By Jamil Ragland, Connecticut News Junkie
Governor’s Prevention Partnership Announces Recipients of Mentoring Grants
Representatives for the Governor’s Prevention Partnership, lawmakers, and mentors gathered Tuesday at the Legislative Office Building to announce the recipients of awards from the Connecticut Mentoring Fund.
The program is administered by the Governor’s Prevention Partnership, which issued a competitive request for proposals (RFP) this spring. Funding was made possible through a 2023 appropriation by the legislature led by the Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and championed by its co-chair, Rep. Patricia Dillon, D-New Haven. 25 programs across the state applied for funding, and ultimately 17 received grants ranging from $6,000 up to the maximum of $25,000.
“One in three Connecticut youths could benefit from a relationship with a caring adult mentor, and most of them don’t have access to one,” said Governor’s Prevention Partnership co-president Kelly Juleson. “As designed by the legislation and the RFP, these 17 awardees are prioritizing initiatives aimed at bolstering mentor recruitment in urban communities and the training of staff and mentors in diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as incorporating social-emotional learning practices within their mentor training efforts.”
The Partnership awarded the Legislative Champion Award to Deputy Majority Leader Patricia Dillon, D-New Haven, for her continued support of the Mentoring Fund. Juleson credited Dillon with spearheading the effort to secure the funding necessary for the Fund.
“I would say to some people this weekend that anything that we do like this is an act of hope. That we have to believe the best in us and in the young people,” Dillon said after accepting the award. “It appeared two years ago when we started trying to get this going through appropriations that social isolation had gotten worse during the pandemic. We’re very, very concerned about what was happening with young people. And so I’m so excited at the work that the Prevention Partnership has done to give us the ability really to have an infrastructure to reach out to community groups all over the state and have an RFP process so you can see who can respond positively to this.”
Roland Harmon, the Partnership’s other co-president, discussed how important it is to have mentors for young people to succeed, particularly BIPOC mentors for underserved youth.
“We know that there are 10,000 youth currently in mentoring relationships, and there’s still some more work to be done in terms of youth that want a mentor, who need a mentor, so they can have the benefit of having a mentor in their life,” Harmon said. “And so I would encourage us today, our goal is to recruit more mentors. We want to get the word out.”
Two young people who worked with ConnectiKids, one of the youth development programs that will receive a grant from the Mentoring Fund, discussed how their mentors helped guide them as they grew up.
Through the ConnectiKids program, I learned how to better my professional skills, how to write resumes, different interview skills, and other things like that,” said Marcelus Brown, an 18 year old who recently graduated. “And overall, I’ve learned a multitude of skills from ConnectiKids and I just think mentoring is really important in the community.”
Jasmine Jara shared how her experience in the program helped her choose her career path. She recently received her certification to teach 2nd grade.
“I started ConnectiKids as a high school intern and I’ve basically been with them for most of my later teenage years,” Jara said. “It was the starting point of my teaching career … And so, working with students, I realized I want to help them learn and I want to help them grow. And thanks to ConnectiKids, I was able to gain more experience. I was able to work with ConnectiKids and talk to them, got into UConn, got into the Neag School of Education, and then from there, just grow and flourish.”
Rep. Dillon wasn’t the only state legislator on hand. Rep. Geraldo Reyes Jr., D-Waterbury, applauded the success of the program.
“When I see programs like this, as Representative Dillon said, it’s absolutely great to see hope for our future, especially for BIPOC communities,” Reyes said. “This is so important. These programs are not what I call a handout. These are a hand up. This is exactly what we need to build unity in our community and to actually help the least of us, which is exactly why we’re here. So again, to the Connecticut Governor’s Prevention Partnership, well done, and we will continue to advocate for this.”
Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, discussed the impact that programs funded by the Mentoring Fund can have on the future.
“Mentoring is so powerful. It creates a multiplier effect,” Hwang said. “It allows these young people to know that they are cared for and loved and empowers them to succeed. And that’s not only for this summer, but in the next five, 10, 20 years. They can see a future, and they also can be able to be a mentor into the future.”
If you are interested in mentoring, you can find out more at the Governor’s Prevention Partnership’s website.
The organizations and programs receiving grants are listed below:
- Middletown: AM Hart Parenting Consulting LLC
- Greater Bridgeport: Bernard Buddy Jordan Foundation; Bridgeport Public Education Fund; Center for Family Justice; Elevate Bridgeport, Inc.; LiveGirl, Inc.
- Greater New Haven: CLICC, Inc; New Haven Public Schools; Upon This Rock Chozen Generation
- Greater Hartford: ConnectiKids, Inc.; Capital Community State College; MPACT MENTORING Inc.; Sons of Thunder Coalition
- Niantic: The Samaritan House, Inc.
- Stamford: Stamford Public Education Fund, Starfish Connection
- Norwalk: Human Services Council-Norwalk Mentor Program
- Statewide: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Connecticut, LiveGirl, Inc.