Little Brother Hiro is matched in our Site Based program and has been matched with his Big for almost a year. Hiro came to us as a referral from his teacher. He was having ongoing struggles with transitioning to school from his home life. Being in a new environment and away from his mother caused him a lot of anxiety. The school had been working with him in a variety of ways, but he still needed more individualized attention. That’s where we came in.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Big Bend (BBBS) has been able to support Hiro by matching him with his mentor, Big Sister Cynthia. Hiro originally came to BBBS as a very shy child and was often timid with new things. Over the past year, Hiro has made great strides with his Big Sister by learning to control his emotions in more healthy ways. Cynthia is able to work around Hiro’s anxiety of being asked direct questions by engaging in activities with him while also teaching and helping him work on his assignments for class. Recently, they turned a big corner together! Hiro is much more engaged in class activities now and is no longer sitting by himself in the back. Cynthia, and our BBBS Match Support Specialist saw that he had all the skills he needed to understand the work, it was just a matter of helping him feel comfortable and included. In working with his teacher, Cynthia and his BBBS Match Support Specialist see that his social skills are getting better with his peers. Now, Hiro gets excited to see his mentor and Match Support Specialist and loves sharing stories about his day with them.

We’re excited to continue to watch Hiro grow with his Big Sister in this Site Based match!