Research substantiates the correlation between single parent families and the startling rise in negative statistics. These statistics include juvenile delinquency, teenage pregnancy, teen violence, drug/alcohol abuse, gang activity, poor school performance, low economic achievement, poor decision-making ability and a myriad of others. As an answer to this intolerable situation, society has seen an increasing interest in providing mentoring services to youths residing in single parent homes.

It has been successfully demonstrated that mentoring is a potent force for improving youth outcomes. Mentoring increases the likelihood of regular school attendance and academic achievement. It also decreases the chances of engaging in self destructive or violent behavior. A trusting relationship with a caring adult will provide stability and often have a profound life changing effect on at risk youth. The insertion of a mentor into the lives of these at risk youth at a critical period in their lives has been shown to be invaluable. The presence of a mentor can even be the deciding factor in whether or not an at risk youth achieves success or failure.

To complement this, SPARC has developed an approach that takes traditional mentoring programs to the next level. The program design used by the SPARC Mentoring Collaborative is designed to address the needs of the entire single parent family. SPARC partners with mentoring programs to provide intensive parenting programs to increase the effectiveness of traditional mentoring programs by impacting all members of the single parent family.

Currently the only model of this program is used by the SPARC/Men UnMasked Mentoring Collaborative. Men UnMasked provides male mentoring services while SPARC coordinates parent and comprehensive wrap around family services.

While programs with a youth only focus do provide youth with necessary development skills as well as positive programs, prevention and intervention services, the positive effects of the program are undermined when youth return home to parents who remain unserved or underserved. To combat this, the SPARC Mentoring Collaborative provides wrap around services that encompass the needs of the entire single parent family.

If you are a leader or member of a mentoring program and would like to take your program to the next level, call SPARC today.