#OneOfMANY: Thoughts On Youth Services From Omaha, Nebraska
MANY is traveling all across the country, meeting with member organizations, talking about their programs, and identifying trends and issues that are happening in the youth services field across the country. We had the privilege of sitting down with Abby Lathrop, the Chief Program Officer at one of our member organizations, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Midlands, to talk more about her thoughts on what makes for a good staff person/mentor that works with youth:
Q: What do you look for in staff and mentors who work with youth?
Abby: "I think when we look for staff and mentors we look for very similar traits. We want to ensure that we are getting the right people in the door regardless of what their affiliation ends up being with our agency. Some of the qualities we look for include compassion, drive, individuality and hope. Compassion for the youth we serve and an ability to understand their needs and wants so we can provide them with the best experience possible. We look for someone with drive because these can be a very thankless jobs and if you don’t have the drive to come back day after day, outing after outing then someone will end up being hurt in the end. We look for individuality because that is what makes the world go round and helps us to serve the various types of youth that come to our door every day. And finally hope, hope for the future of our youth, hope for our community and hope for the whole world because without hope we’re in an awfully sad place."
About Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Midlands Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Midlands is a community-based mentoring program that matches children in the Omaha/Council Bluffs metro and surrounding areas of eastern Nebraska and western Iowa with caring adult mentors. You can follow them on Facebook and Twitter. Be sure to check out their website here.
More #MANYRoadTrip & #OneOfMANY Posts
- #OneOfMANY: Thoughts On Youth Services From Chris Nelson Of Attention Homes In Boulder, CO
- #OneOfMANY: Thoughts on Youth Services From Joe Wooley of YouthCare in Seattle, WA
- #OneOfMANY: Thoughts on Youth Services From Steve Hamaker of Greater Wyoming BBBS in Laramie, WY
To follow the rest of MANY’s road trip around the country, follow the hashtag on Twitter #MANYRoadTrip here and follow the hashtag on Facebook #MANYRoadTrip here.
