Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz

Art Mentoring Program

The Plymouth County District Attorney's Office, in conjunction with
Stonehill College, offers a "Mentoring Through Art" program at the
Fuller Museum of Art on Oak Street in Brockton.

"Mentoring Through Art" is a ten-week program in which students from Stonehill College and elementary school children from Brockton's inner city work together to learn the basic elements of photography under the supervision of a Stonehill College Professor and members of the District Attorney's Office.

This program provides a positive social and learning environment while teaching youths all the basics of photography. A contingency based mentoring relationship is developed and fostered over the period of the semester. Each elementary student is also introduced to institutions within the community which provide "institutional mentoring". This shows children that agencies and community institutions such as Stonehill College, Plymouth County District Attorney's Office, Old Colony YMCA, Fuller Museum of Art, the Brockton Police, the Boys and Girls Club and City Hall are full of caring and concerned adults.

Through the efforts of the above agencies, students are given a yearly membership to the Fuller Museum of Art as well as a voucher to attend courses at the Fuller Museum over the course of the following year. Students/youths are transported from their school to Stonehill College immediately following the school day. They are transported back to their homes between the hours of 5:15 and 6pm.

The Program has been highlighted at the National Youth Advocate Annual Conference entitled Juvenile Justice: Restoring, Reclaiming, Rebuilding in Overland Park, Kansas in February 2000.

It was presented as an "exemplary program of multi-agency community collaboration...empowering at-risk youths to better understand themselves as they create personally meaningful work that investigates issues of family and community."