North Texas teen starts kids' mentoring group

A 13-year-old old North Texan has decided he should do more to help others.

Jhalen Spicer started a peer-to-peer mentoring group to help kids even younger than him overcome obstacles in their lives.

“I started an organization to help mentor underprivileged kids that maybe didn’t have all the same opportunities that we had,” said Spicer.

It’s called Gen Next 20-20 Peer-to-Peer Mentoring.

“We don’t come from a whole line of, you know, money,” said Spicer’s mom, Lakeisha Wilson. “He's just a normal, everyday kid and for him to want to just go and help other kids, his thing that he always tells me is it’s always someone worse off than you; it’s always someone in a worse situation than you.”

Spicer and his mentoring group take on the challenge of helping homeless students.

“I hope that I can create basically a bridge for these kids, you know, because, you know…I want to work with kids that, you know, have potential…but just kind of need that guidance to get to where they want to be,” said Spicer.

Spicer’s peer-to-peer mentoring group will help kids from the ages of 5 to 12.

He is partnering with Shared Housing of Dallas, a shelter for women with children.

Not only will they work with the kids, but they are planning a Thanksgiving dinner for the families at that shelter.