Mentoring Program (BUDDY)
BUDDY (Building Unique, Dynamic & Diverse Youth) brings together three of Long Island’s premier nonprofit organizations -- the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (LICADD), the Long Island Council of Churches (LICC) and the Mentoring Partnership of Long Island (MPLI) who have teamed-up to launch and sustain a mentoring program for children in Nassau County whose mothers are incarcerated. LICADD defines “mentoring” as a “highly structured, carefully managed program in which children are appropriately matched with screened and trained adult volunteers who meet one-on-one with the children on a regular basis to provide guidance and support with the goal of establishing a trusting relationship between each child and a caring adult mentor that lasts for no less than one year, and hopefully for a lifetime.”
Children of incarcerated parents often experience fear, anger, sadness, loneliness, abandonment, embarrassment, guilt, resentment, isolation and emotional withdrawal from family and friends. Family instability, trauma linked to witnessing the parent’s arrest, incarceration and/or criminal activities and uncertainty about the future challenge even the most resilient children. Without assistance, many of these children are at increased risk for poor academic performance, drug and alcohol abuse, unsafe sexual behaviors, and juvenile justice or criminal justice system involvement. Our main goal is to break the cycle and ensure that Nassau’s most at-risk kids get the help they need to be successful.
Youth participating in LICADD’s BUDDY program will experience new, predictable, attached and sustained relationships with their mentors. They’ll participate in activities that build competence and confidence. Youth, their caretakers and families will also gain enhanced access to a wide variety of professionally delivered health, mental health, social and financial services designed to enhance their quality of life and sense of well-being.
The BUDDY program is supported by the federal Administration for Children and Families and relies on volunteers. If you have an hour a week to mentor a young person between the ages of 4-18, please call Valerie Taylor at 516-747-2606 for more information and an application. Our next mentor orientation will be held in Williston Park this month.
Links of interest:
Newsday article about the BUDDY Program
