Mentors for California Rural Youth

Be A Mentor (BAM) will expand its mentoring services to create Mentors for California Rural Youth, an innovative collaboration between BAM, the California Police Activities League (the sole subrecipient of grant funds), and the California National Guard’s Counterdrug Task Force. The purpose of the program is to reduce the impact of substance use and abuse on this vulnerable population. Working with Tarzana Treatment Centers as the substance use treatment and prevention partner, Mentors for California Rural Youth will bring mentors to hard-to-reach rural areas, where youth are largely underserved and under resourced. By providing mentors, case management, and resource/referral to these youth, the program will facilitate a network of services and supports that will help to reduce the impact of substance misuse and crime on these vulnerable youth. Primary activities include mentoring as well as the implementation of a substance use prevention curriculum. Mentors for California Rural Youth will target five rural areas that span the state of California: Lake County, Fort Bragg and Mendocino County in the North, and Blythe and Firebaugh in the South. The target population will consist of youth ages 8–17 receiving substance abuse treatment, who are involved in substance use prevention programs, or whose parents are receiving substance abuse treatment. Mentees will be recruited through The California Police Activities League. Mentors will be National Guardsmen and women, along with volunteers from the community. Expected outcomes include increased capacity to provide mentoring in these difficult-to-serve areas, as well as positive impacts on youth health and well-being. BAM anticipates that participating youth will experience a reduction in substance use and juvenile justice involvement, and an increase in positive behaviors and protective factors.