Building Bridges: Local mentorship program partners with alternative school in Paris

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PARIS—For nearly a decade, one local program has connected students with volunteers to build lasting relationships and boost student achievement. That program, called PERK (People Encouraging Remarkable Kids), has steadily grown to cover three different school districts in Paris and Kansas—and it’s getting even bigger.

On Tuesday, Jan. 7, a social media post revealed PERK is expanding to partner with Bridges. Located at 210 East Court Street in Paris, Bridges is an alternative learning facility for students in grades six through 12 who have been suspended or expelled from their home school district. It also services truant students: children who are consistently absent from school without explanation.

According to PERK program coordinator Jenifer Bonawitt, offering Bridges students a chance to participate just made sense. 

“I think the biggest benefit is that Bridges has students already identified as needing extra support,” Bonawitt explained. “They have tailored their program to help students struggling in a classic educational setting.”

Established in 2015, PERK is a non-profit effort sponsored by the Edgar County Community Foundation. PERK mentors regularly visit students to share a meal, play games, listen and provide encouragement. 

“Our mentor's goals are to empower our youth through meaningful relationships that will result in the development of positive social skills, increased self-worth and stronger academic performance,” Bonawitt explained. “Our mentors are a part of the organization because we believe having another positive friend, mentor, and/or adult to listen and speak with makes a difference in a child's life.”

Mentors are vetted and trained before being assigned to a student.

Faith Milam previously encountered PERK when she worked at a local school district. Today, Milam serves as a student caseworker at Bridges, and was quick to contact Bonawitt in hopes of bringing the program to her new students when she accepted the role earlier this year.

As a caseworker, Milam connects with each of the roughly 30 students who attend Bridges’ Paris campus, providing support and connecting them with resources to help them navigate life and school. Additionally, she offers character education, teaching students about virtues like responsibility, trustworthiness and respect, among others.

Milam also works at the Bridges location in Lerna, Ill.

It’s in this position that Milam witnessed firsthand the difference a mentor could make in her student’s lives. 

“I thought, whenever I went to Bridges, I was like, ‘a lot of the kids here could really benefit from the PERK program,’” she recalled, later adding, “I think every kid could benefit from a PERK mentor, not just kids who are labeled ‘at risk.’ I think any child can benefit from someone who is not related to them, not obligated to them in any way, speak(ing) light and encouragement into them.”

Milam noted the consistent effort made by PERK volunteers to meet with their respective students is what can leave the biggest impact.

“I think the PERK program is so beneficial because … teachers and counselors and principals and all of the school personnel, we speak light and encouragement into kids. But it's different when someone in your community finds you valuable enough … to come to school and bring you a lunch and just spend time with you,” she explained.

Bridges, “a school of second chances,” per Milam, is part of the Regional Safe Schools Program (RSSP), which was first established in Illinois in fiscal year 1997. RSSP schools were created through state legislation as a safety net for “expulsion-eligible and suspension-eligible students.”

“At that time, there wasn't really a lot of options for kids who were expelled from their home school, or their home school district … a lot of the times, those kids would just get behind for the time that they were expelled, or they just weren't graduating high school altogether,” Milam told a Prairie Press reporter.

The integrity of that safety net relies on creating layers of staff support to ensure students remain engaged and encouraged. PERK adds an additional layer of support, which is especially crucial for a facility with less staff than other schools, like Bridges.

“I think when kids, you know, make mistakes or struggle with attending school or have struggles in whatever way they do, sometimes they can seem to fall through the cracks … and not by one particular person's fault,” Milam explained. “But just seeing this (program) kind of be an extra support for these kids is really encouraging to me.”

One student under Milam’s care lost access to their previous PERK mentor after arriving at Bridges. 

“I found out that one of our students, you know, used to be in the PERK program when they went to their previous school district … the student had a PERK mentor, but then when the student went to Bridges, that kind of got lost in the shuffle,” Milam said.

The chance to reunite that student with their hand-picked partner, and find similar mentors for other students, was one Milam and Bonawitt had to take. 

Milam, Bonawitt and several other faculty members at Bridges jumped into action to make the idea a reality.

“Expanding to Bridges has been on the table for awhile. I think we just needed the right combination of motivated people to get it done,” Bonawitt told a Prairie Press reporter. “Faith Milam, Michelle Young and Kyle Thompson, along with several motivated mentors, were that perfect combination. Their openness to work together to get this started was the spark we needed to ignite the program.”

Both Milam and Bonawitt have found that students in their respective spheres desire to be heard and encouraged, not just lectured.

“They (kids) want someone to listen to them and to care about them … (to have) a successful community member who, you know, is engaged with them. I think that can bring so many benefits,” Milam said. “I just think that there's something really special about when a kid sees that someone believes in them.”

Milam hopes that more volunteers will offer their time to build up the youth of Edgar County through PERK programs, whether at Bridges or elsewhere. 

“I think one of the most valuable things that any person can do is just use the knowledge and lessons and goodness that life has brought to them and … share that with someone younger,” she said. “I think a lot of people get stuck in their heads about, you know, ‘there's someone out there better than me for it,’ or ‘there’s someone more qualified’ or ‘what special thing do I have?’ And honestly, kids just don't think like that … Kids just want someone to spend time with them and care about them, and I think pretty much anyone is capable of doing that.”

Milam praised the program’s extensive pairing process, which is designed to provide students with a mentor who can fit their needs. Finding the right partner can lead to generational change.

“It makes me really proud of the community we live in to see so many people step up and invest their time into the next generation,” Milam noted, later adding, “Hopefully one day those kids will remember the investment that was given to them, and they'll continue that.”

Bonawitt hopes that each Bridges student will have access to a mentor, but availability is reliant on available volunteers.

If you are interested in becoming a PERK mentor, or have additional questions about the program, contact Bonawitt at perkprograms@gmail.com. Anyone who can’t mentor but wants to support PERK’s efforts in Edgar County can send a donation to PO Box 84, Paris, IL, 61944. Check should be made out to PERK. PERK is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

To learn more about Bridges, visit roe11.org/youth-services/bridges.