One-on-one mentoring improve youth mental health
The primary need this grant helped address was to support youth in our community to thrive through one-to-one mentoring. Youth mental health is a significant area of concern and our mentoring matches act as a research-supported protective factor.
In 2021, with this grant funding we were able to host 22 outdoor and art focused activities with 139 attendees. We trained 77 additional community members as "Bigs", including trainings in Livingston and Clyde Park. We improved on all measures of our Youth Outcome Surveys for 2021 including, educational expectations, academic performance, social competence and acceptance, and mental wellness. We are proud of the impact demonstrated by our survey results as well as the stories we regularly hear behind the numbers--stories of individual and unique impact.
Here’s one of these stories:
A Big just recently got a letter in the mail from his Little’s Great Grandparent in another state. This letter thanked the Big for being there for their great grandchild, noting what a positive change everyone has seen in their behavior and attributed much of that change to the Big’s impact through mentorship.
