Melissa smiles good-naturedly as she gathers spilled candy decorations for a gingerbread house during a Christmas party on Saturday at the John Howard Society’s offices on Bay Street.
Melissa was there with her two daughters, Rachel, 11, and Sophia, 14, both of whom are participants in the society’s KidStart program.
Her younger daughter, Rachel, has been with the program since she was seven and has a good relationship with her mentor, Melissa said.
Rachel said the best thing she did with her mentor this year was visiting a monster-truck rally.
“One of them had fire breathing out of its nose,” she said excitedly, between eating snacks and playing ping-pong.
Program co-ordinator Samantha Lawrence said KidStart is a one-to-one mentorship opportunity for vulnerable children and youth in the capital region.
Participants are referred to the program through school counsellors and social workers and spend three hours a week doing fun activities together with a mentor, she said.
KidsStart activities could be as simple as going out for a Slurpee or walking around a car show — anything that would be enjoyable for both mentee and mentor, she said. “The more fun it is, the longer the friendship will last.”
Outdoor activities are a big part of the program, she said. “We promote hiking, bike riding, all that good stuff … we’ve also done a learn-to-fish event at Elk Lake.”
Rachel said she isn’t a big fan of outdoor activities but she’ll go biking with her mentor, who is also a regular volunteer with GoByBike week.
As part of the program, Rachel also went roller-skating for the first time this year with her mentor at Pearkes Recreation Centre. “I fell on my butt and it kind of hurt,” she said.
Lawrence said KidStart participants come from families who have had contact with the criminal justice system, which could be either related to instances of domestic violence or substance-abuse in the home or the presence of an incarcerated older sibling or parent.
“It’s not that the youth or the child has done anything wrong — but their family situation sets them up in a kind of vulnerable spot [that] wouldn’t take much for them to go down a bad path,” she said.
KidStart is all about providing an extra supportive adult in their lives, she said.
The program operates without regular government funding and is totally dependent on grants, community generosity and fundraising efforts such as the Times 91原创 Christmas Fund.
The Christmas Fund helps with buying holiday hampers distributed by John Howard Society to the families participating in the KidStart program, providing grocery gift cards and other goodies during a season often characterized by budget worries.
Melissa, a parent of four children, said the program has been a big help for her kids.
Her son Matthew was paired with a mentor but that person left Victoria to pursue further studies, she said.
Rachel said her brother, who has been on the KidStart waitlist for a year and a half, still misses his old mentor.
Lawrence said there are currently 29 children and youth matched with mentors, and another 36 are wait-listed with KidStart, though 10 more volunteers are expected to join the program next month.
The program is most in need of male mentors for youths ages 12 to 16 who are living in the West Shore, she said, adding that many of the volunteers are post-secondary students who often can’t make the drive out to Sooke or Langford for participants based in that area.
“Our goal is that the same child will stay and match with the same mentor for a long period of time,” she said, adding that the relationship between a mentor and mentee often lasts long after the end of the program.
HOW TO DONATE TO THE CHRISTMAS FUND
Go online to . That page is linked to CanadaHelps, which is open 24 hours a day and provides an immediate tax receipt.
• Use your credit card by phoning 250-995-4438 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday.
• Cheques should be made out to the Times 91原创 Christmas Fund. Drop them at the Times 91原创 office in Vic West, 201-655 Tyee Road, Victoria.
