Ascend Mentoring Initiative Update
What is Ascend Mentoring?
The purpose of Ascend Mentoring is to help people who have had contact with the criminal justice system living in the Greater Hartford community (Bloomfield, Hartford, & Windsor) achieve their highest potential by guiding them through a mentoring process focused on personal and skill development.
Ascend Mentoring will provide one-to-one mentoring, case management, and skill-building/educational opportunities to middle and high school youth, adult ex-offenders re-entering the community, and families with pre-school aged children.
While the ultimate goal is to provide services to each of these populations – we are first focusing on developing the youth program. Once that it is up and running we will expand to the adult ex-offender program and finally to the program for families with young children.
How Did It Get Started?
Ascend Mentoring got started as Chief Kevin Searles (Chief of Police in Windsor and an Urban Alliance board member) connected Urban Alliance with a group of stakeholders in Windsor representing government, community organizations, and Christian churches. Through a series of meetings last fall, a Steering Committee and work groups were developed with representatives from each of the three towns.
What’s Next for Ascend Mentoring?
Ascend Mentoring is currently being established as an independent 501c3 non-profit organization. The youth program is being finalized and slated to begin in the Fall 2012. Ascend Mentoring is currently looking for volunteers especially those desiring to serve as mentors.
Ascend Mentoring is also still looking for organizational representatives and individuals who are interested in participating in the following work groups: PR/Marketing group, Resource Development group, and Organizational Development group.
Get Involved
Contact Jessica Sanderson (Jessica@urbanalliance.com), if you would like to learn more about Ascend Mentoring, learn more about becoming a mentor, and/or join one of the work groups.
Learn more and see more photos at: AscendMentoring.org
