Pathways Danbury / Naomi Mentoring

Our two flagship mentoring programs - Pathways and Naomi - link middle-school aged boys and girls with men and women (respectively) for longer-term one-to-one relationships intended to last at least two years, but ideally through high school graduation.  These mentors serve as friends, advisers, and role models and help students develop into strong and mature Christ-followers.

There are plenty of statistics about the impact of fatherlessness on our society:

• Poverty: 90% of all homeless children are fatherless

• Substance abuse: 71% of all substance abusers are fatherless

• Emotional health: 80% of adolescents in psychiatric homes are fatherless

• Academic gap: Fatherless kids are 9X more likely to drop out of school

• Crime: 70% of adolescents in correctional facilities are fatherless

• Unplanned pregnancy: 70% of teen pregnancies are to fatherless youth

But, while they’re important, they’re just statistics … and there will always be statistics.

But what about ONE LIFE?

What if a mentor invests in just ONE person ... a boy or girl destined for a life tainted by drugs or struggling with fallout from a broken home or a parent who is incarcerated or addicted? To that ONE, life would be 100% changed. THAT is why we mentor.

Jericho’s 1:1 boys’ and girls’ mentors don’t replace parents. Instead, mentors are asked to BE PRESENT. CARE. BE A SAFE PLACE. LISTEN with COMPASSION. OFFER SOUND GUIDANCE.  The key is CONSISTENCY: being there and showing they care.