TOLEDO, Ohio — A new mentorship program in Toledo aims to connect police officers with youth in the community.
"It's is an opportunity to mentor children in the community one-on-one and I think it can do a lot of good for the children and a lot of good for the officers," TPD Lt. Jessica Meyer said.
The new program called "Bigs with Badges" is a volunteer opportunity for police officers to continue the department's effort to build lasting relationships with the people living in Toledo.
"We want to be a responsible adult, responsible person in their lives; somebody that they can come to rely on, to speak to that maybe isn't their parent, if they aren't comfortable with that," Lt. Meyer said.
The group is bringing what they call a one-on-one opportunity to our area.
"It was originally designed with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, nationally. Then all affiliates worked with them to help put the program together and we're actually the first in our region that's actually implemented it," Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Ohio CEO, Dr. Marvin Whitfield said.
There are currently five officers volunteering, but there's no limit to how many can do it. Mentorship is done in a officer's free time and will last a year.
Whitfield says the bonds built in the program last well beyond that year.
"I am a big myself. So, me and my little, well he's not little he's 16 years old, but we constantly stay in contact with each other," he said.
Whitfield says this program has been able to help reduce crime and violence with youth in the community.
Leaders with both TPD and Big Brothers Big Sisters say they are excited about this program to begin. They believe it's important to reach out to the community and to let them see that police officers are regular, everyday people, too.
The matching process can take anywhere from 30 - 45 days. The first meet-up is expected to be in the next month.