● About Friends For Life

Mission Statement: Friends For Life is dedicated to promoting a better life for children, ages 4-18 years, with a primary focus on those of incarcerated parents. Friends For Life is a Mentoring Partnership comprised of ICOD, Inc., faith-based and other stakeholders in northeast Georgia. Currently, more than 700 of these youths reside in the counties of Barrow, Clarke, Elbert, Greene, Jackson, Madison and Oglethorpe

Friends for Life is sponsored by the Institute for Community and Organizational Development, Inc. and is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services . Co-sponsors include over 20 faith-based organizations and agencies that include Boys and Girls Clubs, GA Department of Corrections, GA Department of Family and Children Services,  Athens Housing Authority, Family Connection Partnership, and others.

How Friends For Life operates: Conceptually, this initiative incorporates Positive Youth Development, which is an asset-based approach that focuses on building upon strengths of youth rather than their problems in order to help them avoid risky behaviors and achieve their full potential. Friends For Life supports a network of sustainable mentoring programs managed by Program Managers.  These staffers promote each program, identify eligible youths, make child and family needs assessments, conduct volunteer recruitment and training, make mentor/child matches as well as coordinate, monitor and document all local activities. A regional Advisory Board comprised of youth, family members, and other stakeholders help guide the project’s development

Program Activities: The curriculum includes Adolescent Development, Asset Approach, Family and Community Involvement, Program Development, Leadership, Post-secondary Preparation, Life Skills Planning, Cultural Enrichment, and Entrepreneurship. Individual Development Plans, prepared by participants and caretakers, are used to help align resources with youth and family needs. Activities include assistance with school expenses,  in-school visitations, visitations with incarcerated parents, one-to-one Mentor-Child matches, a six-week Summer Academic-Work Experience program, academic support services and Quarterly Retreats involving youths, caretakers and Mentors.

Training and Development Services:  Training incorporates best practices in Mentoring and Youth Development in order to provide (a) Mentor training for volunteers, (b) training for caregivers including parents, grandparents and guardians;  and (c) a Train-the-Trainer series and technical assistance to help stakeholder organizations establish sustainable Mentoring Programs.

Anticipated Outcomes: The anticipated outcomes are (1) the establishment of a viable self-sustaining mentoring support network, (2) increased competency among mentors to counsel youth toward positive outcomes, and (3) increased healthy choices among children of incarcerated parents.