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| Seeking Mentors for Ex-Offenders |
| By Norfolk County Sheriff Office |
| Published: 09/04/2012 |
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DEDHAM, MA, Sept. 4, 2012 – The Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office and Volunteers of America (VOA) are seeking volunteer mentors from various walks of life to work with offenders before and after their release from jail to help them return to their communities as law-abiding citizens. VOA and Norfolk County Sheriff Michael G. Bellotti began the innovative mentoring program at the Norfolk County Correctional Center in Dedham approximately one year ago. Mentors are paired with an inmate while he is serving his jail sentence. They meet periodically at the jail with the purpose of developing a rapport. When the offender wraps up his sentence and leaves jail, the mentor maintains contact with him to help him stay on the right path. “We’ve had some very good results with this program,” VOA Chief Operating Officer Henry Goodhue said. He said each mentor-offender relationship is unique. Mentors do things such as phone inmates to remind and encourage them about probation meetings, doctor’s office visits and other important appointments. They can lend a sympathetic ear and provide successful examples when it comes to dealing with substance abuse. They can help ex-offenders deal with employment and housing issues. “It’s great for the offender to have a community-oriented contact,” Goodhue said. Sheriff Bellotti noted that the mentor program is administered with funding from a U.S. Justice Department grant. “We already have approximately 40 mentor volunteers working with Norfolk County offenders,” Sheriff Bellotti said. The volunteers include a retired court official, small business owner, construction worker, financial services representative and a former school teacher. “We’re looking for anyone who is committed to the work. We’re particularly looking for military veterans who may relate well to some of the inmates who are military veterans,” VOA mentor recruiter Bart Timilty said. Volunteers go through a general screening process followed by individual and group training along with guidelines about boundaries one should maintain with the offender. People interested in becoming a mentor should send an email to btimilty@voamass.org or call 617-755-0975 and ask for Bart Timilty. |
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