Programs in Detroit, beyond seek minority mentors

DETROIT (AP) - A glaring need persists for African-American and Latino men to mentor young people across the nation...

Jun 18, 2010

DETROIT (AP) — Free time is hard to come by for Ed Spillers. Still, the 33-year-old full-time Clear Channel employee, business owner, fraternity member and husband finds it for Kleintay Carter.

Spillers mentors Carter, 17, a student at Detroit Academy of Arts & Sciences with whom he was paired through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Detroit.

The agency is in need of more men like him.

Mentoring programs across the nation say they’re critically short of African-American male mentors such as Spillers as well as Latino men.

The issue has risen partially because mentorship organizations, leaders say, have done a poor job reaching out to minority men and educating them on how mentoring can shape the lives of young people.

“The gangs are recruiting. … Drug dealers are recruiting,” said Lowell Perry Jr., CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee. “You are gonna have to be able to clearly communicate to the public what your value to the community is.”

The problem is especially pronounced in Detroit, a majority African-American city where programs are desperate to recruit minority mentor candidates.

First lady Michelle Obama, a kind of mentor-in-chief in the country, put out the call for mentors during her visit last month to the city where high school graduation rates are low and violence has plagued the community.

Obama praised a statewide initiative called Mentor Michigan that is promoted by Gov. Jennifer Granholm and her husband, Dan Mulhern. Obama said the program has more than doubled the number of mentors in Michigan in five years.

But a glaring need persists for African-American and Latino men to mentor young people in this troubled city. Two-thirds of the young people Big Brothers Big Sisters serves are minorities, and 70 percent of the children on the waiting lists are boys.

“The big goal is to encourage more caring adults to step up and volunteer their time and to make mentoring a lifelong habit,” Obama said during the Detroit visit.

To compound matters, agency leaders say there is growing interest in mentorship from African-American boys.

“All kids have a mentor … even if it’s the streets,” said Dara Munsen, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Detroit. “Our goal is to put a positive person in that place.”

In Detroit, boys have to wait up to 71 days to get a school-based mentor, Munsen said. The average wait for girls is 32 days.

Agencies in other cities also struggle to bring in African-American and Latino men.

Perry, from the Big Brothers Big Sisters chapter in Tennessee, said the common response is that they either don’t have the time or fear they will fail at their mentorship.

“It’s not about becoming a surrogate parent. It’s about being there, listening to that child. … It’s about planting seeds,” Perry said.

Big Brothers Big Sisters is partnering with corporations, church groups and social fraternities for male volunteers. Staffers also visit barbershops and other popular hang-out spots for men to discuss mentoring.

“You’re able to attract volunteers who are typically really, really busy,” Munsen said.

Mentor Michigan spokeswoman Elyse Walter said it’s difficult for her group to recruit men of all races. About 62 percent of its mentors are female and 38 percent are male. However, the racial mix for mentors is disproportionate: 75 percent are white, 20 percent African-American and 2 percent Latino.

The organization created a “Men in Mentoring Tool Kit” that assists programs with bringing in male mentors.

Walter said in some cases it has to pair boys with adult women for mentors because of the shortage of men.

“A lot of times mentoring programs just look for any caring adult willing to serve the youth,” Walter said.

Obama launched efforts last year to bring mentoring to the White House. She created a program that paired female White House employees with high school girls from Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

President Barack Obama’s mentoring program mimics hers with White House men who mentor teen boys.

A 2007 study by Public/Private Ventures — a national nonprofit group involved in youth development and mentoring — found young people with active mentors were less likely to skip school or do drugs, had higher overall academic achievement and were more confident they would finish college.

Carter said Big Brothers Big Sisters helps young people both socially and academically.

He and Spillers spent the afternoon together on a recent weekday, sitting and talking at a table at Detroit’s downtown Campus Martius Park, before heading to a local book store. Carter said Spillers is assisting him with his college search, and they also attend events together such as Tigers games and concerts.

“He’s a good role model and influence,” Carter said.