Dedicated Men Mentoring brings community stakeholders together to help youth

WAVELAND, Miss. (WLOX) - Non-profit organizations in Hancock County are a little more connected thanks to an effort by a man on a mission to help give young people the guidance they need.

That’s more likely to happen if you are working as a team.

It starts with a handshake. That leads to a conversation, and hopefully leads to a better life.

“We want to put role models back into the community and give the kids access to adults that have skills and have talent and make them accessible to the children in the community,” said Dr. Gregory J. Barabino, founder of Dedicated Men Mentoring.

To do that, Barabino, who has been mentoring for 25 years, said networking among non-profit organizations is the key.

The agency he created sponsored Sunday’s community stakeholders beach party in Waveland.

“No one can do it all by themselves,” said Charles Marshall, representing Phi Beta Sigma fraternity. “So if we get together, we can help these children get a better life, better employment and make the whole country better...I tell people all the time, you can’t wait for the kids to come to you. You’ve got to go to them.”

Barabino recruited partners through fraternal organizations and community leaders to kick off the effort.

Bay St. Louis municipal judge Stephen Maggio and his wife have been foster parents for more than 20 years.

“From personal experience, I’ve seen how if one person gets involved with a young person and is willing to take the time and make the investment, the repercussions of that – the change that you can make in somebody’s life – is dramatic,” he said.

Denise Osborne said Barabino’s involvement has already helped her nephew, Donsha Portis.

“He showed me things that have changed my life,” he said.

Osborne added, “Anybody can toss a child a football but is anybody going to put in that time that child needs academic wise. My nephew went up in reading. He was behind. He went up three levels.”

If you want to know more about Dedicated Men Mentoring, check out the group’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/Dedicated-Men-Mentoring-105846341850704/?_rdr

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