Often just sitting and talking with a young person for a long period of time is difficult. The most frequent need among young people today is for someone willing to listen to them. Mentored youth need to know that someone outside their own immediate family or peer group cares enough to listen. PAC volunteers build healthy mentoring relationships by being good listeners. The ability of juvenile offenders to fit into community life and to mature into productive citizens can be strengthened through contact with mentors who help smooth the way.
Volunteers often know about networks of people who can assist mentored youth.
Once needs are identified, PAC volunteers pursue possible avenues for meeting those needs. Volunteers often attend to very basic needs, such as providing food for youth and their families. Finding resources can mean getting a youth involved in a recreation program, making arrangements for a tutor, or providing guidance through the maze of college financial aid applications. Dedicated mentors almost always find ways of filling a youth's needs through personal or community resources. Certainly one of the least popular tasks among PAC volunteers is reporting.