Missed opportunities
Youth need adult friends

SALISBURY POST

After Karen South Carpenter read about a shooting on South Fulton Street last week, she went to her files — and found a missed opportunity.

Carpenter is director of the Rowan County Youth Services Bureau, which runs a mentoring program called Friends for Youth. When she checked her files, she saw that the teen-ager charged in the shooting had been referred to her agency three years ago. But the agency had not been able to match him up with a positive adult role model.

No one can say for sure that having such a mentor would have put this youth’s life on a different track and prevented the shooting. But the community did miss an opportunity to provide help to that young man.

Carpenter shared that example Saturday with the 100 or so people at the Rally for Children sponsored by Social Services’ Families for Kids program.

The rally focused mainly on the need for foster parents and adoptive parents. Those are huge commitments. As Carpenter said Saturday, anyone interested in taking on those vital roles should just pass the Friends for Youth Program by. They’re needed to take children into their homes.

But if you’re looking for a way to help young people out on a smaller scale, consider becoming a mentor. Friends for Youth matches up responsible, caring adults with young people ages 7 to 17 who need guidance and support —someone to show them the way and cheer them on. The children may be referred through juvenile court, law enforcement, social services or other agencies.

The youth and the adult commit to spend at least four hours a week together. The emphasis is on sharing time, not money or material objects.

So, if you’re at least 18 years old, have reliable transportation and have a genuine concern for Rowan County’s future, consider Friends for Youth. The files at Youth Services Bureau are full young people who need someone to give them attention and guidance. Let’s not miss these opportunities.