7display on37display on107display on7

Vision

7display on107display on37display on87display on7

MentoringA child being fathered or mentored decreases the chance of child suicide by 50%. (Elshtain, Jean Bethke “Family matters, The plight of America’s Children”

Vision

Imago Dei Community

Who We Serve

Research has shown that father involvement and support is directly linked with more positive outcomes for children even after taking into account the support children receive from mothers. In the United States, there are more than 11 million children being raised by a single parent. Of those, roughly 85% are being raised by single mothers.

The risk factors associated with children growing up in single parent households include lower school performance, increased risk for drug and alcohol use, higher rates of depression and increases in criminal activity, to name a few. These risk factors increase due to lack of adequate supervision, a significant increase in financial stress levels within the family and limited time resources. The gap that occurs when a father is not involved or cannot be involved is significant.

With such a high percentage of young people under the age of 18 growing up without a strong male influence, identifying caring adults who will invest their time in a child’s life is a positive and effective strategy. Our primary outreach and program focus is on boys between the ages of 5 and 14.

Why We Exist

A crucial period of onset for contemplation or carrying out of high-risk behavior among youth is typically between ages 9 and 14. These years represent a developmental period when young people begin to exert more and more independence, putting them at higher risk for making poor choices. These years are especially difficult for children growing up without a strong male influence.

The Belmont Foundation is unique in that it seeks to partner with local church communities that have existing infrastructure to sustain our proposed program. Our strategy is to act as a nationwide coordinator with partner churches carrying out the programming efforts.

Through our research we found that mentoring has the ability to change the trajectory of a young man’s future. Kids who are mentored are:

  • 46 % less likely to use drugs or alcohol
  • 53% less likely to skip school
  • 33% less likely to resort to violence
  • 59% more likely to get better grades

The Belmont Foundation will carry out its vision in the following ways:

7display on7

Family Support Services

We will establish a network of low-cost or cost-free resources which will assist single parent families with family counseling, emergency financial assistance and other supportive services.

Because financial stress often accompanies single parent families, we will establish an emergency fund to assist families who have fallen on hard times. This fund will be available to families that are currently receiving mentoring services and will provide assistance with paying utility bills, rent, auto maintenance and other financial needs.

7display on7

Long-Term Mentoring

The Belmont Foundation will create an extensive recruitment and training program for mentors in an effort to effectively prepare candidates to mentor young men. Once completed, trained mentors will begin to establish long-term mentoring relationships with boys between the ages of 9 and 14. Mentors will be required to attend quarterly training sessions that will assist them in strengthening their relationship with the mentee. Based on the individual needs and interests of the child, the goal is to absorb the young person into the mentor’s family.

77