Mentoring Immigrant and Refugee Youth

A Toolkit for Program Coordinators (Part 2)

Overview of Part 1

• Purpose of the toolkit– Background information– Promising program practices– Strategies and resources

• Supplemental to Elements of Effective Practice

Overview of Part 1 (cont.)

• Key definitions– Immigrant youth– Culture– Ethnicity– Race– ESL

• Challenges faced by immigrant youth– Stress related to exclusion, poverty, and

separation• Assets of immigrant youth

– Familiy & community bonds, bilingualism, resiliency & flexibility and cultural competency, value of education

Overview of Part 1 (cont.)

• General Considerations– Recognize and support both cultures– Recognize and build programming around

strengths and assets– Provide leadership opportunities for youth– Provide tutoring opportunities (where applicable– Involve, support and draw resources from

caregivers– Familiarize yourself with other resources in your

community– Recognize and respond to unique stressors– Engage immigrant families in program design

Finding and Preparing Mentors

• Mentor roles– Cultural assimilation– English language acquisition– Emotional support– Advocacy– Advice and counsel– Role modeling

Finding and Preparing Mentors

• Volunteer job description

Volunteer Job DescriptionPosition: Mentor of Immigrant Youth

Purpose: To act as a role model, advocate and support for an immigrant youth

Duties:

• Commitment to build a supportive relationship

• Attend and actively participate in 6 hours of training

• Complete and submit activity log after match meetings

• Meets in-person with mentee at least 4 hours a month

• Works with mentee to practice English

Qualifications:

• Ability to empathize and understand youth from different cultural backgrounds

• Nonjudgmental, attentive, and caring

Length of Commitment: Mentor must commit for one year.

Benefits: Exposure to new cultures, opportunity to have fun, develop new appreciation for diversity, and make a difference in the life of an immigrant youth!

Screening and Orientation Tips

• Screening– World affairs and new cultures– Empathy and cultural competency– Match commitment– Prior experience with this population– Two-way learning

• Orientation– Providing mentors with resources

Mentor Training

• General training– Youth development– Stages in mentoring relationships– Activity suggestions

• Specific training

Supporting and Monitoring Matches

• Match Support– First Meeting– Match recognition– Match support timeline

• Parent and family involvement– “Mentor” as a cultural concept– Communication styles

Training Activities

• Ready-to-use training activities

Case Studies

• Contextualized examples

Resources

• Federal Government

• National Agencies

• International Agencies

Mentoring Immigrant and Refugee Youth

• Free Download!– http://www.mentoring.org/find_resources/immi

grant_toolkit/– Or visit www.mentoring.org and search for

“Mentoring Immigrant and Refugee Youth”

Mentor Michigan Staff

Amber Troupe

Mentor Michigan Coordinator

troupea@michigan.gov

(517) 241-3493