In a collaborative effort with community partners, the Mayor’s Office is organizing a Mentorship Spotlight & Recruitment Event to foster connections between residents and youth support and mentoring programs in the City. The event, scheduled for Monday, Jan. 29, will be held at City Hall’s foyer from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

“We had a really painful moment as a community last summer with a few incidents of violence, and we wanted to come together to talk to one another for answers, dialogue, and support,” Mayor Jared Nicholson told The Item. “And so we organized a community meeting at Lynn English and invited all the neighbors and the city as a whole, and we had a great turnout. The meeting included the chief of police, superintendent of schools, district attorney, and city councilors. One of the themes of the dialogue with the community members was an interest for more folks to get involved and be a part of the solution. Having more role models from the community and creating opportunities for young folks to develop relationships with children in the form of a mentor.”

Various organizations committed to youth development will be present at the event, including Mass Mentoring Partnership, Lynn Youth Street Outreach Advocacy (LYSOA), Roca, Boys & Girls Club, Leap for Education, LifeScene, Justice Resource Institute, Raw Art Works, Girls Inc., YMCA, Campfire North Shore, Catholic Charities, and Centerboard.

“We knew that several organizations have mentoring programs,” Nicholson said. “The theme moving forward is how we build on what we have, how we make the most of all the folks that have been doing great work in this community and elevate that and expand its reach to accelerate its impact. And so we took that feedback and thought of this mentorship spotlight and recruitment event. The idea is that we’re featuring these organizations that have establishments or programs and sharing our platform with them to reach the community to find more potential mentors to enhance their programming.”

Residents of all ages who aspire to bridge the mentoring gap and establish empowering relationships with young people are encouraged to attend. The role of a mentor involves providing guidance and influence, setting an example, and positively impacting the lives of the community’s youth. This initiative aims to both highlight existing programs and recruit new mentors to contribute to the growth and development of the City’s younger generation.

“I’d like to share some gratitude to the folks that came to the community meeting in the fall for sharing their thoughts and becoming involved in helping us,” Nicholson said. “And to the organizations who are doing the work and graciously agreed to participate so that we can try to help make those connections.”