Rockland Alive Mentoring Program (RAMP)

The Mentoring Opportunities for Youth Initiative, Category 4 (Project Sites and Mentoring Strategies for Youth Impacted by Opioids) supports youth mentoring organizations that have a demonstrated partnership with a public or private substance abuse treatment agency. The focus of this category is to provide mentoring services as a part of a prevention, treatment and supportive approach for those youth impacted by opioids. This program is authorized and funded pursuant to Pub. L. No. 115-141, 132 Stat. 348, 423.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rockland County (BBBS of RC) aims to serve at-risk youth through emotionally supportive, one-on-one community-based mentoring via its Rockland Alive Mentoring Program (RAMP). BBBS of RC is targeting approximately 5,000 Rockland County youth ages 17 and younger, i.e., those who are not only using or at high risk for using opioids but also those who are seriously impacted by parents or family members who are addicted to opioids. The project design uses the six core standards listed in Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring. BBBS of RC’s proposed project, in collaboration with Wellcore, their service-providing partner and other community allies, will help prevent youth from using opioids in the first place by means of 10 program enhancements that accentuate its nationally recognized one-to-one mentoring program in accordance with standards set by the National Mentoring Resource Center.

The program will further screen potential mentees for substance abuse and will help youth who have used opioids achieve success in their recovery efforts. Performance measurement data to be collected include increase in youth enrolled, percent of youth matched with mentors who meet mentoring program requirements, increase in program mentors recruited, percent of program mentors successfully completing training, percent of trained mentors with increased knowledge of the program area, percent of youth with whom an evidence-based program or practice was used, percent of program youth completing program requirements, and percent of program youth who offend (long term). BBBS of Rockland County will not use any portion of the project budget to conduct research.

CA/NCF