A mentor is a responsible adult who provides a child with support, advice, friendship, and encouragement and serves as a positive role model. Mentors are people who care, people who listen, people who want to help young people bring out the strengths they already have.

Many people in a child’s life can serve as mentors—coaches; doctors; teachers; grandparents; and business, religious, and community leaders. Parents are often good mentors, too.

Mentors can play an important role in preventing substance use. Recent research demonstrates that the involvement of a reliable adult helps youth develop life skills, build self-confidence, and resist pressure to begin using drugs. One study involved Big Brothers Big Sisters meeting with their Little Brothers and Little Sisters regularly for at least a year. These youth, compared with other children, were:
• 46 percent less likely to begin using illegal drugs.
• 27 percent less likely to begin using alcohol.
• 52 percent less likely to skip school.
• More confident of their performance in school work.
• Less likely to hit someone.
• More likely to get along with their families.

Mentoring gives you a chance to teach the next generation—and learn from them in return. It lets you share your own interests with eager young people. It gives you the satisfaction of helping a child succeed.

If you are thinking of becoming a mentor to a child, here are some things to consider:
• Make a commitment for a specific period of time. You can extend it later, but this way you won’t disappoint the child if you are only able to commit for the short term.
• Be very clear about what the child can expect from you.
• Ask the child if the arrangement is okay with him/her. If not, respect the answer and try to work out a responsible solution.

Mentoring takes time and effort. Some young people and some programs need more time than others, and you must be realistic about how much time you can devote to mentoring. But remember, mentoring doesn’t have to be a lifetime commitment. Sometimes a little help can go a long way. 

The National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) offers free, valuable information about mentoring and volunteering. Contact NCADI at (800) 729-6686 (TDD (800) 487-4889) or on the World Wide Web at www.health.org. To find out more about the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, visit www.mediacampaign.org.