PHOENIX — Marcelino De La Rosa, 17, met his mentor Farrah Fiegener seven years ago. He felt uncomfortable at first, but seven years later, De La Rosa said Fiegener was the first person he opened up to outside his family.
“I’d say Farrah is my first stable friendship outside of my family,” De La Rosa said.
The pair met through New Pathways for Youth, a Phoenix-based organization that serves young people ages 13 to 21 who have experienced adversity. The youth in the program have a household income of less than $24,000 and have three or more adverse childhood experiences or ACEs.
“We really help young people realize all the goodness inside of themselves,” CEO and President of New Pathways for Youth Karen Johnson said.
Over 300 young people are currently matched with a mentor as part of the holistic, research-based program according to the New Pathways for Youth website. In the 35 years since the organization began, over 8,000 kids have been served, Johnson said.
Fiegener, who serves as the director for marketing and mentor recruitment at NPY, said when she first began meeting with De La Rosa, their time together was about going out and doing things, making memories, and having fun.
But as they continued to spend time together, the two began to talk about issues with family, academics and the future.
“He called me out of the blue, and just needed to talk,” Fiegener said. “That's where I realized as a mentor that I had really earned his trust, and that it was time for me to step up and do what I signed up to do, which is to really support him in an emotional way.”
The mentoring relationship Fiegener and De La Rosa have built is something both of them are grateful for.
De La Rosa said he thinks everyone needs a mentor, especially when times are tough.
“I think everybody needs a mentor,” De La Rosa said. “Because it’s kind of hard to do it on your own.”
Fiegener said she is so proud of De La Rosa and all of the growth she’s seen in the past seven years.
“This is a chosen relationship and it makes me feel really proud and honored that I'm somebody at the top of his list that he's going to reach out to when things are tough,” Fiegener said.
The pair is just one example of the work NPY does in the Valley. Johnson said 80% of the youth at NPY go on to post-secondary education and 75% of them are the first in their family to graduate from high school and to pursue higher education.
“On the individual level, we get to see the growth of our young people, we get to see them learn how to make different choices for their lives, learn how to value themselves in new ways,” Johnson said. “There's nothing better in life than being able to help a kid.”
The youth NPY works with often experienced trauma in childhood. Johnson said some of the young people NPY serves have experienced violence firsthand or violence against their family members.
“When we're addressing things like teen violence, their tools and their resources that help teenagers make different choices,” Johnson said. “That's what our program is really about supporting.”
De La Rosa said he saw violence in his community growing up. Seeing the violence in the Valley right now makes him sad, he said.
“It’s just sad seeing that cycle repeat itself,” De La Rosa said. “I knew some of these people, like we grew up together saying we wasn’t going to do none of these things. And yet here we are, five years later, we’re doing the same things we said we wasn't going to be doing.”
But De La Rosa hasn’t lost hope. Through his experiences at NPY, he is taking what he learns and bringing it to others.
“Even if my family doesn’t want to go out there and learn it for themselves I could bring that to them because I’ll have that knowledge,” De La Rosa said. “I could potentially help make that change.”
New Pathways for Youth has a goal to match 100 youth with mentors again this June and are looking for 25 adults to volunteer their time as mentors.
You can learn more about becoming a mentor here.
12News' 2nd Town Hall on teen violence
12News is inviting the community on Tuesday, Feb. 27 to share their voice and ideas in a 2nd Town Hall focused on the impact of teen violence in our communities.
Fiegener is one of the panelists.
This Town Hall will take place at the Cesar Chavez Community Center from 6-7 p.m. and will broadcast live during 12News at 6.
- When: 6-7 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 27 | Doors open at 5 pm
- Where: Cesar Chavez Community Center | 7858 S 35th Ave., Laveen Village
RSVP here to join us in person or on the live stream.
Together, with a panel of community members, law enforcement, educators and activists, we're bringing the issue of teen violence to a broader audience to identify solutions and address the problem across valley neighborhoods.
Get to know 12News
At 12News, we listen, we seek, we solve for all Arizonans. 12News is the Phoenix NBC affiliate owned by TEGNA Inc.
12News is built on a legacy of trust. We serve more than 4.6 million people every month on air, on our 12News app, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and 12News.com.
We are committed to serving all of the Valley's communities, because we live here, too.
12News is the Official Home of the Arizona Cardinals and the proud recipient of the 2018 Rocky Mountain Emmy Award for Overall Excellence.
Stay connected by downloading the 12News app, available on Google Play and the Apple Store. Catch up on any stories you missed on the show on the 12News Youtube channel. Read content curated for our Spanish-speaking audience on the Español page. Or see us on the 12News Plus app available on Roku or Amazon Fire.
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today.