"Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day."  - Sally Kock

Juvenile crime has reached epidemic proportions in our state and nation. We are reminded of the consequences every day on the news, in our neighborhoods and in our homes. Why is this happening? Certainly one contributor is the increasing number of children growing up in poverty and lacking parental guidance, self-esteem and any hope for the future.

The State Attorney's Office has taken an aggressive approach to both punish, incarcerate and work towards rehabilitation of juvenile offenders. However, we cannot simply lock up these offenders ad forget about them. When they are released they will return to the environments that helped create their problems. We feel an important step towards stopping juvenile crime in Jacksonville is the Jailed Juvenile Mentor Program.

The word "mentor" has a Greek root meaning steadfast and enduring. Several recent studies verify that achievers are influenced by specific people in their lives far more than under achievers, that whether or not young persons succeed depends in great part on individuals who help them establish values and who inspire effort. Unfortunately many young people in our community do not have caring mature adults to guide them through life's challenges - they need "mentors".

The Mentor is matched with a jailed juvenile offender who is typically between the ages of thirteen and seventeen, and has been charged and adjudicated as an adult for crimes ranging from auto theft to assault. The Mentor visits with the juvenile one hour a week while the youth is in the Duval County Jail. For some youths the Mentor is the only visitor they receive.

The mentoring process does not end when the juvenile is released from jail. Rather the mentor has the unique opportunity to build on the already established relationship and guide the youth to a successful completion of their probation. The judge will order the juvenile into this mentoring program as a condition of probation. The Department of Corrections Probation Officer is responsible for the juvenile's case supervision. However, the mentor plays a critical and supportive role to both the probation officer and the juvenile.

Volunteers are needed!!

The work continues and there remains a need for more volunteers. If you are interested in becoming a mentor, please contact the State Attorney's Office, Jailed Juvenile Mentor Program Coordinator, at (904) 630-2444 or (904) 630-2075. You may also print the Jailed Juvenile Mentor Volunteer Application, fill out, and mail to:

State Attorney's Office
Attn: Jailed Juvenile Mentor Program
220 East Bay Street, 2nd Floor
Jacksonville, FL 32202

Print the Jailed Juvenile Mentor Volunteer Application: This application is provided in the Adobe PDF format. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download this file. Click here for a FREE download.