What is Mentoring?
Mentoring is a close and trusting relationship between you and your advocate. The purpose of the relationship is to offer support, guidance and encouragement.
What mentoring is NOT:
It’s very easy to confuse therapy/counseling with mentoring. Therapy involves licensed professionals that make clinical assessments of your emotional and/or mental health and then they make a diagnosis and create a treatment plan. A mentor is more like a close friend. Although we cannot offer therapeutic services, we CAN provide emotional support much like a good friend would. We partner with you and walk alongside you through the process of sorting out your circumstances. We help you figure out what your options and resources are. We try to remove barriers and create opportunities for you to successfully reach your goals. During your first meeting with your advocate the two of you will create an action plan, not a treatment plan.
What is an Action Plan?
An action plan is an outline that helps you define all of the ways your advocate can help you. You will fill out a questionnaire that will show you all of the areas we can offer support and resources. Step one is define the goal, step two will be to outline how we will accomplish that goal.
Remember, YOU are the author of your own story! You will be able to decide – EVERY STEP of the way – what your action plan looks like. We will never judge you or force our values and opinions on you. This relationship is about how we can support you as you work to define a new legacy for yourself and your child(ren).
What can I expect at my first appointment?
Your first appointment is really just a chance for you and your advocate to get to know each other. You’ll go over what it means to be in the program and how she can help you as your advocate. You’ll have a chance to sit and fill out your questionnaire and then you’ll have a tour of the store.
What can I expect at my second appointment?
You and your advocate will go over your questionnaire and together the two of you will come up with your top three goals. Her job will be to help define the goals and create connections to resources that will help you accomplish those goals.
When do I graduate from the program?
When you’ve accomplished all of the goals you have set for yourself, you will be considered a graduate of our program. This doesn’t mean your relationship with your advocate has to end, it just means the focus of your work together changes. Maybe you’ll come back as a volunteer, or maybe you’ll stay in touch once a month by email or phone call. You and your advocate will get to decide what that will look like when you are close to graduating. It’s different for everyone!