海角大神

In their first job out of law school, Whitney Louchheim and Penelope Spain worked, literally, in a closet. With neither windows nor air conditioning, 鈥渕y wrists stuck to the keyboard when I typed,鈥� Ms. Louchheim remembers. The two had borrowed the closet-cum-office from a nonprofit group in an unsavory neighborhood.

鈥淲e were right next to 鈥� the biggest open-air heroin market in D.C.,鈥� Ms. Spain recalls. Their location was difficult for outsiders to comprehend. 鈥淥ur parents would come to visit, and they were terrified,鈥� Spain says. 鈥淢y father just looked at me like, 鈥楾his is what has become of my daughter and her law degree?鈥� 鈥�

But from the moment they met on orientation day at American University, the two women had bonded over an unconventional vision: to help young men in jail leave Washington鈥檚 juvenile justice system and find their way to productive, fulfilling lives.

Louchheim and Spain cofounded , a nonprofit that matches volunteer mentors with youths serving time at the district鈥檚 juvenile lockup, then called Oak Hills.

In 2004, when the women first began planning their project, roughly one-third of the young men who鈥檇 been imprisoned were sent back to Oak Hills within a year of being released. Louchheim and Spain knew some of them: They had started a tutoring program that brought classmates from American University into Oak Hills.

The women realized they were positioned to be more than teachers. 鈥淟egal issues, housing, family, friends, girlfriend,鈥� Spain says. 鈥淎ll of those things we were involved in because we had earned their trust.鈥�

Louchheim and Spain also found themselves serving as de facto advocates for the young men, following up with caseworkers, lawyers, or parents. Eventually, they realized this kind of support needed a full-time effort. So聽instead of taking the usual path for bright law school graduates 鈥� lucrative internships or prestigious clerkships 鈥� they started Mentoring Today with a couple of credit cards and a promise they made to each other at Spain鈥檚 kitchen table.

鈥淲e said, 鈥業鈥檒l hire you if you hire me,鈥� 鈥� Spain says. 鈥淚t was a deal.鈥�

Flash-forward five years. Mentoring Today now has a solid track record. It has inspired mentors to donate more than 1,800 volunteer hours, which have helped more than 30 young men remake their lives. Last year, the nonprofit raised more than $350,000 from donors and grantmakers to fund its services.

The women defined 鈥渟uccess鈥� differently than do many at-risk youth programs. Although 92 percent of those they mentor have continued with their education, for example, those who end up behind bars again aren鈥檛 written off. When one of Spain鈥檚 early mentoring subjects returned to a lockup, she still saw progress: He鈥檇 learned to read and write and could write letters to her.

Mentoring To颅day鈥檚 willingness to stand by its young people is 鈥渢he biggest proof鈥� of its success, says

Da颅vid Muhammad, chief of committed services for the Department of Youth Rehab颅il颅itation Ser颅颅vices (DYRS) in the district.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e so consistent with the young people, even after some of them get back into trouble,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 quit. They didn鈥檛 stop and say, 鈥楬e got rearrested, so I鈥檓 going on to the next one.鈥� They remain with these young people, often even after they鈥檙e out of DYRS, out of our jurisdiction or custody.鈥�

Both Louchheim and Spain credit their mothers for the path they鈥檝e found themselves on. Spain grew up in Napa, Calif., where her mom helped immigrant women at a nonprofit. Spain鈥檚 friends growing up were Latinos, and she remembers 鈥渇ighting verbally with various folks in the community, with my teachers, with my stepfather鈥� over immigration issues.

鈥淲ith my mother working at a nonprofit,鈥� she says, 鈥淚 always had an eye out for the most forgotten segment of a population or the segment folks don鈥檛 want to see.鈥�

Louchheim was raised in Gettysburg, Pa., where her mother taught native American art history. 鈥淕rowing up, we would go to a lot of reservations,鈥� Louchheim says. 鈥淚 learned that there was unbelievable poverty in this country, that it wasn鈥檛 really going anywhere, and that people didn鈥檛 really know about it.鈥�

Most of the youths helped by Mentoring Today come from the east side of the . 鈥淚t鈥檚 predominantly black, forgotten, and poor, with high unemployment rates, low education rates 鈥� you name it,鈥� she says.

Louchheim and Spain hope to set up a support network to ease the transition for young offenders from the D.C. lockup back to their lives in east Anacostia. They concentrate on boys under 18 鈥� the gender focus is in part because the facility they chose is male-only, and the age limit is because they want to catch at-risk youths before they become adults.

In D.C., which has no state-level prison facilities, adults convicted of felonies may be shipped off to federal prisons around the country, further disconnecting them from their families, advocates, and other support.

Mentoring Today makes its matches four months before the inmate is scheduled to be released. Says Spain: 鈥淚t鈥檚 not rocket science. It鈥檚 going in and saying, 鈥業 am one individual who will come out here, see you every week, and listen to you.鈥� We have no further agenda鈥�

Volunteer mentor Erin Davies appreciated this approach. She helped the young man she mentored for a year with dozens of problems in his daily life, but she says they really bonded over spending time together as equals, time that enriched both their lives.

鈥淲e were actually the first double date in the program, when he and his girlfriend and me and my husband went out to dinner and a movie one night,鈥� she recalls.

Mentoring Today鈥檚 unique approach also worked well for Brandon, one of Mentoring Today鈥檚 most successful young men. (Because his criminal record is confidential, Brandon shared only his first name.)

Right after he was released, Brandon went back to high school. But the school was in Maryland, far from his home. His mentor made sure he caught the bus, or picked him up if he needed a ride. That support helped him earn his high school diploma, a moment he remembers with pride.

鈥淢y middle-school teacher told me I wasn鈥檛 going to graduate from high school,鈥� he says, 鈥渟o I was happy.鈥�

Louchheim and Spain might seem sweet, but they can be tough when they have to be. When one young man saw them strongly advocate for him, 鈥渉e saw the ferociousness come out,鈥� Spain says. 鈥淗e leaned back and said, 鈥榊鈥檃ll are like goldfish that bite!鈥� 鈥�