?Our children are having sex at 12, experimenting with drugs at ten and there?s an increase in violence amongst the youth, especially girls,? YouthNet director Clare Mello told Rotarians yesterday.

Ms Mello made an appeal to the Rotarians for help finding volunteers to help support the youth organisation founded five years ago.

YouthNet?s mission is to help young people on the Island cope with social challenges, she said.

Ms. Mello said the need for mentors in schools is now more important than ever as young people continue to struggle with making the right decisions.

YouthNet was started with only 25 volunteers, who spent an hour a week with various students across the Island, she added.

Today there are more than 200 mentors working in several public schools and students have shown a 61 percent improvement in their academic performance since participating in the programme.

?They?re also more confident, get along with their parents and don?t skip school anymore,? Ms Mello said.

All volunteers receive numerous training sessions before becoming mentors and are subject to Police checks to ensure the safety of the children.

Schools participating in the project include Dellwood, Victor Scott and West Pembroke, Rotarians heard.