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Mentor Court

San Francisco Diversion Program Makes A Difference
Just when poverty, violence and a lack of other options seem to be keeping young people on the streets and out of the classroom, 280 Bay Area youth have been given the opportunity to turn their lives around. Mentor Court began in 1996 and was offered to qualified young adults, ages 18-25, by the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office as a way to divert young drug sellers from a life of crime.

Ask Olga C., a member of the first graduating class of the Mentor Court program. Olga overcame drug addiction, homelessness and family abandonment. Now, three years clean, she has regained custody of her young son, holds a full time job and is married.

For someone like Sofalo M., the 1980’s mantra “Just Say No to Drugs” was just too trite. A high-school drop out who got caught up in the street life, works as a counselor at a Bayview-Hunter’s Point substance abuse program. In his graduation speech, Sofalo stated, “Now when I’m walking down the street and I see a police man, I don’t turn away from him. I don’t think that I’m a bad guy...you made me feel better about myself.

The structure of the program was based on a model developed by Oakland Municipal Court. Participants are required to attend high-school equivalency or junior college courses, read books and write reports, attend a weekly educational support group and appear in court twice a month for progress checks. Upon successful completion, a felony conviction is avoided.

Case workers from the San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project are the primary mentors for the participants. They become involved in virtually every aspect of their lives. Program Manager George Newkirk says, “I have found some common characteristics; poor self-esteem, personal shame and shame for their families. They lack confidence and have a different set of personal values.”

Participants are taught courses in self-esteem, job interview skills, goal setting, family planning and cultural and ethnic history. Guest speakers relay their own experiences from the streets and how they overcame obstacles. Some students attend extra tutoring classes to increase reading and writing skills.

Judge Ellen Chaitin presides over the court hearings. She, too, must praise, direct and sanction the clients when they stray. “Many who enter the program lack support at home,” he says. “We ask you not only to stay out of trouble, but also to make major life changes.”

Mentor Court also enjoys the support of many City officials. Public Defender Jeff Brown praises District Attorney Terence Hallinan for taking a chance on a program that risked appearing soft on crime. “Anyone who falls ought to be given a second chance,” Brown said. “The most expensive method of dealing with crime in this nation is incarceration. We need more pioneering efforts like this.”

Indeed, nationwide, there are over 1.7 million prison inmates housed at an annual cost of $30,000 each.* California incarcerates over 153,010. Though far less costly, just over 7,000 felons were enrolled in pretrial-type diversion programs in 1997. In 1991, the recidivism rate nationwide of persons arrested for felony drug sales was 46% within two years. Of the 45 Mentor Diversion graduates, three have been rearrested, only two for drug sales cases.

“Our clientele is slow to trust,” says Newkirk. “We have to go where they are to gain their trust and relate to their circumstances. Once that bond has been established, we can effect change.”

*All statistics from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.