Supporting Cast Organization tries to provide teens life skills
High school graduates may have a diploma, but often they don't have the skills and knowledge to reach their next goal.
That's been the experience of Mike Liebler, the founder and executive director of Connecting2Tomorrow, a nonprofit Butler County organization celebrating its five-year anniversary.
Liebler spent 30 years working in the behavioral health field, first as a child therapist at the Irene Stacy Community Mental Health Center in Butler Township, and then at Southwest Behavioral Health Management, New Castle.
This gave him a first-hand look at why teens are not reaching their goals in life. While there are obvious causes — some teens become involved with drugs, alcohol, homelessness and poverty, and others find themselves in the juvenile justice system — Liebler narrows it down to teens lacking the skills and guidance necessary to become successful and responsible individuals.
The transition from the teen years to adulthood isn't easy, Liebler said, and it's made harder when individuals don't have the support or skills to navigate the change.
“Teens are missing the basic life skills,” he said. “They're saying, 'Hey, I'm 18, what am I going to do?' They don't always have the support to go back to discuss what their interests are or set some career goals. They don't have the skill sets to move forward with their dream.”
“And it's not just at-risk teens, this affects straight-A students with college acceptance,” he said. “Years ago, they used to teach some of these skills in the schools, but the curriculums have changed over the years.”
“Some families don't provide the support for the kids; there are single parents, two parents working, it's more difficult,” he added.
To address this issue, Liebler developed his organization, Connecting2Tomorrow, in 2011 to offer workshops and a mentoring system to provide teens with the skills needed to make positive life choices and build brighter futures.
He said youths are referred to to Connecting2Tomorrow from schools, other agencies and parents.
The organization's 16 mentors meet with the teens twice a month in one-hour sessions for 18 weeks, either at Butler High School or the Center Avenue Community School.
“Each mentor works with two to four students. An interactive group is much more conducive to learning,” Liebler said.
The mentors work on:
- Financial management skills. “We cover personal finances, saving, budgeting, how to use a checkbook,” Liebler said;
- Conflict identification and resolution skills;
- Instilling respect, loyalty and integrity in the individual, and
- College and work force preparation.
David Piatek of Mars, a former high school guidance counselor, is a mentor and a coordinator for Butler mentors.Piatek said, “Mentors provide a guiding voice and completely judgment-free way of doing things.”“Mentors create that rapport with the student,” Piatek said. “We're giving them a voice and being someone that will not judge them.”Piatek said Connecting2Tomorrow students' biggest need is just being able to have a voice, to be heard by someone.“We talk a lot about careers. We teach how to balance a checkbook, how to use a debit card, what to do with your paycheck when you get one,” he said.Piatek added Connecting2Tomorrow has a program with employers where students could undergo job interviews and maybe even land a position.“There are skills you have that you don't realize you have,” Liebler said. “We partner with a couple of different organizations that are willing to provide (students) with an interview.”Connecting2Tomorrow has also partnered with Butler businesses to offer C2T graduates preference when applying for jobs.The Worked Up program involves McDonald's and Friedman's Freshmarkets.“We are helping people become employed and find their first jobs. Our people come in well prepared for their interview,” he said.He said the Worked Up businesses are asking Connecting2Tomorrow for more students to interview.The mentors are from all walks of life: former teachers, former military officers, current employees of the health care and social services fields.All must be over 21, go through a screening process, be certified through the Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance program, be fingerprinted by the FBI and undergo training sessions, including how to recognize child abuse.He added more than 200 people have participated in the mentoring programs since Connecting2Tomorrow was created. Currently 70 students are working with mentors.Mentor Gina Dluhos said, “This is my second year with them. It's an amazing organization. I wish we had it when I was a kid.”Dluhos said, “We're trying to network in the Slippery Rock area. I'm mentoring two; teaching them proper etiquette, manners. It's just stuff that people forget to do nowadays.”“It's rewarding to stick with each,” she said.“I've been fortunate in my life. I'm just giving back,” said Dluhos.While the students have mostly been age 14 and up, Liebler said, “Recently we've had some requests to mentor 18 to 25-year-olds. One mother told me, 'I would like to get my son off my couch and motivated.'”
