In the Friday, Jan. 5, edition of the Butler Eagle, we learned that after a five-year hiatus, the Butler YMCA will again be offering one-on-one mentoring as part of its Reach and Rise program.

Reach and Rise is a national program that uses evidence-based programs to connect young people, ages 6 to 17, who are at risk with adult mentors who can help them work on different goals, from improving their social skills to managing difficult emotions.

Mentoring programs like Reach and Rise can have a major impact on children’s lives, and the return of one-on-one mentoring means even more can benefit.

Training for group mentors starts in a few weeks, and will be followed by training for the one-on-one mentors in February. There will be six one-on-one mentoring slots filled by the end of the month, and the YMCA is still looking for more, according to Jessica Burr, clinical director for the organization.

Volunteer mentors have to be 21 or older and able to pass a criminal-background check. They go through at least 15 hours of training before starting mentoring and spend two hours a week with their mentee or the group of mentees.

Burr, who has led group mentoring, said the program has a significant impact on the lives of those who participate.

“The group I colead has five kids, ages 11 to 13,” Burr said. “The backgrounds of some of the kids are far from ideal, but during the past 12 weeks, I heard them express how important the group is for them in various ways.”

And there is evidence to back that up. According to statistics from the Youth.gov website, children who participate in mentoring see better educational and social outcomes. In one study, use of illicit drugs and alcohol were significantly lower for young people who had been mentored.

Young people who had mentors also saw better school attendance and better educational outcomes. In the end, much of the benefit comes down to one thing: increased confidence.

“Maybe they come in and they’re a little quiet, they really start to come out of their shell, start to express with themselves more, connect with the other kids and make new friends,” Reach and Rise Program Coordinator Kelly King said. “That’s a big goal of the program is to be able to make new friends and try new things too.”

More information about the program, as well as applications to be either a group or one-on-one mentor, is available at https://www.bcfymca.org/reach-rise.

— JK