Mentors and Understanding Youth Development

How many of us remember what it was like to be a teen?

Probably many of us do. It sometimes felt that we thought and acted very differently than adults. And of course, we did. Researchers have found that human beings go through many developmental stages during our lives.

In cognitive development we change the way we think dramatically from infancy through our toddlerhood to the teen years and beyond. In other words children don't think like an adult does (or at least most adults!)

When working with youth as a mentor it's important to understand these stages and to work with them so that young people can develop and thrive.

The Teen Institute, a state-wide, nationally celebrated organization that works with youth, will be hosted by the North Country Coalitions to provide a FREE workshop on September 17th at the Mt. View Grand Hotel and Spa in Whitefield, NH to present on how we can "Celebrate Youth and Their Powere to Create Change!" While here the Teen Institute will review these stages of development as well as how to engage youth in activiites.

By the way, the youth in the photot above are in a team of Whitefield students called the "Wilderness Explorers" who climb Mt. Washington to the very top of the mountain and carried a banner on smoking prevention. Way to go kids! Not only can you create change but so can those adults who work with you as mentors.

For more information on the FREE workshop contact me, Valerie Herres at vherres@nchcnh.org or give me a call at 837-2519.

Coos County Coalition Strategic Plan Integrates Juvenile Justice Mentoring Initiative

The Coos County Coalition held its strategic planning day retreat on Thusday, August 13th in Lancaster with 20 members present. Coalition members prioritized projects, included the Juvenile Justice Mentoring Project into the plan and developed some exciting intiatives for the next year. Stay tuned!Photo above from left to right, Dave Graham from Northern Human Services, Donna Cummings from RESPONSE to Sexual and Domestic Violence, Cam Brown, Investigator with the NH Liquor Commission and Jan Millis, Director of the Berlin-Gorham After School Program working together to shape their ideas to share with others at the strategic planning day.

Environment Has an Impact on Youth Behavior

You can see by the photo in this posting that what is in our environment sends a message to young people. This photo shows the kind of messages we send to them around alcohol use - it's fun - it's ok to drink and race or bike - and everyone's doing this! In fact it's a big business. These are not very helpful messages.

One of the important aspects of a stragegic plan that is hoping to change youth behaviors must begin to look at these messages and figure out how communities, shcools and providers can sell healthier imges to our youth both around alcohol use and high risk, law breaking behaviors. Many times substance abuse and law breaking go together.

As the Juvenile Justice Project moves forward towards a goal of reducing court petitions for youth working to change the environment and messages youth receive are important.

Here are some helpful messages that reduce risk taking:

• Adult(s) care about you and your well being and you are special to at least one adult in your life. (Mentoring)
• There are people who are working together to make your life and the life in your community better. (Coalition Building)
• It's better not to break the law but rather to live a healthy lifestyle. (Community Support Programs)
• Abusing substances can lead to breaking the law by causing you to act in harmful ways and/or not consider the consequences of what you do. (Education)
• There will be consequences to everything you do so learn about consequences and avoid those choices that lead to negative consequences. (Strong enforcement of the law)
• People in your community care enough about you to get together and work with you and your parents on helping you make amends for what wrong doing occured. (Court Diversion)

These are some of the "good' messages the JJP wants to send.

4-H Camp in Milan on a Sunny Day

Some things stay the same.

Photos include the inside of a cabin at the 4-H Camp in Milan; a youth playing ball and the dinning room all shiny and new.

Summer camping and out of school activities are important for young people. Camp counselors provide an important role model that makes a difference in lives.

Everyone needs some "green time" outdoors. It's a wonderful way to spend part of the summer.

Strategic Planning Day A Success

Members of the Juvenile Justice Project met on July 27th at the 4-H Camp in Milan to review the group's Strategic Plan. After a successful meeting, members convened outside to have a tour of the facility by Larry Barker, UNH Cooperative Extension Youth Educator. Elaine Davis, Tom Austin, Tami Hartley, Rich Sarette and Kristi Hannigan listen in.

Juvenile Justice Project Strategic Planning Meeting July 27th

The Juvenile Justice Project will be meeting this coming Monday, July 27th from 8:30 to 10:30 am at the 4-H Camp.

Directions there are to travel to Berlin on Rte 16 or 2 and from Berlin travel west on Rte. 110 for about 7 miles. Turn left at the Berlin Fish Hatchery sign into York Pond Road. Follow the paved road into the White Mountain National Forest. Continue until you pass the gate to the Berlin Fish Hatchery. Go over Cold Brook on a small bridge then take a right entering the parking lot. The camp is at the other end of the parking lot.

We will be reviewing our strategic plan and share some reports on the recent needs assessment.
Hope to see you there!

Valerie

What is Mentoring?

" A mentor is an trusted adult friend with a long-term, consistent committment to provide guidance and support to youth. Formal mentoring programs focus on supporting the relationship between mentor and youth (mentee) and developing the character and capabilities of the young person. (From www.youthmentoring.org.)

Mentors may be adults or older teens. They may volunteer in schools, as coaches in sports, at recreation centers, churches, 4-H, Girl and Boy Scouts, after out of school school programs and other venues. Although long term relationships are optimal, sometimes a short time relationship with a significant adult can provide youth with a powerful role model that may last a lifetime.

Resiliency literature has indicated that many times the relationship with an important adult has made all the difference in terms of a young person's chosing to live a healthier life style and making better decisions. "Caring" is very important but other factors are equally important such as modeling clear thinking, positive beliefs and values, appreciating the importance of discipline and support.

The North Country Youth Mentoring Project Collaboration will be providing information and training on many of these important factors in addition to risk management of volunteers, normal youth development, engaging youth in decision making, supporting youth leadership development and other skills building elements. Stay tuned.

Welcome to the Juvenile Justice Youth Mentoring Project

Welcome to the Juvenile Justice Project (JJP) Youth Mentoring Blog. The JJP is a collaboraton established in New Hampshire's North Country in order to prevent youth court petitions and is an active working group of the area's Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition and initiative of North Country Health Consortium.

The Youth Mentoring Collaboration is supported by a grant from the NH Charitable Foundation and the Tillotson Fund. It is the result of an assessment process that identified the needs of local organizations that supported adult mentoring of youth and wanted to share ideas and efforts at volunteer recruitment, retention, protocols, training, and celebration. An important element of the Collaboration is to establish a Volunteer Mentor Clearing House to inform interested community members of where volunteers are needed.

It's hoped that this blog will be used for communicating developments for and by members of the Collaboration; for meeting and training information; as a resource for information on mentoring and mentoring best practices; and to celebrate our youth mentoring organizations and those volunteers who have taken time to support and celebrate our young people. It will also be a vehicle to share concerns and questions regarding youth mentoring and hopefully provide a platform for the sharing of tips and ideas.