Every Day Heroes

By A. Govea

April 14, 2015

 While we do not call ourselves Heroes, our Advocates (Paid Mentors) have often been called that as well as a godsend and other complimentary adjectives through the years. The Youth Advocate Programs have been serving youths and families since 1975.  Locally we are the Tarrant County Youth Advocate Program and have been here since 1992.

Our job is to work with at-risk youths in the Juvenile System.  In addition we also work on the prevention side with students from FWISD and Arlington AISD.  Among our unique strategies is an individual strength based assessment for each client we serve.  We pride ourselves in not being a one size fits all program.  This strategy among others not only sets apart but also is in large part an important reason why we can reach children when others cannot.  Another part of the program is that we work with not only assigned clients but also seek and provide resources for the whole family if needed.  In fact the parents, family, school and other stakeholders in the child’s life are also very often a large part of the individual client success plan.

Finally we have the Advocates that are assigned to our clients, these men and women are caring adults that very often live in the same community as their assigned clients.  The Advocates come from all walks of life they can be college students, part timers or even some retired or semi-retired Individuals. They all do have one thing in common a desire to help others, especially the youth in our community.

To find how you can become a Youth Advocate see our Ad on back cover, college degree not required bilinguals encouraged to apply.