Match-Two Mentoring Outreach, Fresno, California

Match-Two Mentors youth who are incarcerated. One caring adult can make a difference in the life of an at risk youth. Population Served Match-Two serves juveniles 12-19 years old who are incarcerated. Estimates indicate that 70 to 75 percent of the youth in California Youth Authority come from households in which there is domestic violence, (Alicia Bugarin, 2002). The ethnic and race based on the averages from the Juvenile Justice statistics for 2008 is summarized as follows: 1.2% American Indian/Alaska Native; 12.1% Asian or Pacific Islander; 5.2% Black or African American; 64.9% Hispanic of Latino; 16.6% White or Caucasian; and 0% Other/Unspecified. Organization Qualifications For 39 years, M2 has matched mentors from the community with men, women, and youth who are incarcerated in California. M2 has relationships with volunteer recruitment pools statewide. According to a state-funded study of M2 in 1987, of those who were matched with an M2 Mentor during their incarceration, less than one-third return to prison during that same time frame. From our observation, the result achieved with youthful offenders is even more substantive. Match-Two History Match-Two’s vision for mentoring extends back to 1971 when a nonprofit organization of concerned Californians presented a program plan to the California Council of Criminal Justice and the Department of Corrections. The premise was to enlist volunteers from the community to befriend prisoners who had no friends. Volunteers would express this friendship through monthly visits and correspondence. Then, when the prisoners were released, volunteers would help them make a successful transition back into society.

Mission Statement: Mission Match-Two Mentoring Outreach exists to recruit, train, match and monitor community volunteers for supportive one-to-one mentoring of the incarcerated who receive few or no visits and who request a mentor. Vision Match-Two’s vision is to see caring relationships and reentry services assist ex-offenders to become productive and responsible citizens that result in life-changing decisions, lower recidivism and safer communities.