![]() The “mentors” in the program will be chosen from among local volunteers. It is “very important that the family is on board,” he said. Purtzer said that he will seek parental permission in every case. Young people may also self-refer.Īll young people referred to the program will “go through an application process and an initial telephone and/or face-to-face screening” with Purtzer. Young people 6 to 17 will be referred to the program, basically by anyone-school counselors, teachers, principals, social welfare agencies, counseling agencies, the YMCA, friends, or family members. A handout that Purtzer provided, said that Reach and Rise was established to serve the needs of young people not being met by existing mental health services, to offer over-stressed families a resource to help meet their children’s needs, to provide young people with positive, growth-inducing relationships with adults through mentoring and to make differences in the lives of children. It has partnered with the YMCA, among other organizations. Purtzer said Reach and Rise was started in 1992 by mental health counselors and is now a nationwide program. His wife, LeAnn, is an archaeologist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and they have one child, Iris, 5, who will be a student in Aspen Elementary School next fall. In a talk to the Club April 1, Purtzer, a social worker, said he moved to Los Alamos from Richland, Wash., in January. ![]() Aaron Purtzer, director of “Reach and Rise” at the YMCA, briefed the Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos recently on a new program for “therapeutic mentoring.” There’s a new group of helpers for young people in Los Alamos County. ![]()
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