Recruiting for Kids from Hard Places

Several years ago, Tulsa Boys' Home had six mentors. Then mentors increased to about 110, although hundreds of other people have been trained, undergone background checks ($53 each), and approved by the Department of Human Services to work with the boys there on a regular basis. During the past 30 months, TBH has recruited 158 new mentors. 

Goals set by the organization as part of Tulsa's Vision 2020 are for the home to be self-sufficient and for each boy who wants a mentor to have one. Tulsa Boys' Home is well on its way to achieving its goals.

First, a little background from the TBH website. 

Each day, Tulsa Boys' Home delivers residential services to 64 boys and their families (when there is a family). Forty of our residents are placed by the child welfare division of the Department of Human Services, and the other twenty-four are privately placed by parents or legal guardians in our Substance Abuse Treatment Program. Since 1918, we have helped over 12,000 boys, many of whom have learned to lead happy and productive lives. Most credit TBH for breaking the cycle of poverty, abuse, neglect, and drug addiction from one generation to the next. Therefore, our work of healing and new found hope is multiplied many times over through countless families and the children of the children that once lived, and were healed, at Tulsa Boys' Home.

http://www.tulsaboyshome.org/tulsaboys/default.asp  










Jeff Johnson, youth minister and volunteer coordinator, for the TBH, shared the basic strategy for gaining so many volunteers and mentors. Although this is a highly adaptable model for similar other programs reaching highly at-risk youths, we can all learn from Tulsa Boys' Home.

TBH recruiting is slow and steady. Johnson gives much credit to the Tulsa community, especially the faith-based population, which has demonstrated caring and concern not only for Tulsa Boys' Home but also other organizations serving youths.

Asking some men to volunteer as a mentor once a week for a year is intimidating. People are busy and may not wish to commit that much time. Next year, however, their children may have graduated, and the volunteers have established some rapport with a particular young man and wish to mentor him.

Ask friends to volunteer. Also ask groups, such as Sunday school or church groups. For example, Life Church in Tulsa has 175 volunteers and/or mentors. Asbury United Methodist, First Presbyterian Church, the Church at BattleCreek in Broken Arrow, and others volunteer consistently. Currently, the home has 500-600 volunteers. Of the 64 residents, all boys eligible to have a mentor have one. 

Establish dozens of small, scheduled opportunities for regular interaction and growing mentoring. Another example of an activity is on the second Tuesday of the month from 6 to 8 p.m., volunteers are invited to fly kites or participate in another activity.

Give trained mentors and volunteers something to do. Don't let them languish or search for an activity. 

Invite them to do what they love to do, e.g., beginning a running club this year that meets on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. 

Establish dozens of small, scheduled opportunities for regular interaction and growing mentoring. Another example of an activity is on the second Tuesday of the month from 6 to 8 p.m., volunteers are invited to fly kites or participate in another activity.

Many volunteers, though trained, approved and background-checked, aren't assigned a boy one-to-one. They are invited to fish, play ping pong, take a boy to church, go to a sporting event, or participate in other activities. For example, a volunteer who has tickets to a sporting event will call to take one or more boys along. Often, they form a natural relationship with a youth and decide to be a weekly mentor. Regardless, the boys benefit from all of the activities and the vetted volunteers. Then when a volunteer is ready to progress to mentoring, he is immediately ready to be assigned. Waiting six weeks for a background check and training is not an obstacle.

Turnover Although some mentors move to new mentees, others usually leave at the same time their mentees move. Some boys leave and return.

http://www.tulsaboyshome.org/tulsaboys/volunteers.asp 

Some volunteers are mentors in the beginning, but many become mentors after interaction and through activities. Whether they are mentors or grow into mentoring really doesn't matter. The residents of Tulsa Boys' Home are the benefactors. 

Congratulations to Jeff Johnson and the team at TBH!

N.B.
Matt Vassar, Ph.D., a long term mentor at Tulsa Boys' Home, spoke eloquently about mentoring these young men for a previous post. 
http://okmentor.blogspot.com/2014/09/mentoring-kids-from-hard-places.html