Lunch Buddies May Help At-Risk Kids

In some local schools last year there were more disciplinary referrals for more aggressive actions.  That really caught the attention of the guidance counselor at Garden City Elementary.  Karen Newsome was looking for a way to help, and may have found it in a new program offered by the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office.  It’s called “Lunch Buddies” and it may make a big difference.
   
The students enter the room shyly at first - hesitant smiles as they greet a new friend.  Some students at Garden City Elementary are among the first to participate in the “Lunch Buddy” program - an effort by the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office to connect with potentially “at-risk” kids early on.  “These are kids who will need just an extra person to care about them - to care for them - and that could be the last part of the formula to actually take them toward a whole life of success,” says Deputy Ron Robinson.

The children were hand-picked by the school’s guidance counselor - who thought they could benefit from a little nudge in the right direction.  “I think it will certainly raise their self esteem - to know that someone else cares about them and someone outside the school system is interested in their future and wants to help,” says Karen Newsome.  It’s a prophecy come true as these new lunch buddies seem to hit it off right away.  Sharing smiles, conversation, and even a book or two - the relationships - full of hope for the future.  “Letting him open himself and say his goals and dreams and kind of let myself be a model for him of possibilities,” says mentor Alicia Scott.  Her buddy Jerome Polite says, “I say if I grow up - I’m going to be a police like she.”  And seeing these grown ups with a badge are just like them - could be the key to that future success says Deputy Robinson, “We’re just real people - we are fathers, mothers, brother, grandparents - we’re just real people and getting to know them on that level will change the negative connotation that’s out there that law enforcement are the enemy.”

So far, thirty deputies and staff have signed up to be Lunch Buddies at least twice a month. The program is modeled after one that has been in place in the city of Charleston for about a decade.