A Big Intervention | Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cashiers and Highlands

Written By: Danielle Hernandez-Juarez | Issue: 2021/10 – October

There was a little girl I once knew. She was a child growing up in a single-parent home and was no stranger to struggle, though she didn’t understand it. 

She did not comprehend the enormity of her mother working nights to make ends almost meet, or the true challenge that existed from watching the only vehicle she and her mom had being repossessed for failure to make payment.  

Or sitting down to dinner many evenings and eating while mom watched because there was only enough for her.  

This little girl did not know the sacrifice and hardship that was present. 

Her story took a turn for the positive in August 1994, kind of. She and her mother relocated to North Carolina from Florida for a new beginning and to be closer to her grandmother. At this point in her life, the 9-year-old child had had no contact with her father for nearly two years, but not by her choice or her mother’s.  Something struck this child, and she asked her mother to call her father so she could talk to him and her two half-siblings.

The phone rang in Alabama and the girl’s aunt answered, sobbing.  Between tears she explained that Daddy was being taken by ambulance; he had been shot in the heart and died instantly. 

This young person who had just moved to a new community two months prior, started a new school and was having a very difficult time fitting in, and dealt with bullying daily due to her weight, now had no father to ever turn to again. The emotional and psychological challenges just seemed to mount endlessly, and she did not have access to an unbiased outlet. 

How could her life have been shaped differently? While much of her circumstance was out of her control, having someone extra in her life to help her cope and focus on her with an unbiased perspective could have helped build her emotionally.  This enormous impact would filter into her school performance, her ability to work through peer pressure, stay away from all the things that kids sometimes dabble with, and ultimately learn to make better decisions.  

Had she had an early intervention of sorts, such as a mentor, her experience growing up would have been very different.

The impact of a Big Brother or a Big Sister in the life of a child is life-long.  

The positive influence from that extra support is substantial and sets a child on a much different path, pushing them towards their fullest potential.  Children are far less likely to be involved in drug or alcohol use, are more successful academically, can build coping mechanisms to work through challenging times, build their confidence, and so much more.  

As a Big (mentor), you are helping shape a child’s life and support them in their endeavors.  You are a friend, a Brother or Sister.  And you will be equally affected by the positive impact having this role in a young person’s life as they have from you being in their lives. 

The relationship a Big has with their Little not only touches the life of the Little they are matched with, but also touches the lives of the family unit. 

The effect one person can have in a single life is endless!  Big Brothers Big Sisters of WNC – Cashiers & Highlands needs more Champions for children right here in our communities.  Children are waiting to be matched with the right Big Brother or Big Sister in our immediate area! Are you ready to step up to the plate?

Now, you may be asking yourself what happened with the little girl at the beginning of this article.  

Well, I’m right here, writing to you, asking you to be the champion in a child’s life who may have experienced a story like mine, or is experiencing their own struggle, or simply just needs someone to talk to.  

Since my childhood, I too found a mentor in my late high school and college years, and the effect of the person who crossed my path at just the right time is still present within my heart today, at 36 years old. 

I am proud to say that because of the amazing influence and positive push, I completed my Bachelors in Education, am considering seeking my Masters in Clinical Mental Health, became a teacher, and now am a very passionate Program Coordinator for the Big Brothers Big Sisters program here on the Plateau; and I know this is largely due to the people who pushed me towards my potential and who were not afraid, nor timid, about stepping up to the plate and getting involved in a young person’s life!

I invite you to contact us for more information regarding becoming a Defender of Potential in the youth across the Cashiers and Highlands communities at [email protected], call (828) 399-9133 or visit bbbswnc.org. Part-time and full-time residents can have tremendous impacts on a child!