Latino Group Seeks Volunteers to Help At-Risk Youths

OXNARD — Tying into a nationwide campaign aimed at using volunteers to root out social woes, an Oxnard-based Latino advocacy group put out a call Thursday for people willing to dedicate time and energy to help keep youngsters out of trouble.

Dozens of volunteers are needed to help run a wilderness retreat this summer in the San Bernardino Mountains, a five-day program aimed at rescuing teens at risk of being swallowed whole by problems ranging from quitting school to running with gangs to dealing with teenage parenting.

Sponsored by El Concilio del Condado de Ventura, the Youth for Success program is now in its third year, offering a mix of counseling and physical challenges designed to get youngsters to peel back the layers of their lives to uncover the source of their problems.

The program, the first of its kind in Ventura County, also matches participants with adult mentors, who provide support and guidance for at least a year after the retreat.

But with the program only three months away, and people still needed to power the effort, El Concilio officials have joined a nationwide push to raise an army of volunteers to help solve the problems plaguing the nation’s youth.

That notion is picking up steam, with President Clinton adding his endorsement last month at a summit on volunteerism.

“We want to let [residents of] the county of Ventura know that we need them,” said Letty Alvarez, El Concilio’s coordinator of youth services.

“Basically we’re going to be the vehicle that Clinton is driving to get these volunteers,” she added. “We’re going to help him, and he’s going to help us.”

El Concilio is recruiting volunteers for a variety of positions.

About 30 volunteers are needed from Aug. 20-24 to help run the wilderness program, which includes obstacle courses and other physical challenges designed to promote teamwork and self-confidence.

Another 10 people are needed to set up a homecoming reception and perform other duties, while 50 volunteers are needed to serve as mentors, providing one-on-one counseling for at least a year after the retreat.

“They don’t have to have experience,” Alvarez explained. “They just have to have the [desire] to make a difference in somebody’s life.”

It is that component that is perhaps most crucial, Alvarez said. Mentors must commit to contacting youngsters at least twice a week, once on the phone and once in person. And they must attend monthly workshops, a minimum of two hours a month.

But Alvarez is quick to point out that mentors often go on to form longer relationships with the youngsters.

That’s the way it worked out for Summer Nicol, who still sees the two girls she mentored during the first Youth for Success program in 1995.

She found the program so rewarding that she plans to volunteer again this year.

“It was an unforgettable experience,” said Nicol, a case manager with Oxnard-based Tomkinson & Associates, a government contractor that provides job training for troubled youth.

“It was time for me to get off my butt and do something,” she added. “I think other people are starting to feel the same way. If people aren’t willing to get involved, we’re going to be in serious trouble.”

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FYI

Volunteers are needed to help stage a wilderness retreat for troubled youth in the San Bernardino Mountains from Aug. 20-24, and to serve as mentors for the youngsters after the five-day program. To learn more about the Youth for Success program, call El Concilio del Condado de Ventura at 486-9777.