INTERFAITH PARTNERSHIP ON LOOKOUT FOR NEW MENTORS.(NORFOLK COMPASS) - The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)

Byline: MIKE KNEPLER THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

Veronica Jackson didn't know that she could help women get off welfare or move out of public housing.

She knew little about the welfare and public housing. She wasn't a social-services professional and had never been on public assistance.

Jackson, 47, didn't even live in Norfolk. She's a Chesapeake resident.

But Jackson will soon become a volunteer in the Norfolk Interfaith Partnership Mentorship Program.

'Many people don't think they have anything to offer, but they really do,' Jackson said. 'It took someone to open my eyes and see that.'

For Jackson, that person was Eleanor Cannon, a long-time friend, who is executive director of the mentorship program.

Cannon saw Jackson as a caring person who's navigated the bumps in her own life as a single mother and co-owner of a small business.

'You have to be a certain kind of person. You have to be interested in building up another person,' Cannon said.

The mentoring program began in 1997 as welfare reform went into effect in Virginia. It operated on grants from Norfolk Social Services.

The money for paid staff is gone. Cannon and two other volunteers - Helen Johnson and Linda Palmer - now run the program without pay.

But Cannon needs more mentors. The program is expanding.

In addition to helping welfare recipients, mentors are needed for people who are raising their grandchildren and for tenants in Norfolk's HOPE VI public housing program.

HOPE VI is revitalizing the Bowling Green and Roberts Village public housing sites and nearby neighborhoods.

Hundreds of tenants are being relocated with the demolition of Bowling and Roberts. Some will move back into public housing while others will find homes on the private market.

Either way, the city wants the tenants to develop better job and family skills.

That's why mentors are needed for the tenants, as well as for women coming off welfare, Cannon said.

'The families will be going through some life-changing events,' she said.

Mentors also can guide the people through the welfare and housing bureaucracies or get in contact with other helpful community resources.

The training program will teach mentors about many public and private community resources, such as in education and health care.

The greatest value of mentors will be in their ability to give encouragement.

'Mentors will help them make decisions on facts and not on emotions,' Cannon said.

Mentors can help someone keep a job when facing difficulties at work. 'You shouldn't quit because of someone else's attitude or personality at work or because you're upset with a neighbor,' she said.

Volunteers will learn the ins and outs of being a mentor.

'You're not someone's boss,' Cannon said. And mentors should not give money to mentees or provide child care.

Mentors should commit for six months and contact the mentee at least once a week.

'A mentor is important to someone psychologically. A mentor can show you that you do have worth and value and help you recognize that,' Cannon said.

Cannon knows about mentoring from working Norfolk's Public Health Department for 30 years, including as volunteer coordinator for 12.

Many of her volunteers were welfare recipients who needed work experience, such as in public health clinics. She was always there to give encouragement and advice.

Watching the women go forward in their lives was rewarding. 'Most are still working in paid jobs, some are in professional positions,' Cannon said.

Cannon believes most everyone needs a mentor - not just low-income citizens.

She has her own, Sister Mary Fran Serrafino of the Sisters of St. Mary, for spiritual and emotional needs.

In turn, Cannon has mentored Veronica Jackson.

Jackson is co-owner of Infusion Care Services of Virginia, which specializes in intraveneous therapy for patients who need blood or infusions of other liquids.

'Eleanor has been there to encourage me, even as a nurse, to show me that I am making a difference,' Jackson said.

So when Cannon for help, Jackson was ready.

Said Jackson: 'I knew it was time for me to shine a light into someone else's life.'

* Story ideas for this column? Reach Mike Knepler at 446-2000 or knep pilotonline.com

CAPTION(S):

WANT TO HELP?

The Norfolk Interfaith Partnership is recruiting volunteer mentors.

Mentors are needed to assist people coming off welfare, people who have to raise their grandchildren and tenants leaving Norfolk's HOPE VI public housing neighborhoods of Bowling Green and Roberts Village.

Training will be on Feb. 15, Feb. 22 and March 1.

The next support group meeting will be on Feb. 20. There will be speakers on domestic violence and black history.

The interfaith program does not promote any specific religion.

For details, call Eleanor Cannon, 623-7000. Mark Mitchell / The Virginian-Pilot

Eleanor Cannon, left, executive director of the Norfolk Interfaith Partnership Mentorship Program, with new mentor Veronica Jackson of Chesapeake.