AS220's Broad Street Studio, along with the RI Department of Children, Youth, and Families, operates a mentoring program that provides incarcerated youth with positive role models. Linking teens up with a caring adult enhances the youth's personal, educational, and occupational development.

Mentors get to know youth while they are at the RI Youth Development Center, the state's juvenile detention facility. If it seems like a good match, the mentee and mentor continue meeting after the youth's release. These meetings usually run for about 2 hours a week over the course of at least one year. While this might seem like a long time, it's the kind of steady support these young people need. Many youth in our program have been hurt and abandoned by adults in the past, and we don't want to recreate this experience. Before applying, please consider where you are in your life and if it is realistic for you to make a year-long commitment to a young person looking for a stable support in the community.

A monthly stipend of $100 is provided to cover time spent completing monthly time logs and attending bi-monthly trainings. Expenses incurred during visits are reimbursed up to $60 a month.

Please send a resume and contact info for two references to our Mentor Program Coordinator, Arlene Chorney at arlene.chorney@dcyf.ri.gov.

For more info on the Studio or AS220, visit www.as220.org