In an effort to convene local mentoring organizations, along with other nonprofits that serve youth, the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut has launched the Eastern Connecticut Mentoring Collaborative.

The goals of the collaborative are to connect organizations so they can share information, provide mentor training and raise awareness of the importance of mentoring programs.

"Mentoring has been proven to do a number of things for young people, including increasing college completion rates, improving mental health of young people and decision making skills," said Jennifer O'Brien, program director of the foundation. "And we know with the challenges that a lot of youth face, especially in our urban areas, that a caring adult can be one of the factors that make a difference in their lives."

The collaborative was launched June 28 and featured remarks from Susan Weinberg, founder of the Norwalk-based Mentor Consulting Group. At the event were representatives from the Boys & Girls Club of Southeastern Connecticut, Lymes' Youth Service Bureau, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Southeastern Regional Action Council.

The result of the launch, O'Brien said, was a brainstorming session on the needs of both youth and the organizations. The Community Foundation is planning another event for fall, with the goal of getting more agencies involved and providing more specific training.

The focus is on general mentoring that is geared toward children in elementary through high school. The work mostly will be in the New London and Norwich areas.

O'Brien said the idea to start a mentoring collaborative began about a year and a half ago, and the Community Foundation brought in mentoring organizations for a listening session about a year ago.

The Community Foundation gave a $15,000 grant to the Governor's Prevention Partnership for technical assistance and mentoring expertise from Art Mongillo, program manager of community engagement for the Prevention Partnership.

The formation of the Eastern Connecticut Mentoring Collaborative follows mentoring collaboratives in Hartford, New Haven, Stamford and Bridgeport, which also work with the Prevention Partnership.

Mongillo still is learning about the needs of southeastern Connecticut, which he called an "underserved area of the state," and he noted that approaches vary by region.

For example, he said, "In Bridgeport, there's a large faith-based community that we try to tap into. In Stamford, we have a huge base of young professionals that have a lot of time on their hands and they're very civic-minded."

As a commonality, he listed three needs of mentoring programs: funding; training and technical assistance; and connectivity with other programs.

Moving forward, Mongillo will work to map area programs and resources, and to bring in entities outside of mentoring programs, such as local government and police.

"Just having the presence of a caring adult in your life can lead to all sorts of positive outcomes," he said. "Youth are more likely to stay in school, stay out of trouble, less likely to abuse substances."

e.moser@theday.com