Bonnie Lockhart, a member of the Sherwood Rancheria has been singularly focused on the improvement of the lives of Native Americans, particularly youth, for over two decades.

Lockhart’s journey began when she was a teen, working with foster youth at SPACE. From there, she continued to find novel ways to support at-risk youth. Now, Lockhart’s dedication to youth has culminated in her most recent project with Redwood Community Services (RCS), where she is the agency’s Native American Youth and Adult Program Co-Coordinator, working concurrently with RCS and the Pinoleville Rancheria.

After receiving her master’s degree in Social Work from UC Berkeley, Lockhart returned to Mendocino County. She is assisting with the development of a mentorship program funded by a grant- the Pomo Youth College and Careers and Success Project. The program, the Native American Youth and Adult Partnership Program, or NAYA, is a project which matches Native American youth with adult mentors, with the purpose of assisting young people with goal setting, building positive one-on-one relationships and expanding their circle of supportive adults who can assist them with life skills development, cultural teachings and community-based activities.

“For the past few years, RCS and Pinoleville have been working together on programs to enhance career success and program success for Native youth. With this project, we are addressing the fact that youth need support- from counselors, programs and the community, particularly through mentorships.

The program will create partnerships between Native youth and volunteer adult mentors, who aren’t required to be Native Americans to participate. The “mentees” are youth between grades five and twelve. Mentors must be over 21 years of age, notes Lockhart. Currently, nearly three dozen young people are signed up for the program, and Lockhart is actively seeking additional mentors.

Shaheen Hoaglen is one of seven volunteer mentors and a Native American educator for the project.

“What we are doing is trying to build lasting relationships between all of us in the Indian community,” says Hoaglen. She figured out from a young age that modeling positive behavior was a successful way to effect change in her community.

“From there, I continued to be a mentor and I’ve been doing so for the past 20 years,” she continues. “I wanted to help build up those gaps in our community’s support systems. I’ve seen our people struggling to educate themselves, and I wanted to become a bridge.”

Hoaglen then became a Native American student advocate at Laytonville High School. “It took four years of Shaheen working hard, but now a funded position was created at the school, directly because of her volunteer commitment,” says Lockhart. Hoaglen became a second-grade instructor in Round Valley and she is committed to making this program succeed, even if it means long drives to Ukiah.

“Building community is extremely important to me. My personal goal for this program is a success for Native youth- to help them achieve their goals and create educational paths for Native kids. In my experience, modeling works. I went to school and just started doing it, and I haven’t stopped,” she smiles.

The program rolled out with youth and adult outreach events, one of which took place at the Arbor Youth Resource Center in Ukiah on September 7th. “Our community traditionally comes together at ceremonies, Big Time events, health fairs, and family celebrations, but we wanted people to simply hang out together and have fun,” says Lockhart.

The event was a great success. “Of course we had pizza, basketball and prizes, but the coolest part was the youth and adults hanging out, socializing ad playing ball together. We teach each other through this kind of modeling. Cousins of mine that I never thought would get out there were playing basketball with the kids,” Lockhart grins.

The mentorship program is about pairing- putting together a mentee with a mentor who possesses skills that youth would like to learn. To be a mentor, the program requires an initial interview with a NAYA program representative. Training on working with Native youth will be provided. There will be twelve weekly sessions along with scheduled meetings with participants, mentors and family members.

“Our mentors are asked to meet once weekly for 2 and a half hours for 12 weeks, and with their young person for 2 to 4 hours monthly, for six months,” says Lockhart, for a total commitment of approximately 70 hours over the course of 9 months. Mentors may not currently be in treatment for substance abuse issues and must agree to a free Livescan background check. Mentors planning on transporting youth must have a valid license, and personal and professional references must be provided.

“We had quite a variety of kids at our outreach event- from little ones to high school teens. My son goes to SPACE. I told my son to get out there and do some hip-hop dancing, and he got a great reception,” Hoaglen smiles.

Lockhart notes that the program is going beyond teaching Native kids their cultural roots. “It’s about basketball as much as basket weaving,” she smiles. “Basketball has become a big tradition in our communities. The whole family comes out and supports the teams.”

For now, until additional funding is secured, the program is being limited to participants in the Ukiah Valley area. “We believe there’s potential for a model that we can build out in other areas, and we’re hoping that we can secure funding for volunteer stipends in the future. There are great agencies outside of the Native community who offer wonderful services, but if we don’t engage with our own communities, we are skipping out on programs that will really sustain us,” Lockhart notes.

“We want to see more people in our communities working hard to help kids get to college, not to repeat poor choices- and to thrive sooner in their lives. Our tribes often lack strategic plans. We need to build partnerships- not just on paper or through finances, but through honest work on our relationships. We intend to plan our events in a way that everyone feels the power and potential of these gatherings,” says Lockhart.

She notes that many people in the Native community are in recovery. “How do we as adults learn to be real with ourselves and with others? It’s not about being perfect, or about never having been addicted, or never having gone to prison. This is where we are now- who we are now.” she notes.

David Dorman is a student at Mendocino College and an intern with the partnership program. A Native young adult, Dorman says he “has been in the system my whole life.”

“I was born in Rohnert Park and moved to Ukiah when I was about three,” says Dorman. During his childhood, he had virtually no contact with his biological family.

“My mom was a drug addict. I’m not sure what she used, but I only saw her a couple of times from the ages of 6 to about 12. The last time I saw her, I really acted out.”

David was raised primarily in foster and group homes. “My defiance skills level was way over 100,” he laughs. “I got sent to group homes. When I got out, I took a break and did nothing but smoke weed all day for about a year and a half.” About a year ago, he became homeless for about a month. “That was it. I got my life together. I’m going to school full-time, working here part-time and going to Anytime Fitness in between,” he notes. Dorman is studying general education and plans to complete the automotive certification at the college.

Dorman chose the automotive program for a reason most guys can relate to. “I like girls,” he says, frankly.

Dorman performs a variety of office skills at The Arbor, and was a great help to Lockhart at the recent outreach event, helping kids play basketball and being a young adult role model for the kids. And unlike many of his peers, he eschews texting. “How can you possibly think you can get to know someone by texting them? I have buddies who spend all their time trying to think of jokes to text girls they like. I’d rather see a person, talk to them, have a real conversation,” he smiles.

Dorman embodies what can happen when kids like him receive support and positive modeling, and Lockhart hopes this program will attract many more adults who feel they have something to offer, even if perhaps they might not feel prepared themselves. “Training and experience will come,” she concludes.

For information about becoming a mentor, phone Bonnie Lockhart at (707) 367-9343.