Friends of the Children Mentors Support Youth in Western Montana

MISSOULA, Mont. – In honor of National Mentoring Month, Friends of the Children of Western Montana is working to ensure that every child has access to quality mentorship.

The organization provides long-term, professional mentoring to children facing poverty and trauma. Their program is based on the belief that consistent relationships with caring adults can change lives.

Ben Davis, Executive Director of Friends of the Children, shared the importance of the program. “You know, Friends of the Children is all about belonging and connection. We are the country's only long term professional mentoring organization, and so we have the honor of working with some really amazing children in the community who have big hopes and dreams and unique talents, but who face the biggest obstacles. And so our mentors called Friends, walk alongside each child in a long term, consistent and caring relationship for 12 plus years, no matter what,” said Davis.

One of the program's goals is to keep children out of the foster care system. Davis added, “one of the really exciting things that we're seeing happen with this program, and you know, really, what we're trying to do is to disrupt cycles of poverty and trauma in families and in the community. Our goal is, where possible, to keep families out of the foster care system.”

Tyler Taylor, a mentor with the program, has spent years building relationships with kids in need. Reflecting on his role, Taylor said, “I was thinking about this just the other night, about who in my life were those people that when I think back to my childhood, like, who was the mentor or, like the youth counselor or the teacher, whoever those were, so it makes me feel it's kind of unbelievable at times, honestly, to think back, like, wait a minute, I'm that person to them that they were to me, like, to be able to show, like, mentoring, this cycle of it of like if you received a mentor yourself, you can't help but want to model that to somebody else.”

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