Valley volunteers needed now to help troubled youth

By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.

jgoodwin@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Edith Smith remembers watching the effect that the untimely death of a parent had on a junior-high school girl in the last few months.

Smith, a family-readiness community leader at Volney Rogers Middle School on the West Side, also remembers how the young girl responded when paired with a mentor in the GoodGuides Youth Mentoring Program of Youngstown.

She said the female mentor was able to act as a positive role model, helping fill some of the void of the loss of her parent.

Finding and helping young people such as those seen by Smith is why Don Garret is looking for a few good men — as well as women, seniors and late teens — to volunteer in the GoodGuides Youth Mentoring Program of Youngstown.

Garrett, director, said the program always needs mentors.

The Youngstown program is part of a national initiative by Goodwill Industries International to promote opportunity and positive choices for youth who are at-risk for delinquency. It is funded through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

The local program is one of 56 sites located in 36 states. The local chapter, based in the Goodwill complex at 2747 Belmont Ave., has been running for a year.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.