An Inside Look at FOF in B-More

Briana O'Neal

I recently attended a Friend of a Friend (FOF) experience, a mentorship training project that operates inside of the criminal justice system in Maryland.  Friend of a Friend is a program of the AFSC office in Baltimore, MD.  My experience in B-More was very enlightening.  The training teaches how to build healthy relationships, create support, develop communication skills, and teach positive ways to handle conflict.

Participants work with mentors on their attitudes, strengths, weaknesses, and values. It’s important that the men leading this program have been through the criminal justice system and share similar experiences.  This helps them relate and connect to the new participants. They use interactive games, skits, and scenarios that cover real life situations. My favorites include: Mentor Money, an icebreaker that allows people to introduce themselves to each other; We Wear the Mask, an activity that acknowledges we all have mask that we hide behind to make life a little easier to deal with but we must not lose the real us behind the mask; and The Debate Game, participants debate on a topic and see who wins. Before we left we was asked, “Where do we go from here?”

I feel B-More, NOLA, and New Mexico has a lot in common.  We’re working on some of the same issues to change our communities.  It makes sense that we work together.  I think it would be great if we all could go to each other’s cities and attend trainings on what we do, how we do it, and what are the outcomes. We can help each other reach our goals of ending violence if we have multiple strategies and many people. There is strength and power in numbers.