Young men are lashing out in frustration, says Mirrors mentor Lorna McGowan who believes too few realise the wealth of opportunities available in Bermuda.

But Ms McGowan said the key thing for a mentor was to gain trust of their clients and help remove some of their cynicism. "What I get is there is nothing to do, it's boring, it's this, it's that. There's a lot of negativity.

"But it can be channelled and focused in a more positive direction, to establish more self esteem," she said.

It means finding where someone's talents lie and helping them flourish and thankfully Bermuda offers far more opportunities than most people realise.

"We can expose them to things they have never thought of or heard of."

And there are even opportunities overseas.

The Raleigh International programme is proving very popular, taking Bermudian children to poor countries to help on community projects.

"Something like that, which is so profound, so life-changing where they go to underdeveloped countries and see how those people live is very useful.

"They come back here and have a renewed appreciation of how fortunate they are."

Parents also need help in getting their children to realise what was on offer said Ms McGowan, who has mentored four young men on Mirrors.

Not all were involved in violence and they were from very different circumstances.

Often their friends or the area they came was a key factor dragging them into trouble.

Too often Ms McGowan couldn't meet one of her mentees because they feared territorial disputes threatened their safety.

"They would say they could not go there because of X, Y or Z. It's not like they were caught up in it themselves, it was something inherited."

She said it made for a very claustrophobic lifestyle for young people.

"If you feel threatened you are actually having limits put upon you where you can't go to certain areas, do certain things, see certain friends. It's frustrating."

Some refuse to let it govern them. "But a lot of them go with the flow just for a quiet life."

It's a tough call. Those who challenge it and end up in the wrong place at the wrong time can suffer.

"Because you are from another parish you are caught up and the mindset is if you don't defend yourself you are weak and you are not a man."

Reversing the territorial disputes is a tough nut to crack. "Bermuda is very small, people are very conscious of what people think about them."

Getting youngsters to focus on personal goals helps showing them their situation is not hopeless but good things can be achieved.

"There are opportunities through Mirrors. It is equipping our young people to think outside the box.

"To help them strive for something better. It is about one-to-one contact."

Ms McGowan said gaining trust was sometimes difficult as some on the Mirrors programme had never had someone they could confide in.

"Once they take that first step and have confidence in you and confidence in themselves it creates a paradigm shift where they can do many more things they didn't think was possible."

Asked why Bermuda had got so violent recently with ride-by shootings and gang clashes Ms. McGowan said: "Listening to young people there is a high level of frustration. They say there is nothing to do, or I can't find a job.

"Because some of them don't know how to turn that into positive energy it becomes a matter of lashing out.

"There is this fearlessness they do it because they feel like it. But we teach them in Mirrors there is a consequence to every choice you make."

But what makes these young people want to live on the margins of the law?

"When you listen to their life stories, there is something in the home environment, something that's happened in the family which has contributed into the way they are.

"That is a factor about why they are reaching out to a programme like Mirrors. It's mainly family history, they need an anchor to hang on to.

"Young people here have so much potential, they have so much going for them.

"In my experience once someone is exposed to something else, it is baby steps they need to get the small successes which allows them to see there is hope.

"They realise there is a better life for them but they have to make the change."

Ms McGowan said Mirrors mentors needed to be committed.

"You might be the only stable factor in that young person's life. You must be that anchor, if they haven't had someone like that before there is resistance.

"They ask 'Do you really care about me because I have let people in before and they have let me down?'. You have to be persistent and consistent in your commitment to a young person."

But that hard work is rewarding.

"They all start as beginners in self development. They grow at different speeds.

"But when you see them at graduation you sit back in amazement and think, wow, they all did this in nine months."

* Tomorrow: Are economic problems the root cause of crime and violence?