Big Brothers Big Sisters is facing a local mentor shortage due to the pandemic, Lansing area chapter leaders say.
Without the ability to operate in schools early in the coronavirus pandemic, some mentor relationships had to be severed because it wasn’t as easy for children — dubbed “Littles” — to meet with their “Bigs.” Now that in-person operations are returning, officials at Big Brothers Big Sisters Michigan Capital Region say they’re not getting enough volunteers signing up to be mentors.
“We have a lot more Littles on our waiting list than we do with mentors,” said Megyn Forest, the organization’s executive director. “The pandemic has been hard for a lot of organizations across nonprofit sectors, across for-profit sectors; and especially with our site-based program, we have seen a lot of matches unfortunately close just because the format of getting into the schools and creating those matches isn’t as easy.”
The organization matches each child it serves with a volunteer adult mentor to spend time together doing different activities. Organization leaders go through a rigorous process to find the best match for each child.
“It’s very important for our program to not only make a match, but for it to be meaningful and a lifelong match,” Forest said. “That’s where the biggest potential we see and the biggest outcome that we see for these matches is, making sure it’s meaningful for both the Bigs and the Littles.”
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is the longest running one-on-one youth mentoring organization in the country.
According to the organization’s annual reports, Big Brothers Big Sisters organization served more than 135,000 children in 2019. That number decreased to a little over 109,000 children in 2020.
The program provides community- and site-based services. Community-based services consist of two to four meetings between Big and Little per month and the site-based program tends to run through schools with weekly meetings. After 18 months with their mentor, the organization says Littles are less likely to begin using illegal drugs or alcohol, skip school or class or hit someone.
Danielle Powell, the program’s match support specialist, also coordinates the community-based program, and said the format gives Bigs and Littles a little more freedom and flexibility.
“The program includes matches that can go do things in the community such as going to the museums, visiting Michigan State, going to the movie theater in pre-COVID times and just doing things out and about in the community,” Powell said. “The children are getting that one-on-one time that they don’t get in those group settings.”
Leah Jones, the program’s school-based coordinator, relates the Bigs to an older friend who is there for all the Little’s needs.
“Our mentors are there to be a shoulder to lean on or cry on, a listening ear,” Jones said. “They are just someone who is outside of the family that (the Littles) can talk to. These kids are going to tell their Bigs some things they aren’t gonna tell their parents, and with them they feel more free to talk about their concerns.”
Another one of the many things that Big Brothers Big Sisters does differently is trying to tear down the term “at-risk” and the stereotypes and stigmas that come with the term.
“Labeling someone ‘at-risk’ gets stigmatizing,” said Forest, the executive director. “There may be children who are facing adversity or challenges in their lives but we are not labeling them ‘at-risk’ and our program is not specifically for children who are facing adversity.”
Jones, the school-based coordinator, said that something else she has noticed is that some children just need a little more attention than the people already in their life can provide, and said that this program helps them find that “special” person that can help them through the challenges they may face throughout their journey in life.
“I think it’s important that the program is not only for youth that are considered ‘in need,’ but really whoever feels like their child could benefit from this program and that’s what we see, that all of our Littles are pretty different,” Jones said.
To learn more about volunteering or to apply to be a Big Brother or Big Sister, visit https://www.bbbsmcr.org/volunteer.