Worship with Me

Worship with Me is a Leon County Sheriff’s Office initiative to connect local, at-risk youth with places of worship, to form a meaningful and impactful mentorship experience. This is a social-science and data driven project. Data shows that religion matters in the lives of our kids. Research has proven that youth, who attend at least one worship experience weekly, significantly decrease their chances of illegal activity and significantly increases their chances of academic success. This program does not focus on a specific religion or a specific type of activity. The purpose is to inform citizens of the powerful and positive impact of worship for youth.

Goals:

• Reduce violence in Leon County through prevention
• Create a lasting bond between at risk youth and places of worship
• Increase the probability of a successful future for at risk youth
• Inform the community of the positive impact that just one hour of worship can have on youth in our community

Objectives:

• Convene a group of community representatives to include religious experts and social workers to identify 7 pilot places of worship to participate in the program
• Identify at risk youth to participate in initiative
• Notify places of worship and request a commitment to adopt up to two youth as mentees
• Places of worship commit to providing a weekly worship experience (at least one hour) for each youth
• Track youth’s worship experience as well as behavioral patterns, academically and socially and share outcomes with the community via traditional and social media at the 90 day and one year marks
• Encourage at least 45 additional places of worship to adopt youth for Worship with Me

Criteria for Places of Worship:

• Encourage and assist youth and their families in getting to worship at least one hour each week
• Establish a liaison(s) (background check approved) for the youth and their family
• Offer transportation assistance for the youth and their family, if necessary
• Provide counseling services as needed

Religiosity Resources

For more information, contact Case Manager, Diana Duhart at (850)606-3183, or email duhartd@leoncountyfl.gov.