[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 35 (Friday, February 25, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E178]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING PUERTO RICO YOUTH AT RISK, INC.'S 25 YEARS OF SERVICE AND 
                   ITS FOUNDER, DR. MERCEDES CINTRON

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. JENNIFFER GONZALEZ-COLON

                             of puerto rico

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 25, 2022

  Miss GONZALEZ-COLON. Madam Speaker, I want to recognize the work of 
Puerto Rico Youth at Risk, Inc.--Jovenes de Puerto Rico en Riesgo, 
Inc., in Spanish--on its 25 years of service. I also want to 
congratulate the organization's founder, Dr. Mercedes Cintron, who was 
recently selected as a finalist for the Lifetime Achievement Award 
during the National Mentoring Summit's 2022 Excellence in Mentoring 
Award Ceremony.
  Puerto Rico Youth at Risk is a non-profit organization focused on 
developing school dropout and delinquency prevention programs for at-
risk youth in Puerto Rico. Since 1996, they have carried out multiple 
initiatives to help at-risk students on the Island achieve their full 
potential, including through one-on-one mentoring services, personal 
and social development workshops, academic support, and community 
service experiences. Puerto Rico Youth at Risk has been highly 
successful, as 98 percent of students who participate in its various 
programs remain at school; 95 percent graduate from high school; and 70 
percent of the program's graduates have gone on to pursue higher 
education studies.
  On January 28, 2022, Dr. Mercedes Cintron was nominated and selected 
as a finalist for the 2022 Excellence in Mentoring Award Ceremony's 
Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes individuals who have 
dedicated their life's work to supporting youth through mentoring. Dr. 
Cintron is a psychologist and social worker who has dedicated the last 
28 years of her career and volunteer work to promote and facilitate the 
use of ontological mentoring to prevent school dropout and antisocial 
behavior in teens. She has witnessed over 3,000 successful mentoring 
experiences that have changed the lives of both mentors and mentees, 
many of whom have continued to serve in their communities.
  In 1993, Dr. Cintron pioneered the use of formal mentoring in Puerto 
Rico. She was inspired and committed to establishing Puerto Rico Youth 
at Risk after completing her term as Administrator of Puerto Rico's 
Juvenile Correctional Institutions, where she saw firsthand the need to 
carry out evidenced-based prevention and intervention programs to reach 
at-risk young individuals before it is too late.
  Dr. Cintron's selection as a finalist for the Excellence in Mentoring 
Award Ceremony's Lifetime Achievement Award is a testament to Puerto 
Rico Youth at Risk's impact and valuable work during the past 25 years. 
It also represents a historic milestone, as Dr. Cintron was the only 
Puerto Rican among this year's nominees and the first individual from 
Puerto Rico to have been nominated for this prestigious award.
  I'm honored to join Puerto Rico Youth at Risk to celebrate Dr. 
Cintron's achievement and the organization's 25 years of service on 
behalf of Puerto Rico's at-risk and vulnerable students.

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