Big Brothers, Big Sisters searches for volunteers in Columbia

The Rev. Wilson Goode urged people to mentor children whose parents are incarcerated.

By John Gass

Published Oct. 24, 2008

Seventy percent of children whose parents are incarcerated will end up in prison, according to Amachi, a program devoted to mentoring children. On Thursday evening, the Rev. Wilson Goode, who leads Amachi, presented this question: "How are the children?"

Goode spoke at the St. Paul AME Zion Baptist Church about the Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Central Missouri and its need for more volunteers to help mentor children who have parents in jail.

The event is part of a two-day conference, "Bring Down the Walls: Creating Community Solutions for Prisoner Reentry."

The message Goode delivered was the importance for the children of incarcerated people to get mentoring and be led in the right direction because their parents are not available to them. Goode's father was incarcerated when he was 14.

Goode told inspirational stories about relationships between mentors and the children they worked with and the effects on the children of these role model relationships.

He told a story about a man named Joe and a boy named Demilo. Demilo was a child whose father was incarcerated and Joe was his mentor through the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program. Demilo continued to act up in school and around his peers and Joe didn't know why he continued to act this way. Goode relayed questions Joe asked Demilo about Demilo's behavioral habits.

Goode said Demilo was motivated to go to prison, because then he would be able to see his father.

Goode said he told this story to reinforce the need for children with incarcerated parents to be helped. He said he spoke at the church because he believes this program and others like it can do all children of incarcerated parents some good, and that mentoring can change a person's life.

Dave Dietrich, who has worked with the local chapter of Big Brothers, Big Sisters for three years, showed a video of the bonds that the big brothers and sisters have on the children.

Dietrich has mentored children and said one of the growing pains of the program is finding more mentors for the children.

"Hundreds of kids hope to be paired with big brothers and sisters each year, but only half of the children get big brothers and sisters," Dietrich said.

Georgalu Swoboda, the executive director of Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Central Missouri, has worked with the organization for 10 years. She began her work with the organization after hearing a sermon at her church that inspired her to help these children.

Their goal is to reach 1,300 kids in the central Missouri area.

"There are 1,100 children who fit the description in Boone County, but only 100 are being served," said Swoboda, who spoke after Goode.