Volunteer Mentor

Connections is unique

• A carefully curated 1-1 relationship with young people
• Thorough training throughout the entire relationship: Introduction workshop, six month mark workshop and one year mark workshop
• Continues support from Connections Mentor staff and the youth's treatment team
• Mentors stay with mentees even when mentees transition from different locations

A Connections Volunteer Mentor is:

A trusted adult carefully placed in a young person's life to

• build a long lasting positive relationship
• provide a consistent committed relationship
• A mentor aged 24 years old or older

On-boarding mentor Process:

• Introduction call
• mentor application
• SOR (Sex Offender Registry) Check
• 3 references
• Virtual interview
• Training workshop
• LENS check
• Fingerprinted through DOE
• Drug test

Expectations

• Mentors are asked to commit to the relationship for one year which includes:
• Weekly contact (call, text, video call)
• At least two in person meetings per month (must be a public setting, can't go to each others home, no one else should be invited to outing)
• Send visit recap via mentor portal after the outing
• Mentors are not asked to: spend a lot of money, have experience, have a college degree or have a car

How we Match mentors to their mentees

• Location
• Preferences (for you and the mentee)
• Shared interests
• Shared willingness and flexibility
• Likes and dislikes
• Mentee's strengths and needs

More about Connections

The mission of Connections is to work in partnership with young people, families, organizations, and volunteers to curate long-lasting, supportive mentoring relationships that improve self-worth for young people with past, current, or peripheral contact with the child welfare or juvenile justice systems in New York City or Westchester County. Connections recruits, screens, trains, and supports adult volunteers who are thoughtfully matched with transition-age youth (12-25 years old). Matches are closely supervised by Connections staff for a minimum of one year to ensure appropriate and healthy development. This supervision includes coordination of visits, debriefing after visits, connecting youth with other service providers, partnering with youth treatment teams at many different child welfare agencies and different types of facilities, and ensuring physical and emotional safety of both the youth and the mentor.

Youth are referred to Connections by the child welfare agency from which they receive services. Mentees come from diverse backgrounds and circumstances, including undocumented immigrants, parenting teens, commercially and sexually exploited children, and LGBTQ youth. They may be living in foster care, juvenile justice, residential placement, group homes, independent housing, or in their home communities – many transition through more than one of these settings during their time in Connections.

Young people with systemic involvement often lack positive adult connections outside of professional staff who work with them. The role of the mentor is to listen, teach, support, coach, and to be there through both exciting and challenging times. The first priority of the mentor is to help the young person improve their self-worth. This is done through one-on-one relationship development, emphasizing positive characteristics in the mentee, having fun together, and consistently demonstrating respect, patience, and compassion. Once a solid relationship is established, Connections mentors may help with educational attainment, housing stability, employment, and avoiding contact with the criminal justice system.

It is typical for a young person in the child welfare system to transition regularly across agencies and types of placements. With each transition comes a new team of professionals, requiring the young person to start over building new relationships.

Connections is different. The same mentor stays with the youth through their transitions, regardless of where the system takes them. The mentor continues their relationship with the youth even upon final discharge from the child welfare system. We don’t work for the agency, we work for the mentee.