Where’s Bill? Follow PVF’s Executive Director, Bill Somerville, out of the office, for site visits and meetings with outstanding grassroots leaders.

Bill and the youth involved with Students Offering Support, a program at Carlmont High School.

I recently visited Carlmont High School in Belmont, south of San Francisco. I was meeting with the school crisis counselor and some of her students. They have started SOS, Students Offering Support, on every topic imaginable – drugs, pregnancy, depression, bullying.

Under the leadership of the counselor the students have come together to support each other and to reach out to the student body. It is an uplifting experience to listen to them and learn how they cope, overcome, and help others.

PVF gave funds to the program for the students themselves to give out for special needs someone might have such as glasses, minor dentistry, clothes. PVF also gave discretionary funds to the counselor to use as she sees fit in running her program such as retreats, refreshments, sweatshirts.

As a result of working with high school principals and counselors, I am now investigating the feasibility of placing college students in high school as assistant counselors, calling them College Commitment Counselors. Years ago I did this with students at UC Berkeley and it worked well.

Let us know what your ideas are in working with high school youth.