Mentoring programs

 

The Mentorship Program offers aspiring, novice and working interpreters opportunities to enhance their skills through mentorship and workshops, as a means of fulfilling our ultimate goal of increasing the quality and quantity services available to the INNER CITY Community.We are currently seeking professional and successful MEN to provide One-to-One Mentoring for adolescent BOYS aged 12-19 who are at risk.  REAL MEN is designed to build relationships we hope will form lasting bonds as well as guidance, friendship, insipiration and positive role models. Real men mentoring have saved lives and changes lives of our young men ages 12-18 years of age. Our children have a lot of questions with NO one to talk to or guide.

 

We are making a difference in these young men lives.

 

Mentorship is a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps to guide a less experienced or less knowledgeable person. The mentor may be older or younger, but have a certain area of expertise. It is a learning and development partnership between someone with vast experience and someone who wants to learn.

 

 

Research confirms what we know anecdotally or intuitively — that mentoring works.

 

The 2013 study “The Role of Risk: Mentoring Experiences and Outcomes for Youth with Varying Risk Profiles,” examined mentoring program relationships, experiences and benefits for higher-risk youth, and among the findings determined:

• The strongest program benefit, and most consistent across risk groups, was a reduction in depressive symptoms — a particularly noteworthy finding given that almost one in four youth reported worrisome levels of these symptoms at baseline.

• Findings also suggested gains in social acceptance, academic attitudes and grades.

• In addition to benefits in specific domains, mentored youth also experienced gains in a greater number of outcomes than youth in the comparison group.

 

Overall, the study’s results suggest that mentoring programs can be beneficial for youth with a broad range of backgrounds and characteristics. Tailoring the training and support that is available to matches based on the specific risks youth face has the potential to produce even stronger benefits.

 

High school graduation is an economic imperative in today’s global economy driven by knowledge and innovation. Mentoring is a positive youth development strategy that supports the Grad Nation goal of attaining a 90 percent high school graduation rate by the Class of 2020. Research has shown that mentoring has significant positive effects on two early indicators among high school drop-outs: high levels of absenteeism (Kennelly & Monrad, 2007) and recurring behavior problems (Thurlow, Sinclair & Johnson, 2002). A landmark Public/Private Ventures evaluation of REAL MEN SISTAS UNITED programs showed that students who meet regularly with their mentors are 52 percent less likely than their peers to skip a day of school. An analysis of mentoring program evaluations conducted. WE HAVE found that youth in mentoring relationships present better attitudes and behaviors at school and are more likely to attend college than their counterparts.

 

Dropping out of school is not a singular event but rather the culmination of a long process of disengagement. It is critical that intervention efforts aimed at students with a disproportionate number of risk indicators for dropping out of high school reach students young enough. Children between 9 and 15 are commonly at important turning points in their lives. It is during this time that they may permanently turn off from serious engagement in school life and turn to a variety of risky behaviors that can limit their chances of reaching productive adulthood. Encouragingly, this is also the age bracket during which preventative intervention is most successful and youth are most capable of envisioning a positive future and plotting the steps they need to take to reach their goals. They are at the right stage of development to best absorb and benefit from the skills of a strong mentor (Rhodes and Lowe, 2008). 

 



 

Many times, young women encounter situations in which they are in need of advice, guidance and direction.  Embarrassment, guilt, fear or lack of parental guidance often prevent young people from seeking advice from their parents.  

 

The goal of Sister Friends is to provide young women with someone they can turn to during these times to gain insight, knowledge, positive direction and support.  We find that this may prevent unwanted pregnancy, gang initiation rites and other harmful situations.

 

The ultimate goal is to involve the parent, allowing the Sister Friend to act as a bridge between parent and adolescent.

 

We are currently seeking professional and successful women to provide One-to-One Mentoring for adolescent girls aged 12-19 who are at risk.  Sister Freind is designed to build relationships we hope will form lasting bonds as well as guidance, friendship, insipiration and positive role models. 

 

Help us support these young women in their development into adulthood.