{"id":268884,"date":"2025-10-01T10:07:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T10:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/268884\/"},"modified":"2025-10-01T10:07:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T10:07:15","slug":"big-brothers-big-sisters-of-tarrant-county-addresses-shortage-of-male-mentors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/268884\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tarrant County addresses shortage of male mentors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Arlington mother Iesha Mustafa hoped to quickly find a good role model for her 10-year-old son, Isaiah Hassell, through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After two years of waiting, her hopes dwindled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought they forgot about us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Isaiah was one of more than 400 children sitting on the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Tarrant waitlist. Delays caused by a shortage of male mentors have left boys waiting twice as long on average for a mentor than girls.<\/p>\n

The male mentor shortage is not new, said Maeve Mitchell, community engagement manager for Big Brothers Big Sisters.<\/p>\n

Kids typically want a mentor who is the same gender, Mitchell said.<\/p>\n

Boys typically wait a year longer on average for a mentor than girls, Mitchell said. Nearly three-quarters of the waitlist are boys, but most mentors are women.<\/p>\n

Recruiting campaigns<\/a> have been used to try and convince more men to sign on as mentors, Mitchell said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Big Brothers Big Sisters is recruiting men through social media, networking events and partnership fronts, Mitchell said. However, most volunteer after their friends convince them, she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So far this year, 112 men volunteered compared to 240 women.<\/p>\n

As a child in the mid-2000s, Mitchell was paired with a Big Sister fairly quickly, she said.<\/p>\n

Her younger brother, who was 6 or 7, signed up around the same time. He was on the waitlist for three years before their mom pulled his application, Mitchell said.<\/p>\n

Some men see mentoring as a feminine role so they don\u2019t volunteer, Mitchell said.<\/p>\n

\"(JohnBig Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Tarrant community engagement manager Maeve Mitchell sits at her desk in Arlington on Aug. 28, 2025. (John Forbes | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n

Doug Hadley, a 56-year-old father of five, volunteered after meeting a friend\u2019s mentee at a wedding.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just felt I still had time and patience to give,\u201d Hadley said.<\/p>\n

Hadley was paired with 12-year-old Zayden Roberts on Christmas Day in 2023 after only a few weeks of waiting. The nearly two years they have spent together has been filled with rodeos, sporting events, food and endless video calls.<\/p>\n

Hadley said he sees that Zayden is happier, more confident and even performing better in school as a result of their time together.<\/p>\n

Zayden\u2019s mother, April Roberts, said she sees the change, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cZayden is just flourishing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"(JohnIesha Mustafa, center, and her three sons, from left, Ali Trigg, Isaiah and Isaac Hassell, pose for a photo in the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Tarrant County Arlington office on Sept. 17, 2025. (John Forbes | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n

As for Isaiah, now 12, he finally met his new mentor on Sept. 4.<\/p>\n

Mustafa signed up her youngest children 10 months after Isaiah. They\u2019re still waiting, but Mustafa has renewed hope.<\/p>\n

Want to become a mentor?<\/p>\n

Big Brothers Big Sisters is seeking mentors. You can apply here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Interested in getting a mentor for your child? Go here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

John Forbes is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at john.forbes@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n

Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n

Republish This Story<\/p>\n

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Republishing is free for noncommercial entities. Commercial entities are prohibited without a licensing agreement. Contact us for details. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Arlington mother Iesha Mustafa hoped to quickly find a good role model for her 10-year-old son, Isaiah Hassell,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":268885,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5138],"tags":[5229,7948,74017,7371,7372,7375,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-268884","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-arlington","10":"tag-big-brothers-big-sisters","11":"tag-fort-worth","12":"tag-fortworth","13":"tag-tarrant-county","14":"tag-texas","15":"tag-tx","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-united-states-of-america","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","20":"tag-us","21":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115298359485797252","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}