Volunteer mentors empower inner-city youths - Southwest Neighborhood Assembly Youth Activities Task Force, Washington, D.C

Children Today, Jan-Feb, 1990 by Patricia Rowe

Volunteer Mentors Empower

It makes you feel grown-up working your brain like this," says 17-year-old high school senior Lashawn Hamilton, reflecting on her job internship last summer in the Center on Children and the Law, the child advocacy, research and education arm of the American Bar Association (ABA) office in Washington, D.C. Lashawn's duties--which entailed mastering complex telephone and filing systems, "faxing" material to other ABA branch offices, preparing mailings of ABA publications, proofreading, and typesetting--was arranged for her by the Southwest Neighborhood Assembly Youth Activities Task Force. Spearheaded and staffed by volunteers and located in the Southwest community of Washington, D.C. this summer job placement program recruits, trains, and counsels neighborhood minority youth with the goal of helping them find and maintain meaningful employment.

The Youth Activities Task Force consists of government employees and other interested adults who serve as mentor-counselors to young people aged 14 to 21. Since it was organized in 1982 as an ad-hoc community group concerned about meeting the needs of young people in Southwest Washington, the Task Force has placed as estimated 450 to 500 teens in summer positions. In a 10-week orientation/training period designed to nurture in the teens a sense of achievement and self-esteem, mentors help the youth-who are primarily from disadvantaged, single-parent or low-income families-prepare resumes, master the job interview process, and develop marketable skills.

Barbara Hurlbutt, who has participated in the program since it was launched, notes that the Task Force gives the teen interns an entree into the employment world and a "leg up" into permanent white collar or skilled jobs. She notes: "One of the primary advantages of our program is that it teaches youths what is expected of them in the job world so they won't experience 'culture shock.' They learn that there are consequences to their behavior and actions, and they come to see the link between the Task Force experience and their paychecks. They learn how to seize initiative, budget money and be responsible. The Task Force offers guidance and information to help the kids develop good work habits and discipline, and it regularly monitors their employment progress."

In 1983, the Youth Activities Task Force was incorporated into the Southwest Neighborhood Assembly, becoming one of its major auxiliaries. Founded in 1964, the Southwest Neighborhood Assembly is a voluntary, nonprofit association that seeks to improve the quality of life for residents of Southwest Washington by offering a variety of educational, social and economic programs and activities for adults and youth.

Task Force membership ranges from 15 to 20 volunteers, most of whom are Southwest Washington residents or live outside the area but have an interest in that part of the city either as potential employers or citizens with a deep concern for neighborhood youth. Throughout the year, members hold regular monthly meetings and about 25 subcommittee meetings to plan the summer placement program-recruiting mentors and interns, identifying employers who will hire students, and determining the scheduling and content of the orientation/training program.

Breaking Down Barriers

Thelma Jones, former president of the Southwest Neighborhood Assembly and the organizer of the Task Force orientation/training sessions, describes the evolution of the Task Force in relation to the onset of urban renewal and housing development in the late 1950s. These initiatives altered the socioeconomic and demographic character of Southwest Washington and spawned diverse--sometimes conflicting--concerns and priorities among area residents. According to Jones, 30 years ago Southwest D.C. was predominantly the home of poor black families, but after urban renewal some of these families were forced to leave the area because their homes were demolished to make way for luxury high-rise condominiums and town houses.

Jones stresses that the Task Force is a way to break down barriers, to reconcile economic or cultural differences, and to foster respect and trust between residents of the expensive town houses and those in the low-income housing projects. She notes, "When people know each other and can say 'hello,' they feel safer. There is more community spirit and unity. I believe people at either end of the economic scale can work together to mutual advantage."

Delmar Weathers, Chief of the Adoption Opportunities Branch in the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children, Youth and Families, trains the mentors. "The program depends on employers willing to provide opportunities and committed volunteers who work hard at planning the program and fundraising for it," she explains. "Another key element is the mentors, who are vital to the program because of the support and guidance they provide the youth as they confront the world of work," Weathers adds.

Mentor-counselors augment the training program by assisting the youths in making value judgements, defining career goals and developing effective employer co-worker relationships. Weathers recruits about 12 to 24 mentors annually through networking and an informal "grapevine." The primary sources of volunteers are churches, clubs, neighbors and community groups. Two training sessions are conducted to familiarize mentors with their responsibilities.