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Two-wheelers fill two brothers with hope
Student takes time from busy schedule to make a difference
By Elena Brown
brownele@mscd.edu

Photo by Andrew Bisset • abisset1@mscd.edu Shane Turner rides his bike with Mike Gutierrez, whom he mentors.

Both bikes were used and a bit battered, but the young brothers didn’t mind. They were their first bikes. Even the late afternoon chill in the Denver air seemed less crisp as 14-year-old Mike Gutierrez and 8-year-old Pat learned to balance and race, while attempting a few tricks.

“The bike Mike is on is my old one, and I bought Pat’s,” said Shane Turner. “It’s his birthday in a few days. I just thought it would be cool if they had bikes.”

Attending school while working seems like a heavy load, but Turner was willing to take on a little more.

Along with taking 15 credit hours at Metro and working part-time, Turner is a mentor.

“I’m a mentor, but my responsibility goes beyond that,” Turner said. “It’s not about the gifts.”

The Metro junior, who is majoring in communications, joined Metro Denver Partners last year. Within a few weeks Turner became Mike’s mentor after the youngster had been on the waiting list for more than a year.

“I didn’t think (Mike would) take to the program, but he did,” said Dorothy Torres, the boys’ grandmother and legal guardian. “Before the program, the kids wouldn’t cooperate with me. But now there is a different attitude. They’re more respectful and responsible.” Torres, 61, has been taking care of Mike since he was a baby and began taking care of Pat five years ago. She has a multitude of health issues including emphysema and diabetes, but credits the program with helping all their lives.

“For the first two months Mike used to call a few times a day to make sure I was really coming,” Turner said. He’s never missed a day with Mike.

Turner is sensitive to Mike’s issues, such as grades, holidays and family topics.

“I shoot straight with him, from sex and drugs to drinking and grades,” Turner said. “But he likes it when I hear what he has to say.”

After Mike asked Turner to attend his parent-teacher meetings, “I knew he was opening up,” Turner said.

Currently the family and Turner are looking at different high schools that suit Mike’s needs.

“I really like astronomy,” Mike said. “My grandma got me a telescope. Orion is my favorite constellation. I also like playing the guitar. I can play ‘Amazing Grace.’”

The boys don’t see much of their parents. Their father isn’t in the picture, and their mother, who was incarcerated when the boys entered the program, is now estranged from the family.

“At first I didn’t trust (Turner). I have a hard time trusting people,” Mike said with a shrug. “After I got to know him he was like a friend. Now he’s like an older brother. I don’t think things would be as good if Shane weren’t here.”

Metro Denver Partners is a 30-year-old nonprofit agency that provides mentors to at-risk children as well as tutoring and gang intervention programs. It serves Adams, Denver and Douglas counties. The agency has seven mentoring programs including the diversion and prevention program, which pairs a senior partner with a troubled and often parentless junior partner.

Becoming a mentor requires an extensive background check, personal interviews, a commitment of at least three hours a week for a year and working closely with a case manager. The general wait for a mentor is six months to a year.

Danielle McCann, former Metro alum and the boys’ case manager, has been with the agency just under a year.

“Mike has changed from a rebellious young kid to a young man in a matter of months,” McCann said.

According to the agency, there are more than 60 children awaiting a mentor, including Pat. Mike generally invites Pat along, and Turner doesn’t mind.

"Pat’s a great kid, but I have to make sure I can balance my time with both,” he said. “It would be a challenge to take on another kid, but I’m up for it.”

Under the current guidelines, a first-year senior partner like Turner can only have one junior partner.

“I try to teach Mike to become a more developed individual and taking responsibility for your actions,” Turner said. “My personal life matches my mentoring.”

The words he uses to guide are echoed from friend and mentor John Lawson. Lawson was his Durango High School swimming coach.

“Rambunctious is the nice word to describe Shane in high school,” Lawson said with a laugh. “He slept like a fish and swam like a rock, but he never missed a practice.”

Turner joined the swim team after a code-of-conduct suspension from football.

“He learned how to earn respect through effort and began changing as a young man,” Lawson said.

Lawson was also a high school counselor for at-risk children. He holds a master’s degree in school and community counseling. Currently he is a counselor at Miller Middle School and still coaches boys’ swimming.

Shortly after high school, Turner joined Youth With A Mission and has traveled extensively overseas, volunteering and counseling in places such as Australia, Africa, Thailand and the Philippines.

“I believe Shane is getting to be the person he always wanted to be,” Lawson said. “He comes back from those places more humbled. It’s a privilege knowing a person like that. I’m real proud of him.”