As a Bigfork ministry grows, its leaders are looking to fill the gaps in mentors reaching out to support teens throughout the Flathead Valley.

Young Life Area Director Brian Truckey said the ministry is an international Christian organization that works to match adolescents with adult mentors. He said while participant numbers with the local chapter have grown, volunteers to serve as mentors to those kids hasn’t kept up.

As a result, the organization is working this week to increase public awareness of its goals.

“We’re looking for people who are willing to plug into a kid’s life, for something as simple as attend the weekly meeting or show up to a basketball game or even just answer the phone,” Truckey said.

Truckey said members of Young Life’s committee are scheduling 30-minute appointments throughout this week with Flathead Valley community members to share the vision of Young Life and explain how volunteers can help.

He said those presenting the information about Young Life have the ability to meet where the potential volunteer is located. Meetings can be scheduled through Truckey (406-407-0743) for time slots between 9 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. today through Thursday. He said appointments can also be scheduled down the road.

His wife, Marci Truckey, said she began volunteering with the program because she felt that if she had more support as a teenager, her start into adulthood would have been less rocky.

Marci was 19 years old and in an abusive relationship when she found out she was pregnant.

She said she had recently dropped out of college, was living in Florida and her parents were several flights away in Illinois.

“Your world just feels like it’s turned upside down, and you’re already so young and still developing that life feels hard enough,” Truckey, now 33, said. “You also feel judged all the time having a baby as a teenager, and that stigma made me feel even more alone.”

Without a support group in Florida, she moved back home with her family in the Midwest as she learned how to be a mom.

Now, as the Young Lives volunteer area coordinator — a branch of Young Life — Truckey works to help other young moms learn how to manage caring for a new life.

She said her time with the young mothers often revolves around discussing how it feels to be the teen mom in a small community, especially without a support group.

“My biggest thing is to say, ‘You’re not going to be a teen mom forever — in a few years you’re just going to be a mom and people will be coming to you for advice on kids,’” she said. “I’ve been through the trenches, that initial surprise and panic. I want them to know it gets better.”

Brian Truckey said in Young Life’s teen mom program, there are roughly 17 consistent members showing up to weekly meetings and hangouts. He said there are roughly 60 youths participating in the high school section and about a dozen more than that in the junior high’s class.

He said currently, the organization only has 10 leadership volunteers — the goal is to have a ratio of one adult to every five adolescents.

According to the Young Life website, the organization celebrated its 75th anniversary this year and has a site in at least 100 countries and all 50 states. The organization stated more than 2 million kids participate it its programs each year.

Truckey said the ministry is there for those from their teens into their 20s, whether they’re facing an unexpected pregnancy or just trying to get through junior high and high school.

“We have kids driving at 16, going to college soon after, drinking beer at 21, there are so many stages it prolongs this whole period of what it means to be an adult,” he said. “Society has created these imaginary lines of adulthood that’s hard for a kid to work through, which makes adult mentors essential to help lead the way.”

To schedule a time to learn more about Young Life, call Brian Truckey at 406-407-0743.

Reporter Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at [email protected].