”So often with court-involved youth, prosecutors like me are looking for options. How can we avoid simply locking up another youth? Is there a better way to respond, a more constructive way? Increasingly, we are realizing the importance of partnering with community groups to develop a continuum of care for disadvantaged youth. For so many court-involved youth, especially, mentorship is critical. Jobs and training programs are critical. And opportunities to boost empathy for others are critical. MUST accomplishes all three of these functions. That is what is great about it. It provides mentorship to youth, provides job opportunities for young adults, and along the way boosts empathy. It is the kind of option that those of us in the criminal justice system need to embrace if we are serious about reform.”

The mentoring program has taught me that being a man is all about being responsible. I have developed a better sense of accountability through this program. Working with other mentors has shaped my ability to work in a team with others towards the same goal.

It has also provided me with an opportunity to be an advocate for my guys whenever needed.”

”One of the greatest needs for teenagers is having responsible and caring adults in their lives. Mentoring fills a huge void in our education system and is not discussed enough when it comes to closing the opportunity gap. This is where MUST comes in and supports a vital area of need, especially for historically under-served populations.

MUST has worked with several Garfield students and we have received positive feedback from both parents and students about the care and services they received. One parent made it a point to tell another parent about the program because they felt so strongly about how it positively impacted their student.

”I previously represented juveniles in King County Superior Court’s Juvenile Division. Rick and the MUST program were mentors for one of the youth I represented. Having adults in the community to support a youth are absolutely essential to keeping a child out of custody, guiding the child through the court process, and can have a large impact on the outcome of the case and the youth’s life.

In King County’s juvenile court, Rick Newell and MUST stood out for their dedication and commitment to the youth they worked with. In the case where I represented a youth, they were 100% present and supportive for him every step of the way. Attending court hearings, taking him to mentoring activities on “pass” when he was on home detention, advocating on his behalf to the judge to keep him out of custody. In Juvenile court where the concern is often the level of attention a child receives, being able to have a “team” of family and community is essential to assisting our youth – both to have favorable outcomes in their case – and to reduce the chances that they will have to interact with the criminal justice system in the future. I was very grateful to Rick and MUST for their constant steady presence in the child’s life.”

”MUST provided mentorship to a client. Keeping the youth out of illegal activities, involving the youth in pro-social activities every week. MUST also worked at getting my client into school. This client told me that they appreciated the commitment MUST put in toward him. There were many times that even his family members would not support my client and the client told me the MUST Mentor has always been there for him and have never been judgmental.

I had a 17 year old client who was a pretty good athlete in football. He had a full ride scholarship to one of the private catholic high schools in Seattle. Due to situations with the parents the family started to move around quite a bit and ended up homeless for a short time. My client lost his scholarship and started to get into trouble with the law. The MUST program stepped in a few years ago and started to work with my client to try and get him back on the right track. My client would have bumps in the road but the MUST mentor Rick Newell was always there. My client told me that he even tried to stop being involved with MUST but he figured out that the MUST mentor was always there to help out. No matter if my client was in trouble or not- (his own family members would pass judgment). MUST showed commitment by coming to court every time, providing a pro-social activity each week and getting my client back into a school program. I would submit another referral for the MUST program for a future client with no hesitation.”

”A lot of the young people that come in contact with juvenile court are in need of positive role models. M.U.S.T. provides not only mentors for them, but they are a help and support to the families, too. The court system is not the easiest process to navigate. M.U.S.T. is available to explain the process or find out the answers to any questions the youth or family might have.

M.U.S.T. was very extremely helpful in assisting my client, his parents, and me while he went through the court process. The M.U.S.T. mentor and staff kept in regular contact with the young man and family to see how things were going at home and school. When there were problems at school regarding attendance, M.U.S.T. was there at the school and at meetings to support him and to see what they could do to help with the problem. They took the young man to positive activities on the weekend and at the same time showed him and talked to him about making positive choices. During this whole time, M.U.S.T. made sure that he understood what his court obligations were, got him to court, and stayed with him so he would not be alone for his hearings. M.U.S.T. kept me up to date regarding the young man’s progress. I appreciate how well they communicated with all the parties that were involved.”

”There are so many African-American youth that are struggling academically and behaviorally at my school. They’re great kids who have been dealt a bad hand, usually to no fault of their own. Having quality mentoring services really help guide and direct these kids toward a better path, ultimately giving them the opportunities to achieve their academic goals. Achieving these goals opens doors to possibilities that would never have occurred without support services. The services that MUST gives students at my school, enables them to get to that door so that they’re prepared to walk through it when it does open for them.

The specific example that I have, involves a senior who will be graduating this June. This student has an IEP, and struggled to make competent decision/choices last school year. These choices/decisions forced this student to become a 5th year senior–not being able to earn his/her diploma on time. Rick Newell and the student’s mentor came to many meetings that included teachers and family members in an effort at creating an academic/behavior plan that be successful for this student. Their effort really helped support this student to finally get over the hump–enabling him/her to earn their diploma this spring.”

”Here at Garfield HS it’s helpful just knowing that a number of these young men are involved with an outside mentoring group such as yours. It has allowed us to be able to communicate openly about students needs in and out of school. Mr. Washington has visited Garfield on numerous occasions as well as connected with the staff here at Garfield. There’s a lot of students here in need and since he’s introduced himself, he’s been able to communicate how the program works and how it can help not only the students who are currently in it, but more students in the future. We look forward to a bright future with Mr. Washington.”

”We share the some of the same students. The work that MUST does with the students and the work that Garfield is doing with the students; We were able to come together with plans on how we could continue to support these particular students and what would benefit each individual student.

MUST attending parent and staff meeting in regards to a student to figure out what would be the best option for this student moving forward. MUST helping to transfer a student to Interagency due to Garfield not being the appropriate fit for this student. MUST checking in with Garfield Staff on Students progress.”