Young male and female prisoners at the Co-ed facility often arrive angry, confused, belligerent and resolved to be difficult. For some, it is the only way they have managed to survive their domestic and social backgrounds.

Offenders often come from unstructured homes in which the parent(s) or guardian(s) has failed to provide adequate direction, or set behavioural limits. Almost always, their interaction with adults and authority figures has been hostile and negative, and many have also been sexually or emotionally abused and/or neglected.

With poor or non-existent role models, they have had no-one to regard their needs as being important, or to show them pro-social and acceptable ways of getting those needs met. Usually, these young people have been left to learn for themselves how to get their needs met, and all too often they choose to gain attention by getting into trouble.

Such offenders, if left to their own devices in the Co-ed Facility, would almost certainly return to society still carrying the same attitudes which led them to be imprisoned in the first place. Fortunately, however, there is help for those who want to turn their lives around, thanks to the active Mentor Programme.

This is offered to males and females aged 16-21 who have received a corrective training sentence of nine months to three years, and its purpose is to provide an adult mentor to each inmate for the length of his or her incarceration. Perhaps on the assumption that females are more receptive to the concept of mentoring, the programme is voluntary for them, whereas for young males aged 16-21 having a mentor is compulsory.

Volunteers who become mentors are concerned adults from all walks of life who are trained to befriend and help individuals with whom they are matched on a same-sex basis. They are given specific guidelines and training on how to approach and communicate with the young offender, following which the duo embark on journey of communication and counselling leading to what is hoped will be a reformed individual.

The word `mentor' stems from Greek mythology, and specifically Homer's `Odyssey', wherein Mentor is the loyal friend and advisor of Odysseus and the teacher of his son, Telemachus. Over time the word `mentor' has come to mean a loyal and trusted advisor, and a teacher or coach with specific characteristics: loyalty, approachability, commitment, confidentiality and listening skills among them.

In the context of the Co-ed Facility programme, each mentor must demonstrate that he or she is a caring and trusted advisor who can help an inmate to think better. The mentor serves as a positive role model who exemplifies community and family values, and shows the inmate that there are choices to make in life other than the ones he or she has made thus far, and also helps him or her to develop realistic and pro-social plans for their release. Typical among them is Mrs. Anita Brown, who was attracted to the programme two years ago because she wanted to help young people who were incarcerated, and be "a listening ear" for them. Her first assignment was a 19-year-old woman who had reached out to the wrong people for guidance, and found herself in prison because as a result.

"We talked about the choices she made and their consequences, but afterwards we went into a spiritual sense and she accepted the Lord as her saviour. Because she was from a different race and religion to me she was trying to understand different things, so it was a challenge for her."

Nonetheless, and despite their age differences, the two got on extremely well.

"Sometimes opposites attract and we just hit it off from the beginning, although she wanted to do her own thing, and I had to show her that she had to use common sense," Mrs. Brown said. "You have to make the person understand that although you are helping them, you don't live in the prison and they just have to get through it."

The two connected so well that the former inmate turned her life around, and has now left the Island after completing her sentence. The two plan to keep in touch, and Mrs. Brown also hopes to visit her.

Looking back on her first experience, she says "it was like taming a wild pony, but extremely satisfying to see the change".

Now Mrs. Brown has a new assignment, which she describes as "another tough one".

"Offenders have to want to change. You can go there every week, but if they don't want to change there is nothing you can do," she said. "People are like plants, some need more light than others, but unfortunately they also have forces on the outside who influence them. You can go back after counselling them one week only to discover that you have to start again. Actually, you can work better with someone who doesn't have a connection to the community."

Mrs. Brown is in charge of the prison ministry at her church, St. Paul AME, and says that all mentor participants undergo regular training sessions to keep up with and encourage each other.

"We visit once a month for one to two hours, and the prisoners look forward to that time together," she said.

Accountant Michael Smellie was already familiar with the Co-ed Facility through conducting bible studies there for a group of female inmates. After the women had all complete their sentences and left, he planned to take it easy for a while, but succumbed to the pleas of former divisional prison officer and founder of the Mentor Programme, Ms Lynell M. Furbert, for him to continue mentoring.

His first assignment was a 19-year-old male, who already had several children.

"It was the first time I had dealt with a delinquent young man, and he was a real battle. I couldn't even introduce the spiritual side of life to him because he had a whole lot of baggage," Mr. Smellie remembered. "The sorts of problems he had totally knocked me sideways. He had a lot of anger and didn't want a mentor, but eventually he mellowed. Actually, what sticks in my mind most is that when he was approaching the time of his release he was really concerned about his future outside because he had no family stability and nowhere to go. I don't know whatever became of him."

It wasn't long before his phone rang again and he was persuaded to take up yet another difficult challenge.

"When I met the young man, who was just 15 years old, he was very antagonistic and didn't want to have anything to do with anything. He was very angry and upset because his whole life had been a struggle, but there was something that attracted me a great deal because I saw in him a very bright person with tremendous potential," Mr. Smellie says. "I took a lot of abuse for three months, but I introduced a spiritual part from the outset and eventually it broke (his attitude). Now he is doing very well indeed."

The mentor feels strongly that the absence of a father figure in many young offenders' lives is a critical problem.

"The first young man told me the first time he met his dad was when he was 11, and he tried to get his son to sell drugs for him. In the second case, both his father and step father were incarcerated. These things give you a view of Bermuda's problems, and I really think there is a strong need for more mentors, particularly males," he said.

Asked what qualities he thought mentors needed to be successful, Mr. Smellie says: "You have to be committed. It is time out of your own schedule, and at times you wonder why you are going, but if you have made a promise you must follow through. You must also be honest and a good listener. Trustworthiness is very important, as is maintaining confidentiality."

Pastor Eugene Joell knows a thing or two about human nature and became interested in the mentoring programme when he met a newly-released offender who told him he had nowhere to go, didn't know what to do, couldn't get a job, and didn't care if he went back to prison.

Busy as he was, Rev. Joell felt he could find an hour in his week to help someone else.

The young man to whom he is assigned was also difficult to begin with, but has now changed a great deal.

"He looks forward to my coming, and puts his arms around me when I arrive. He has come a long way," Rev. Joell said. "It is a challenge but I really believe it is rewarding. You may not see the fruits immediately, it is a long term thing. Most of these young men come from dysfunctional families with no father figure in the home. They have had a rough life, and their home style is not spiritual. They are actually looking for someone to give them some guidance."

The pastor also believes compulsory mentoring for males is the right approach, but admits that it is isn't always easy for either side.

"Most of them don't want a mentor so you have to try your best to get them to have confidence in you, and you also stress that whatever they tell you will be held on confidence," he says.

Viewing the Co-ed Facility Mentor Programme overall, Mrs. Brown says it has been of great benefit to the young offenders.

"We are really thankful for those who give of their free time to assist because they have certainly made a positive difference in the lives they touch. Most of them bring a spiritual side too, which has proved to be very important. Without God everything else fails."

More mentors of both sexes are needed, and anyone wishing to apply should contact the chief officer at the Co-ed Facility ( 297-1280.