Mentors for at risk youth

Youth social affairs have increasingly come to be seen as a public-health problem through the globe. According to Fairfax Mentoring Partnership, in the US today, 17.6 million youngsters -- nearly half the youth population -- want or need mentors to help them reach their full potential. Unfortunately, many adolescents never manage to form connections with caring adults. This is not surprising, given that traditional sources of intergenerational contact--extended families, schools, and neighborhoods--have changed in ways that have dramatically reduced the availability of caring adults (Scales & Leffert, 1999). Nearly a quarter of all American children are born into single-parent homes, and half of the current generation of children will live in a single-parent household during some part of their childhood (Dryfoos, 1998). Cuts in school budgets have resulted in even fewer adults per child, and declining neighborhood safety has led to social isolation and restricted opportunities for intergenerational contact (Lerner, et al., 2000). At the same time, changing economic, social, and cultural conditions have sharply increased adolescents' vulnerability to negative life outcomes (Dryfoos, 1998). In the United States, youth are increasingly involved with illegal drugs, under-age alcohol consummation, violence, suicide, and poor school attendance and performance, if attending at all. Our aim is to encourage youth to pursue their passions and engage in learning the process behind constructing the body of art. For example, writing and recording a song, putting together a dance routine, play, or painting a portrait with the guidance of experienced artists such as Alzira and Dennis, who also grew up in Dorchester.