(from left to right: Teresa Slaughter, Jacque Jones, Donna Ruch, Shawn Olsen, Peter Sprague, Aly Strong and Jonathan Strong)
The Kodiak District Probation & Parole Office, in partnership with local community members Jeff and Teresa Slaughter, have teamed up to develop the Kodiak Area Mentor Program (KAMP). Jeff and Teresa Slaughter have years of mentoring experience in Kodiak and in Oregon and have a desire to use their skills to reach out to others in the Kodiak area. This is a faith-based program with five phases: Jail Mentorship; Community Mentorship; Juveniles; a business venture run by mentees and staffed by mentees; and finally, the big goal of someday opening a transitional living center in Kodiak. KAMP mentors will spend time with individuals who need assistance in getting their lives on a pro-social track and need living examples in their lives of what it looks like to have a clean and sober life.
Our first meeting with the core group of individuals who will assist us in training and development was held April 22nd at the Kodiak Regional Office Building. Representatives from Brother Francis Shelter, Providence Safe Harbor, Celebrate Recovery, Providence Hospital, Bayside Fire Department, local businesses, and churches were in attendance. Our next meeting will be May 9th at Providence Hospital. This will be a community-wide meeting to introduce the KAMP program to everyone in the community, to raise awareness, and to recruit more mentors. Chaplain Brenda Nagunst, Executive Director of Alaska Correctional Ministries, and Rebecca Brunger, Chief Probation Officer for Region One, will be present at this meeting to address the community.
Our Vision: Help all people choose to have a good life in spite of their past, no matter how bad they feel about themselves. Educate others that their lovability does not come from their own understanding of themselves, but rather from their actions towards others.
— PO III Jill Bunting