Mentorship Pilot Program Shows Promise at Green Hill

For the past six months, eight incarcerated youths at Green Hill School in Chehalis have met in groups and one-on-one with people who, at various points in their lives, found themselves on the wrong side of law, too. It was the first instance of the Credible Messenger Program in Washington State.

Friday afternoon, a crowd of supporters gathered in Green Hill to celebrate the graduation of those students from the program — a program that, its organizers say, has brought about positive results.

“There is something to be said about getting advice and mentorship from people that have lived their experiences, because there’s a level of knowledge and understanding that we as staff just can’t have but would love to support, so the partnership has been really successful,” said Kiara Moses, program manager at Green Hill School.

Eddie Howard, president and founder of Progress Pushers which leads the Credible Messenger groups that are now cropping up in three counties across the state (Lewis, Thurston and King counties), said Credible Messenger is a national initiative that started on the East Coast. Howard and two other individuals founded the Northwest chapter of the program, with Green Hill being the first facility to play host — something Moses called a pilot program. Howard said his organization hopes to bring it to more youth facilities across the state.

Howard said that once per week for six months, he and other mentors travelled from King County to Chehalis to meet with eight incarcerated youths in Green Hill. At some point after the program started, one of the youths was released to live in a group home, said Moses.

During the meetings, they would meet in a group and then break off into more one-on-one mentoring, said Moses.

Howard said they covered material in two phases: life skills and job readiness. They did mock job interviews — a first-time experience for many, if not all, of the graduates — and discussed how to fill out a job application.

They were taught how to seek out good influences and avoid individuals that might lead them into trouble, Howard said.

They also talked of the importance of concepts like forgiveness.

“’Maybe I should forgive my dad, because this will haunt me for 40 years if I don’t,’” said Howard.

A crowd gathered inside Green Hill Friday for the graduation ceremony. A table in the back of a large room was filled with pizzas and a DJ played upbeat music in the minutes before it started. Students in the notable green Green Hill gear mingled with the crowd.

Coy Graham, with Progress Pushers, kicked the event off.

“It isn’t often we hear about successes … so it’s only right that we honor and make a big deal out of these successes, because these are successes,” he said.

Both Moses and Howard, before the ceremony, shared in Graham’s optimism. Moses said data was gathered before and after the program on the students behaviors and interactions, and a notable improvement was noted. They were encouraged to take what they learned in group meetings with them throughout the day, she said.

Howard said that two of the students in the group were transferred to lesser security levels because of good behavior.

During the ceremony, one of the graduates, Brendan McGlothin, said the program has redirected his path onto one of success. 

“With the love and support I received from this group, I feel confident for the first time in my life that I will never again be another statistic of recidivism,” he said, to a thunderous applause.