MELBOURNE, Fla. — A Central Florida nonprofit organization looks to ensure that more men of color volunteer their time to become a mentor for a foster child.

Elias Quintana Jr., who mentors children at Embrace Families, said it’s helped change his life for the better.

“When I got medically discharged from the Air Force, I went through huge depression,” Quintana said. “I didn’t have any motivation or direction where I wanted to go. It reignited that passion for me.”

He now works for Embrace Families and said he hopes more men of color can volunteer their time.

“We just need to have more positive representation for youth at risk and youth in foster care,” he said.

Quintana knows firsthand how much of a life-changer it is for both foster children and their mentors. One of the foster children he mentored now lives with him.

“He has actually been displaced from his previous placement,” Quintana said. “They asked me [in December 2019] if he can stay with us temporarily.”

The planned short-term stay might become a permanent one. More than a year after the youth first moved in, Quintana planned to take full guardianship of the teen.

“I actually see myself in him a lot,” Quintana said. “It’s one of my main motivators to bring him here.”

People looking to become a mentor should understand they must be patient because some of the foster children have experienced trauma, according to Quintana.

“There are triggers that can set them off into spiraling behaviors, but if you’re a little more informed and take the time to train, build your awareness on mental health and trauma for youth, that would be the very best first step,” Quintana said.