The Benefits of Mentoring
Mentors with Volunteers in Parole have the satisfaction of turning a life around while making the community a safer place. Few community services make such a large impact with such a small time commitment.

Mentoring is interesting, satisfying and fun. Mentors help young adults who are reaching out for help, but have never had a friend, advisor, and role model who cared about their success. Many mentors report learning more from their match than they could ever give in return.

Mentors transform the criminal justice system into something more than a revolving-door. On average, an unmentored California parolee has a 31 percent likelihood of success, but VIP parolees have success rates greater than 70 percent.

Mentors help repair shattered families. Many VIP parolees have parents or siblings in trouble with the law and nearly one-third are themselves parents. Success helps to end a sad legacy of multi-generational crime.

In addition to assisting the parolee, mentoring provides economic benefits to the community. Taxpayers spend between $21,000 and $42,000 per year to keep an offender in a state facility, not including the capital costs of continuing to build new institutions. VIP’s annual per capita investment in turning these young lives around represents less than 4 percent of what society would spend for one year of their incarceration.

Mentors are well-recognized by their colleagues. VIP is endorsed by the State Bar of California and several county bar associations. Every VIP county program holds an annual recognition event where judges, attorneys, local officials, and representatives of the criminal justice system honor mentors and their match partners.

Do I need special skills or training?
As an attorney, you are already the best possible mentor for a complicated young adult. Your ideas, talents, practical knowledge of the community and ability to communicate are all you need to be a success. If you encounter problems, your VIP Program Director is always available to give advice or help you brainstorm.

What is my time commitment?
There are no set hours. Mentors check in with their match partners every week by telephone and spend an average of 4 hours per month on activities. The important thing is not volume, but dependability, consistency and sincerity.

How will we spend our time together?
You and your match partner decide what to do or accomplish. The best activities are those that allow you to share interests, talk and just get to know each other. Examples include going out for coffee, sharing a meal, taking in a movie or game, jogging or shooting baskets. Your advice about schoolwork, finding a job, getting a driver’s license and a variety of other coping skills will be highly valued.

What are the other requirements?
VIP has a minimum of formal rules:

1. You may not enter into an attorney-client relationship with your match partner.

2. You may not loan your match partner money or offer expensive gifts.

3. Always use good common sense in your relationship with your match partner.

What if my work interferes with the mentoring schedule?
You can use the telephone to maintain the relationship. One telephone call can have a greater impact than you or your match partner realize.

Is there a lot of paperwork?
After the initial application, the only paperwork is a short monthly form for reporting volunteer hours. You may be asked, on occasion, to complete a short evaluation questionnaire.

How do I get started?
Your local VIP Program Director will arrange the first meeting, usually at a restaurant. If you and your prospective match partner hit it off, you can arrange a second meeting. A match does not begin until there have been 2 meetings and both participants are in agreement.

What if it doesn’t work out?
Although we ask that volunteers not take their commitment lightly, either party may terminate a match at any time, for any reason.

How long will I be a mentor?
Although many matches develop into lifelong friendships, your match is officially complete six months after your match partner is discharged from parole.

Volunteers In Parole is always in need of mentors. Unfortunately there are always parolee applicants anxiously waiting to be matched with a mentor. If you are interested in becoming a VIP mentor, or would like more information on the VIP program, please contact Angela Tillotson, Program Director, at (916) 324-4141, ext. 259, or by e-mail at vipsacramento@earthlink.net.

November / December 2004