Shaping a young person into a positive and productive adult can be an enormous task, a nd more and more mentorship programs are taking on some of that responsibility.

A life is fragile, a nd the life of a child can be even more delicate, s o when a young person fails to get whats needed at home, outside support, like a mentorship program, can help pave the way to a productive adulthood, a nd though various programs might work differently, they all have 1 common goal.

Brandon Moore: "I got suspended from school yesterday. It wasn't my fault. I was on the no-pass list and the teacher gave me a pass anyway, and I got caught by security."

But this is just a minor hitch in the life of Brandon Moore. He's nonchalant like any 19 year old, but he's traveled a longer, much harder road. He's 1 month shy graduating high school. It took a lot for him to get to this point, a nd for the past 6 years, the Black Child and Family Institute in Lansing has given him the support to make it this far. It's just 1 of the many mentorship programs in mid-Michigan. Its mission for nearly 2 decades- shaping healthy children and families through skills training and community building.

Ernie Boon ran BCFI for years.

Ernie Boone, BCFI former director: "B randon is a work in progress, you can't call him a success, you can say we've been successful with him, because he's still here, still involved, still on this side."

Children grow into the adults around them, a nd if they can't get good role models at home, mentorship programs can fill in the gaps.

Gary Stollak, Psychologist, MSU: "W hat's important about these mentors, and that becomes a problem for many organizations, is we don't need them for 3 weeks, we need them for 3-5 years, we need them for 10 years."

Brandon Moore: "I know I've changed. When I came here, I was really unfocused, I was doing my own thing, trying to do what everyone else was doing. I stepped back 1 day, I just realized it's not about what everybody else is doing, it's about what I want to do."

Everyone needs a positive role model, a nd young adults with experiences far different then Brandon get results just as powerful.

Ryan Menefee: "I t's definitely given people my age a positive way of thinking, that we can do good things with our lives and we can help others."

Salhiah Coppedge has seen changes in herself and others.

Salihah Copedge, mentor: "They've changed in character, they've changed in school, some came for tutoring, they are getting good grades and their whole outlook on life is better, and it's great to see that when they come to BCFI."

But not all programs are alike, a nd while Big Brother's Big Sisters has a different approach, the end result is the same.

Ed Hagen, Big Brothers Big Sisters Executive Director: "T hese little moments that create big magic in the life of a child, it's really reaching to the future 1 child at a time."

They even commissioned a study to look at their methods, Bbut it's not just about 1 positive role model.

Ernie Boone: "W hat young people get here is a group of people who care about them, who know them, who support them, period. The people here at the institute are kind of sort of a family."

And for some young adults, that lasting relationship can make all the difference.

Brandon Moore: "The way that I can say I'm better than 5 years ago, more so then anybody saying it, is I can see it. A lot of people said I wasn't going to graduate and make it to where I am, but I'm here."

Big Brother's Big Sisters is facing a unique circumstance this year. While they usually have a waiting list of young people, i t's the 1st time they have a waiting list of mentors who need little brother and little sisters. For more info., follow these links: