Making a difference in youths’ lives
| Author | Brenda Vowden |
| Published date | 25 January 2023 |
| Publication title | Hastings Leader, The |
“According to the Ministry of Justice and from research we have received from overseas, youth mentoring, when professionally delivered, does reduce crime. It is the one-on-one regular interaction between a mentor and mentee over a sustained period of time that we believe makes the difference. Our mentors see their mentees every week for an hour or more, for a minimum of one year. The longer a match runs, the more positive outcomes,” Kath says.
The Hawke’s Bay branch was established in 2006 by local police and ran successfully until going into limbo for a couple of years. In September 2017, a new Hawke’s Bay board was formed. The programme was then relaunched, with 99 matches managed last year.
Kath says giving a young person the opportunity to experience activities they would not normally do, learn new skills, respect and staying engaged in education is a positive outcome.
“Often their self-worth and confidence improve which enables our mentees to make positive life choices. Mentoring offers intervention rather than being the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.”
Hawke’s Bay police have had a long association with BBBS, with a police officer always represented on the board of trustees.
“We have had several mentors who have been police and Corrections employees. We receive referrals from police for young people to have a mentor, and this year we are actively working with police to design a prevention first method of delivering our programme.”
BBBS is also implementing a workplace mentoring programme whereby employers can release staff during work hours to mentor more vulnerable youth at the end of the school day.
“This means young people will be engaged after school and will have less time on the streets.”
Once young people are matched they can stay on the programme with their mentee until they are 18 years old. Currently 61 per cent of local matches have been going for more than 12 months and 39 per cent for more than two years, with 13 per cent for three, four, five and eight years. Kath says the Hawke’s Bay branch hasn’t been relaunched long enough to gauge how mentees’ lives have been changed long term, but from feedback they receive every six months from participants in the programme, BBBS is making a positive difference.
“We know from the Nelson BBBS region, which has been operating since the early...
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