'Extra Help'

A similar PBH program targets the Mission Hill housing project and seeks to provide the much-needed "extra help and support" to the children of the Mission Hill project, according to Program Co-Chair Debra B. Stulberg '95 and Esther Hong '95.

Because the program takes place in the Mission Hill Project in downtown Boston, safety is of the utmost importance, Stulberg says. As Stulberg prepares to send her groups of volunteers to different locations within the project in the neighboring Harvard School of Public Health, she asks two volunteers to walk a child home after the program.

"I think you should designate two counselors to take him home, because last time he didn't get back until 6:30," Stulberg cautions.

"We bring the kids together after school and spend about half the time on homework and the other on project goals," Stulberg elaborates. "We offer both academic and support services."

According to Stulberg, children at Mission Hill do not receive the attention they need from regular classroom teachers. She says her project offers them careful tutoring and individual attention.

Not only does the Mission Hill project provide for the children's academic growth, but it encourages cultural awareness. Stulberg says volunteers must occasionally deal with gang-related tension between Black and Puerto Rican children. The project is approximately equally divided between Blacks and Puerto Ricans.

"One of the specific goals of the project is to bring kids together who wouldn't normally associate," explains Stulberg.

The children in the Mission Hill program seem comfortable with the program's multiple role in their lives. Younger children occupy themselves with journal writing and reading skills, while older children learn about social issues and participate in discussion sessions.

One day late last year, an AIDS counseling group sponsored by high school students from the Boston Public Schools visited the oldest children in the program.

As the group explained the use of condoms in the prevention of the spread of AIDS, the Mission Hill children nodded knowingly. A question about lubricant was answered unabashedly by a sixth-grader who cautioned his peers not to use oil based substances "like Crisco or Vaseline."

Later in the discussion, the peer group's instruction became more technical. As children's attention wandered, the boy reminded his friends of the significance of AIDS.

"Everyone just think about Michael Jordan, and it will be more interesting," he advised.

Keylatch, One-to-One and Mission Hill are just a few of the programs offered by PBH which target Boston's youth. Other programs range from Magic Me, which brings children to visit the elderly, to Refugee Youth Termtime Enrichment which coaches Southeast Asian refugees on their English skills.

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