Big Brothers Big Sisters Program

The discouraging news this morning is that in a recent report, New Mexico ranked last of all the states in child well-being. We’re down there with Louisiana and Mississippi. https://www.sfreporter.com/news/2019/06/17/still-at-the-bottom/

…As it did in 2018, New Mexico ranked 50th in the education domain, but this year the state fell to 50th in the family and community domain, dropping from 49th. The state ranked the same this year as last in the other two domains, economic security (49th) and health (48th).” (https://www.aecf.org/m/databook/2019KC_newsrelease_NM.pdf)

Hopefully our new administration will help by approving policies and funding to start trying to reverse the trend. We have some tech industry here, Sandia and Intel, which put some money into the region, but I don’t think that either company does much for the greater community, that I’m aware of, outside of providing salaries to their own workers.

So we end up with a “have & have not” dichotomy; an island of science and tech workers in a sea of local poverty. Santa Fe is even more extreme – a smaller island of extremely wealthy second-home celebrities and tourists confined to a few prestigious square miles within a very, very poor and rural region.

Meanwhile, I’ve been putting a lot of consideration into what volunteer activity to take on now that I don’t have a full-time job. I spent several months looking into options, so that by the time I actually quit my job, I had pretty much already decided on the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) program.

This is a nationwide program that matches adult volunteers (the “Big”) with a child (the “Little”). The children enrolled in the program are disadvantaged in some way, but are in stable living situations. The role of the Big is to just be a friend.

So I’m very excited to announce that my application has just been approved and I’ve been matched with my new Little. I will spend a few hours each month with my Little, taking her on outings, such as to the park to play ball, or to a children’s museum, or various age-appropriate community events. It’s up to the Big and the Little to decide what to do for an outing (subject to the parent/guardian’s approval of course).

After applying to the program, I was given several hours of training. It’s a structured program with rules about what we can and can’t do as well as suggestions and guidance about what to expect.

After the training course, I came back the next week for an extensive interview. The interview was 2 hours long and included an assessment of my appropriateness for the program (similar to a job interview), as well as a survey of my interests. They also conducted a background check and interviewed my references.

Then BBBS worked on finding me a good match based on my interests and the interests of the Littles available. Once they found a potential match, they first talked to the Little and her parents/guardians. After the Little and her parents/guardians approved me, BBBS then me to talk to me about the potential Little they had identified. At the end of that discussion, I was asked whether or not I wanted to make a commitment.

They require Bigs to make the commitment prior to actually meeting their potential Little. That’s because they don’t want the Big to back out after the meeting, because the Little could end up feeling personally rejected. So I made the commitment last week when they called me, and I’m looking forward to meeting my new Little.

My new Little’s name is Larissa, and I’ll meet her for the first time later this week. Unfortunately I won’t be able to post pictures of her (nothing identifying) but I can tell you a little bit about her. She’s 10 years old and Native American. She lives with her grandparents and her 5-year-old brother.

They matched us because we are both active and outdoorsy. Larissa’s grandmother said she is a “tomboy” which the BBBS representative put in air quotes because it is a little bit of a gender biased term, as if girls can’t enjoy outdoor activities and still be feminine. But it’s a practical term – I knew immediately what she meant!

It sounds to me like a good match. Our common interests include animals (pets), bike riding, hiking, the zoo, card & board games, cooking, photography, parks, Explora (a local science museum), and community events. Some other things that she listed that I hadn’t listed include sports, motorcycles, electronics, and computers. And she plays the Ukulele at school! She sounds like a very interesting child!

I’ve also been assigned a Match Support Specialist, whose name is Denae. She is a BBBS employee who will be my contact whenever I have any questions or concerns. I am required to stay in regular contact with Denae, so she knows what activities we are doing and how well the match is going.

I will meet Larissa for the first time next week at the BBBS offices. Then we’ll be ready to start our outings. I’m already looking into what sorts of things Albuquerque has for kids. It seems like there’s a lot of fun things we can do!