Mentors help youths in need
Dorothy Simpson, a former ticket agent for an airline, retired to the peace and beauty of Coeur d’Alene several years ago. Yet each week, she finds herself at an alternative high school, mentoring students and learning about the lives of modern teenagers.
“It’s a different world,” Simpson said. “Kids today have so much pressure on them – being with the right crowd, wearing the right clothes. It opens our eyes.”
Simpson is one of dozens of volunteers in North Idaho working with a broad spectrum of children. Yet there remains a shortage of mentors, particularly for people to work with young men with criminal backgrounds, according to local recruiters.
Jim Simmerman, mentoring coordinator for Kootenai County Justice Services, said he currently has 21 mentors, but only half are matched with children. His program, funded by a federal grant, must make gender-specific matches, he said.
“We cannot find enough male mentors,” said Simmerman, a former Post Falls police captain.
On Saturday, mentoring coordinators from several agencies met at the Coeur d’Alene Senior Center to recruit more volunteers. The programs coordinate mentoring for children and teenagers, including some involved with the juvenile justice system. Mentors typically spend about one hour a week meeting with young men and women.
“I was in so many homes during my police work where kids really needed someone to talk to,” Simmerman said. He added, “the mentors really get a lot of satisfaction out of it.”
Jack Nomanson, a 72-year-old retired aeronautical engineer, mentors five teenage boys, driving around Kootenai County each week to visit with them. Nomanson said he listens to the boys, but he also challenges them to take responsibility for their actions, rather than blaming parents or law enforcement for their problems.
“I don’t pass judgment, but I try to talk to them about values and accepting the consequences of their actions,” Nomanson said. “I give them tough love.”
Nomanson stressed that his conversations with the boys remain confidential unless they pose a threat to themselves or others.
He has heard, he said, “some hair-raising stories.
“I don’t even know how marijuana works,” he said. “The only drugs I ever took were in the hospital.”
Yet despite the differences in ages and experiences, Nomanson has learned to relate well to the young men, Simmerman said.
Sara Knott, a 27-year-old college student, has met with a 17-year-old girl for the past five months. She said she has watched the high school student become more self-confident and ambitious. She believes it’s important for at-risk teenagers to see someone cares enough to volunteer their time.
“When you see a face who’s not paid to be there, it says something immediately,” Knott said. “They know they can tell us anything.”
Jerry Spreen, a volunteer coordinator with the Post Falls School District, said mentors must first learn to listen.
“If you want to know what a kid wants,” he said, “stop and listen to them.”