesy of a three-year, $500,000 grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, a component of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Alongside representatives from various mentoring programs city and statewide, Norwalk Mayor Richard Moccia -- who is himself a longtime mentor - launched the Building Futures Through Mentoring program last Thursday at City Hall.

Adding to the foundation constructed by a host of mentoring programs already established in Norwalk, the new Building Futures Through Mentoring program will address the needs of youngsters facing adverse circumstances.

The initiative will build upon the infrastructure set up by the Human Services Council's Norwalk Mentor Program; Project Friendship, a Family & Children's Agency community-based mentor program; and mentoring efforts by Serving All Vessels Equally.

Jackie Effren, of the Norwalk Mentor Program, said the YMCA will serve as a host site for Building Futures Through Mentoring.

"All of the mentoring programs in Norwalk are around the table and talking," Effren said. "It enables us to serve more youth."

Mentors in this newest program must make a one-hour per week, two-year commitment, she said. All mentors and mentees receive membership to the YMCA. Mentors must also undergo two pre-match trainings, a background check and a tuberculosis test, Effren said.

Moccia said the goal of the program launch was twofold: to encourage more people to serve the youth population in their community and to demonstrate the success Norwalk mentoring initiatives have enjoyed thus far.

In a short video played in the atrium of City Hall, mentors and mentees described their unique experiences -- all were undeniably positive, encouraging and reinforcing of the message laid down as Building Futures Through Mentoring was unveiled.

One young student in the video said she reached a point in her life where she felt --¦like no one cared." Her ongoing interaction with a mentor brought a sparkle back to her eye.

"Research shows that there are a lot of positive outcomes youth experience in a mentoring relationship," said Soraya Bilbao, chair of the Mentoring Institute of United Way of Coastal Fairfield County. "But it needs to be a positive mentoring experience."

Mentees enjoy lower drop-out rates and improved academic performance, she said, while mentors benefit from a feeling of accomplishment in forging a bond with a youngster who needs guidance.

"I'm lucky to have someone like Donna," Gomez said with a smile.

For information, contact program coordinator Darlene Young at 203-854-7702, or visit www.norwalkct.org