Toms River Police, Big Brothers Big Sisters Launch Mentor Program

LAKEWOOD, NJ — The crack of the bat made Devin stop and start scanning the sky, looking to see if the ball was headed his way.

"There were a couple of balls that came over here earlier," he said after the ball fell on the field below, a safe distance from the picnic area where the Toms River teen was taking in his first baseball game in person, watching as the Lakewood BlueClaws took on the Greensboro Grasshoppers and munching on hotdogs and macaroni and cheese as he chatted with PJ Gambardella.

This night wasn't just about a trip to a baseball game, however; this was the official launch of the Bigs in Blue program, a partnership between the Toms River Police Department and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ocean County.

The program pairs youngsters needing mentors with police officers who want to connect with kids, with the primary goal of being another adult they can look to for guidance and support.

The other goal? Reaching kids and keeping them on the right path, instead of interacting with them as police officers dealing with crimes.

"It's disheartening to see some of the kids we have to deal with on a daily basis due to law enforcement," said Gambardella, the Toms River police officer who revived the program. "We want (this program) to be something the kids can look forward to, something they can rely on."

Gambardella said the police department had a similar program "many moons ago" but it fizzled out for a variety of reasons. Gambardella, who has a background in social work, approached Police Chief Mitch Little a few years ago with a desire to bring the program back.

"I thought i was a great idea," Little said Monday night as he watched the officers and their "littles" — the kids they're mentoring — interacting at the game. "If we can connect with these kids now, we can hopefully avoid having to deal with them from a law enforcement perspective."

Little and Gambardella said there's another benefit: changing the perception of police officers not only among the kids they mentor, but potentially among some of their peers as well.

"If they hear one of their friends saying cops are bad, hopefully they can say, hey, no, I know one and they're not all bad guys," Little said.

The program also marks something of a rebirth for Big Brothers Big Sisters in Ocean County, said Madalaine Rice, its executive director. The organization had hit a rough spot, and as recently as three months ago had nearly shut down completely. But new board members have joined, bringing energy, expertise and access to various avenues of support to not only help keep the organization running but also to launch the Bigs in Blue program.

"Now we just need to get the message out that we need support," Rice said. "It costs $250,000 to incarcerate a child for a year. Do you know what we could do with $250,000? I could take care of every child on our waiting list."

Little said the Toms River Police Foundation kicked in support to help get the Bigs in Blue program off the ground. He said it costs roughly $1,200 per child annually to support the mentorships with case workers and the office costs.

The hope is to get other towns on board with the program to reach at-risk kids across Ocean County.

"These are the kids at the highest risk (of going down the wrong path)," Rice said. Whether it's a home where the parent or both parents work two jobs just to make ends meet or kids in foster homes because their family unit has broken down, the kids reached through Big Brothers Big Sisters are often teetering on the brink and just in need of a steady positive presence in their lives.

Gambardella said it's not just about keeping kids out of trouble.

"You start to learn who these kids are, where they came from," he said. "They are indivituals (who) have their own things they're dealing with. Our job is to hang out with them and give them something to do. There's a lot of opportunity here."

"We want to encourage them to do good," he said, and in doing good, create more good in the community. "We're hoping for the ripple effect."

So far, there are seven Toms River officers paired with children, but he's already seen officers jump in to help. One officer volunteered after a call where he saw a child in need of that support. That led to the child and his sibling both joining the program, Gambardella said.

"Every day we come across someone who could benefit from this program," he said. "It becomes personal."

Little and Rice said efforts are in the works to create a network with the police departments of other towns to support and expand the program.

As the evening wore on, Devin and Gambardella chatted, and hung out with Devin's family, watching the game and snapping selfies, with Gambardella photobombing at the last second.

"It was a good night," Gambardella said as the families headed out. It's one of what he hopes are many, many more good days and nights to come for the program.

Rice said anyone interested in supporting the program in any way is welcome to contact her at mrice@bbbsoc.org.

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