Terry and Kiara have been a mentor pair for about six years. In honor of National Mentoring Month, they sat down to talk with Lt. Governor Zuckerman to share more about the mentoring programs they’ve been involved in, such as Grand Isle County Mentoring and our own mentoring program.

Asked how their partnership has changed over the years, Kiara told “We used to play Trouble a lot, and different board games. Now, we go ice skating a lot, we go to the movies, and we go to [my mentor’s] house and cook.”

Plus, Kiara is involved in Girls Who Code.

“Kiara just amazes me,” says her mentor Terry. “She’s very bright, and very interested in technology and computers. She was showing me this program that she wrote, and I didn’t know anything about it, and I thought, how can I help her in an area that I don’t know anything about?

Hearing about Kiara’s interest in coding, Terry’s daughter recommended Girls Who Code.

“So we contacted them, and found out that it was an agency, and located at UVM, so now every Saturday, I help by taking her to Girls Who Code,” says Terry.

Plus, there are countless other activities, too. As Terry told Lt. Gov. Zuckerman, “it has been great to branch out to [the Spectrum mentoring program]. It gave us a lot of flexibility.” Together, Kiara and Terry can go on all kinds of adventures, or out in the community together.

“Thanks to Mobius, there’s a bunch of businesses that offer discounts for the two of us.”

For example, when Kiara told her mentor she wanted to learn to ice skate, Terry took advantage of the Mobius discount to visit the Cairns Arena in South Burlington. It’s free for Kiara to skate, and Terry pays just $5.

Plus, they’ve been able to go to several shows at the Flynn, thanks to Mobius’s generous discounted ticket program for mentor pairs.

Lt. Governor Zuckerman asked how their mentoring relationship has impacted their lives.

“[Having a mentor] has helped me have a little more self-confidence,” says Kiara.

“I feel young again,” says Terry of her experience as a mentor. “I feel like a teenager when I’m with her. I feel excited to show her new things, but often Kiara is the one who is teaching me more.”

And says Kiara of the partnership, “it’s good to know that there’s someone there to bring you places and help you do stuff when nobody else wants to.”

“And, it’s good having someone to talk to. Sometimes, people don’t want to listen to you, but mentors do.”

Listen to their full interview on Lt. Governor Zuckerman’s Facebook page.

Interested in becoming a mentor? Contact Stephanie, our mentoring coordinator, at sball@spectrumvt.org or (802) 864-7423 x321.

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We wanted to let you know that our winter warming shelter for youth opened its doors for the first time this week. And it’s funded entirely by people like you.

The beds in our residences and longer-term shelter, The Landing, were full all last winter, and they’re full now. And, like last year, all of the other shelters in the area are full, too.

As Will, our supportive housing manager, put it: “I probably don’t need to tell you how hard it was to turn youth away last winter.”

But this year, thanks to generous supporters like you, we will have ten more beds during our coldest months, from November through the end of March.

Here’s a message from one of our young people: “Thank you very much. Y’all are literally saving lives. I would be dead if it weren’t for Spectrum. Thank you for keeping low-income youth alive.“

If you or someone you know (ages 18-24) needs housing this winter, call us at (802) 864-7423 x325, or, after 5 PM, (802) 324-2934.

The post Open for the winter. appeared first on Spectrum Youth & Family Services.

Charlie and Winston Smith choose their bowls.

What follows is a note from our Executive Director, Mark Redmond.

Thank you to all who joined us at the Empty Bowl Dinner on October 12th.

I was awestruck by the compassion and caring you showed for our youth. I am so grateful that our young people can rely on you to offer a hand when the going gets tough.

As René said that night, “Spectrum is about creating that sense of family. It is about creating a sense of community and knowing that we are loved and supported. And that there are youth and staff and, also, wonderful people like you out here who are supporting us every day. And I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you are doing.”

Thanks to you, we raised $68,400 that night—$15,000 from the giving board alone! And because of the generosity of all who donated food and services to the event, almost all of the money raised will go directly to helping our youth build their own success.

Thank you for being a part of such a great night.

With gratitude,

Mark Redmond

Empty Bowl volunteers and Spectrum staff at the end of the night.

The post Thank you for a great Empty Bowl! appeared first on Spectrum Youth & Family Services.

From left, Riverstone counseling staff: Sunnie Lobdell, Kristen Vogel, Leslie Ferrer, and Will Kraman.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Spectrum Expands to Include New Riverstone Youth Counseling Program
Nationally Recognized Leader in Youth and Adult Services Launches New Service

BURLINGTON, VT (August 25th, 2017) – Spectrum Youth & Family Services, a nationally recognized nonprofit providing youth and adult services to the Burlington area, today announces the addition of a new counseling program: Riverstone Counseling. This new branch of Spectrum specializes in working with teenagers, young adults, and their families, to help youth identify and work with their strengths to help achieve their goals.

Since 1970, Spectrum has been an integral part of the Burlington community by supporting thousands of children and families faced with homelessness, mental health issues, violence, substance abuse and countless other critical issues.

Through services like mentoring, skills programs, supportive housing, multicultural youth programs, a health center, and more, Spectrum has helped to make sustainable, positive changes within the community.

The addition of Riverstone adds a youth-focused counseling program to Spectrum’s wide range of services.

Open to the public, Riverstone counselors are trained clinical mental health/social workers and substance abuse counselors who focus on a client-centered approach to help teenagers and young adults work through and overcome mental health and substance use issues.

Riverstone counselors specialize in helping clients with mental health and substance use issues using cognitive behavioral therapy, EMDR for trauma, narrative therapy and other proven treatments.

“The goal of Riverstone Counseling is to be a mental health resource for our entire Chittenden County community, not just clients being served in other Spectrum programs,” said Sarah Woodard, Director of Development and Communications at Spectrum. “The addition of Riverstone adds another level of specialization and focus to Spectrum’s current services and allows us to provide personalized one-on-one counseling support to youth in our community who could benefit from counseling. The team at Riverstone is skilled in working with youth and young adults in crisis, trauma, or those who just would benefit from a therapeutic relationship.”

For more information about Riverstone Counseling, please visit: www.riverstonecounseling.org.

To make an appointment, email hello@riverstonecounseling.org, or call (802) 864-7423 x310.

The post Spectrum Expands to Include New Riverstone Youth Counseling Program appeared first on Spectrum Youth & Family Services.

What follows is a guest blog post written by CeCe Horbat, the Diversity, Equity, & Multiculturalism Coordinator at Spectrum.

On May 6th, 2017, we hosted the Youth Leadership Conference at Champlain College. Created by our Multicultural Youth Program, the conference is designed for youth to have fun and learn, while also providing the support they need to build successful leadership skills.

To make it happen, we collaborated with many amazing community partners, including Northwest Counseling Support Services; Vermont Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health; Burlington Parks, Recreation, and Waterfront; Burlington Community and Economic Development Office; and Champlain College.

Our Youth Advisory Committee designed the whole conference, choosing everything from the t-shirt design to the workshops, from our amazing keynote speaker, Rebecca Eun Mi Haslam (Vermont’s Teacher of the Year), to our Snapchat geotag for the day! In order for the event to be a success, it had to be by youth and for youth.

Catherine, left, of the Burlington Parks, Recreation, and Waterfront; and Rebecca Eun Mi Haslam

Almost 100 youth, ages 14-24, participated in the day, learning about themselves and each other. Haslam kicked off the day by sending us the important message: “Know your why, and remember that you are the only one in control of where you’re headed.”

Some of the day’s most popular workshops were led by youth: “LGBTQ Intersectionality,” “Conversations about Racism,” “Breaking Down Cultural Barriers,” and “Spoken Book.” And many other community partners, like the Fletcher Free Library, The Peace and Justice Center, Opportunities Credit Union, and Parents and Youth for Change led fun, engaging workshops.

After lunch, youth explored over 30 organizations, service providers and post-secondary opportunities in a resource fair. Special thanks to ACLU, Vermont Tech, Vermont Works for Women, “I am Vermont, Too,” and Vermont Adult Learning, just to name a few.

In order for the event to be a success, it had to be by youth and for youth.

We finished the jam-packed day by reading a Letter of Support from Senator Bernie Sanders (though he wasn’t able to make it!) and holding a raffle drawing for prizes to local businesses. To our amazing community raffle prize partners like Old Spokes Home, City Market, YMCA, Burlington Electric, the staff at TJMaxx and many, many more, we thank you for your amazing support.

The conference was successful and empowering because of the support of people like you. We’re looking forward to an even bigger and better conference in 2018. In the meantime, you can find us on Facebook to see photos and stay up-to-date on how you are helping. Huge thanks to all who believe in our youth!

CeCe Horbat, left, and Emmajane Hoffman, of the Multicultural Youth Program.

CeCe Horbat is the Diversity, Equity and Multiculturalism Coordinator at Spectrum, as well as the AmeriCorps member serving in our Multicultural Youth Program.

The post Know Your “Why”: Youth Build Leadership Skills at Spring Conference appeared first on Spectrum Youth & Family Services.

From left, Governor Phil Scott, Ethan, and Rajnii Eddins.

Mentor pair Rajnii and Ethan went to Montpelier, VT last week for the Mobius Mentors Mentoring Celebration at the statehouse, and they had a blast!

Rajnii Eddins, of Bless the Child, and Ethan kicked off the ceremony at the statehouse with a Mentor Rap. They taught the audience how it went, and then performed it.

They also got to meet Governor Phil Scott, who read a Mentoring Month proclamation at the event. Rajnii, Ethan, and the rest of the audience also celebrated Emily Bellmore, who was named Comcast’s Mentor of the Year. Congratulations, Emily!

Here’s the song that Rajnii wrote and that he and Ethan performed at the mentoring celebration:

Say I will succeed… 3x (All: I will succeed)
I keep it positive in my thoughts, words, and deeds.

It’s a special dedication
A mentorship celebration
Not even sky’s the limit
So get your education
Thank every one of y’all
for your participation
Without that affirmation
Life can be intimidating
What you do for the youth
Is a demonstration
Changing negative
to positive situations
Honestly that’s the reason
We commemorating
Say, the youth is the truth
That’s why I give you praises
A simple token of my esteem
For your living greatness
So let me celebrate our mentorship connection
Everybody Wins, we in the same Spectrum.

Say I will succeed… 3x
I keep it positive in my thoughts, words, and deeds.

All of you here
let your light be magnified
Reading and feeding the mind
Voices amplified
Your thirst for knowledge has a never-ending appetite
Keep pursuing, and soon your dreams will have arrived
Everybody needs some support displayed
Time spent with youth can go a long way
Time on the courts
Bonding, playing sports
Science and mathematics
Applying mental mechanics
Art from the heart
Plays its part on the canvas
Tutoring the students
Rebooting the true computer
Mentorships attentive to community improvement
I believe you’ll do it
cause you here to show and prove it.

Say I will succeed… 3x
I keep it positive in my thoughts, words, and deeds.

Rajnii and Ethan lead a mentoring rap.

Interested in becoming a mentor? Learn more or email Lee Ann Donner at ldonner@spectrumvt.org.

The post “I will succeed!” appeared first on Spectrum Youth & Family Services.

This is a letter from Mark, our Executive Director.

The snow has fallen and the darkness comes early each night. Young people who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless need us more than ever—this winter, and into the future.

The good news is, you can help! Join us in sleeping outside overnight in solidarity with our youth while raising funds to support them, and you can make sure teens and young adults have a place to go when the wind starts to bite.

The Executive Sleep Out will be Thursday, March 23rd, and the Student Sleep Out is March 23rd-26th.

Can you stand in solidarity with our youth and sleep out this year? Register now and let our youth know you’ve got their back.

With gratitude,

Mark Redmond
Executive Director

The post Can you unroll your sleeping bag? appeared first on Spectrum Youth & Family Services.

Eva Sollberger of Seven Days’ Stuck in Vermont visited our Drop-In Center last week and made this video about how your support is changing lives.

Watch to get a glimpse of our Drop-In Center and the work you’re making possible there.

“It is a huge relief to not have to worry about where your next meal is coming from,” said one young person.

As one youth put it, “You’re going to have good food, good nutrition, and they also provide clothing and hygiene products and showers and laundry, and it’s just so nice to know you have a place where you want to be in, because it’s a nice place. It’s a very safe community.”

The Drop-In Center is open seven days a week, thanks to you.

Thank you for your support and for believing in our young people.

If you’d like to sign up to help, visit our volunteer page.

The post “I’m grateful for second chances.” appeared first on Spectrum Youth & Family Services.

Thank you to all who came to our Empty Bowl Dinner on October 20th!

Our Executive Director, Mark Redmond, wanted to share this note with you about the evening:

The stories you heard that night, the quotes from our youth that you saw on the tables, they all underscore how tough the teenage and young adult years can be, especially when you start out with the deck stacked against you.

But I was so inspired to look around the room that night and see all of you showing up for our youth and letting them know you have their backs.

All told, we raised $57,000 that night thanks to YOU, $14,365 from the giving board alone, and because so much of the food and services were donated, almost all of that will go straight to helping our youth transform their lives.

From all of us, thank you for being a part of such a great night.

With gratitude,

Mark Redmond
Executive Director

P.S., you can see photos of the event on our Facebook page!

From left to right, celebrity soup servers Miss Vermont Rylee Field; TJ Donovan, Chittenden County State’s Attorney; Beth Sightler, Executive Director, Champlain Community Services; Craig Mitchell, DJ/Producer; Katharine Montstream, Artist; Rusty DeWees, Actor.

The post What a night! appeared first on Spectrum Youth & Family Services.

Bob and Ryan met four years ago through our mentoring program. Since then, Bob’s helped Ryan get his boating and driving licenses, and they’ve gone to Red Sox games and ridden along on fire department ladder trucks. They’re even participating in the Spectrum Sleep Out this year in solidarity with youth who are homeless! As Ryan put it, “The past four years have been the best four years of my life, and I couldn’t be any more thankful for you, Bob.”

January is National Mentoring Month, and Mobius Mentors organized a wonderful celebration day at the Vermont State House for the mentoring programs that reach across the state.

Each mentoring program nominated one mentor to win Comcast’s Vermont Mentor of the Year. Thanks to your votes, we’re excited to tell you that Bob Wheel and his mentee Ryan received the award for Comcast’s Vermont Mentor of the Year!

We are so excited for Bob and Ryan, and so grateful to you for casting your vote to support them. The celebration was especially wonderful because Bob’s friends and family came, too! It was truly a community effort.

Bob wanted to share this amazing news and his thanks to family and friends, and we’ve posted an excerpt below:

“My good friend Mark Redmond will be quick to tell you that it takes a village to raise a child. I will happily acknowledge that the members of my village have always been very eager to help me to provide my friend Ryan with unique opportunities. Without your generous and gracious support, the past four years would not have been nearly as exciting for Ryan and me.

“So to my daughter Carol, and other members of my family who have treated Ryan as a member of the extended family, thank you. To my many good friends, who have provided spectacular visits to the beach, or top tier tickets to Fenway, thank you!! Or to those who have helped to provide Ryan with an awesome experience with a championship Cannons Baseball season, thank you.

“And to my friends at South Burlington Fire Department who have helped develop Ryan’s sense of respect for public safety and have provided him with experiences that he will forever remember, thank you! To a great friend and their spouse, who hooked Ryan up with a full set of snowboard gear to facilitate our trips to the mountain (even the one when I tore my Achilles tendon), thank you.

“To my good friends Lee Ann Donner and Mark Redmond of Spectrum Youth and Family Services, thank you. Your never-ending support and guidance ensures our success, so again, thank you.

“To Mobius Mentoring and to all of the individuals, corporations, and businesses that support mentoring in Vermont, thank you! Your generosity allows mentoring pairs the opportunity to embark on adventures that may not be possible otherwise.

“To my own mentor and Scoutmaster, Larry O’Keefe, thank you!

“But I really need to thank my mentoring partner Ryan Wallace for a great four years. The rewards in our mentoring relationship are bisynchronous my friend, they go both ways. Mentoring may end at some point, but friendship is for life.

“And to Ryan’s mom, thank you for trusting me with your kid. I know very much how important he is to you, and I appreciate your trust and support.

“So, if you are thinking about being a mentor, but think you don’t have the time, just ask yourself, who mentored you?”

We are so moved by Bob’s words of gratitude, and the words of praise from his community:

As one person put it, “You have been such a strong supporter and a big influence in his life … you’ve always stood tall by his side with such great advice and unconditional love and support.”

Ryan told us, “Bob has made me realize that school is not really a game or a joke anymore. If you want to do something, you’ve got to work for it. He’s worked for everything he has.”

One of Bob’s friends said, “You deserve recognition for showing Ryan that giving back to your own community is what can help heal a broken world.”

We couldn’t agree more! Congratulations to Bob on his well-deserved award for Vermont Mentor of the Year.

To learn more about our mentoring program and become a mentor, email Lee Ann Donner at ldonner@spectrumvt.org, or call (617) 480-8215.

The post “The best four years of my life.” appeared first on Spectrum Youth & Family Services.