Mentor on Horseback Serves As Surrogate Father
A retiree will split time with his own children and a teenage probationer.
By Paul Aranda Jr., EGP Staff Writer
This Sunday, Terry Chapman will join his son for a Father’s Day brunch. However, before Chapman meets up with one of his daughters for a barbeque, he will make a stop at a Northeast institution full of young men on probation; many without fathers.
Every Sunday, Father’s Day included, Chapman visits the Highland Park campus of the Optimist Youth Homes and Family Services and picks up a young man to go horseback riding. After a cumbersome three-month application process, Chapman serves as a mentor to the resident of the youth home.
Terry Chapman and his horse (pictured) serve as mentors to a teenager on probation.
For years, the 67-year-old Pasadena resident only thought of the youth home as a business client. It was not until his retirement that he learned more about the residents and the impact he could have on one of them.
The youth home now serves as a bridge that connects the retiree to a young man living worlds apart. For the two, their preferred mode of transportation across that bridge is a horse. To be specific, the horses are named Catalina and Scout. Chapman keeps his two horses in stables adjacent to Griffith Park where he takes his 18-year-old mentee for their Sunday rides.
After years of serving “privileged children,” through little league and the boy scouts, Chapman said he wanted a chance to work with disadvantaged youth. New to the retirement scene, sitting on a board of directors for a company did not appeal to Chapman. Instead, he sought a more intimate role that would allow him to help an individual.
Upon outlasting the lengthy application process required by the Los Angeles County Probation Department, Chapman became a mentor for the Optimist Youth Home. When it came time to select a youth, Chapman found what he was looking for after several weeks of a unique program he organized. Looking to unite police officers and the young probationers, Chapman organized a month-long program that put 10 Optimist Home residents together with members of the Los Angeles Police Department’s equestrian unit. It was during these sessions that Chapman noticed one young man display both a sense of comfort with leadership and the horses.
“He had confidence with the horses and was always teaching the other kids,” Chapman recalled.
Now, every Sunday, Chapman and the young man spend three to four hours riding the horses through the Griffith Park trails. On a rainy day, the two have gone to visit the nearby Autry National Center’s Museum of the West. Chapman said the youth has built an appreciation for the horses and he is set to start a job this summer working at a stable shoeing horses.
“A horse is a nice approach,” Chapman said on his ability to relate to the young resident. “It’s a lot better than sitting at a table in an interview format.”
While riding through Griffith Park, the young man has opened up about his troubled past and his current situation, said Chapman. When he expressed anxiety over an upcoming probation hearing, Chapman was there to offer advice on how he should present himself in court.
“I’m coaching life skills,” he said. “But I’m not there to necessarily tell him what to do.”
Chapman said all three of his adult children fully support his efforts as a mentor, although he has yet to introduce any of them to the teenager.
He said he does not discuss his family life because he understands the youth came from a broken home. He does not know his father and his mother was often absent, leaving a visible hole easily filled in by neighborhood gangs, Chapman said.
According to the Optimist Youth Home’s Web site, www.oyhfs.org, mentors are asked to volunteer a minimum of eight hours a month for at least one year. When their current arrangement ends, Chapman plans to continue their horseback riding sessions. He said when the youth is released from probation he would like to include him in future family functions.
Chapman said his role as a mentor is something he will reflect upon this Father’s Day. Many of the youth in the home come from broken families, something Chapman had never experienced before his current role.
He said he would like to see enough mentors at the home for every resident. In the meantime, he will focus on his small role in the creation of a big change for at least one young man.
“I think I’m making a difference in one persons’ life,” he said. “It’s very rewarding.”
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June 18, 2009 Copyright © 2010 Eastern Group Publications, Inc.
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One Response to “Mentor on Horseback Serves As Surrogate Father”
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“I think I’m making a difference in one person’s life.” There’s an understatement. Very nice story, and thanks to Mr. Chapman for the good work he’s doing. Should anyone need a reminder of the value of mentoring, or perhaps just a little added inspiration, check out this video — ahamoment.com/pg/moments/view/3699 — it’s one man’s “aha moment” experienced as a result of his serving as a mentor and making a difference in the lives of some young men. I think you’ll like it. Perhaps you’ll even consider sharing your own experiences.
Thanks,