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Youth Mentor Program
WHAT IS MENTORING?
The California Mentor Initiative defines mentoring as a relationship over a prolonged period of time between two or more people where older, wiser, more experienced individuals assist youth through the human development process by providing constant, as needed support, guidance, and concrete help to a minor whose at-risk environment increases their chance of exposure to teen pregnancy, academic failure, gangs and violence, use of alcohol and drugs, and other at-risk behaviors.
A Mentor is and adult who, along with parents, provides young people with support, counsel, friendship, reinforcement, and a constructive example.
A Mentee is a youth who is trained, or whose life is furthered,
by another person of experience, prominence, or influence.
WHAT DOES THE RCAA MENTOR PROGRAM DO?
The goal of the RCAA Youth Mentor Program is to create, maintain and supervise relationships between adult volunteer mentors and at-risk youth being served by the Youth Service Bureau division and the Famimly Services division of RCAA in order to improve their academic success, school attendance, self-confidence, social skills, and overall interpersonal functioning. The Mentor Program aims to provide on-going support and training to volunteer mentors to ensure the success of the relationships, and foster a greater sense of community by providing opportunities for youth and mentors to participate in community service activities.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The RCAA Youth Mentor Program works with the Northcoast Mentor Project to recruit and screen appropriate mentors. Mentors are then referred to the RCAA Youth Mentor Program to be matched with a youth. The mentees are referred to the mentor program by their RCAA Caseworkers. Both Mentor and Mentee receive orientation to the mentoring program and numerous on-going training sessions. Both mentee and mentor are in constant communication with the Mentor Program Coordinator in order to receive support and guidance and ask questions if needed.
WHY DO KIDS NEED MENTORS?
-
The makeup of the American household has changed dramatically this century.
- Many children do not have the resources of having a wide variety of caring adults in their lives.
- Schools and guidance counselors are overburdened.
- Mentoring programs do not solve the problems,
,but they can improve the lives of many children. Effects of mentoring
can be seen in many areas, including:
- Improved academic performance
- Improved school attendance
- Increased communication skills
- Improved family/peer relationships
- Improved self-esteem
- Decreased risk for drug use, gang involvement or violence
- Decreased risk for teenage pregnancy.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD MENTOR
- Role Model
- Modeling appropriate behavior and attitudes
- Being a person the youth wants to emulate
- Exhibits qualities that youth desire
- Expands youth's perspectives
- Teacher
- Helps acquire knowledge, information, and skills
- Shows how to do things
- Participates in learning new things
- Companion
- Enjoys doing things with youth
- Shares interests and experiences with youth
- Spends time talking to youth
- Support
- Boosts self esteem
- Supports youth efforts
- Listens to ideas and concerns
- Expresses belief in abilities
- Resouce
- Provides opportunities to do new things
- introduces new people, places, interests or ideas
- Suggests new sources of information
- Challenges
- Encourages goal setting and plans to achieve goals
- Engages youth in increasingly complex activities.
Do you have these qualities? Do you want to help provide support and resources for a waiting teenager? If so, contact the Youth Service Bureau Mentor Program or the Northcoast Mentor Project.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Christy Whitford
RCAA Mentor Program
2938 California Street
Eureka, CA 95501
(707) 443-8322 ext. 209
christywhitford@hotmail.com
OR
Lorey Keele
Northcoast Mentor Project
904 G Street
Eureka, CA 95501
(707) 269-2052
