Wellness Mentoring Circles for Young Parents: A Guide for Facilitators and Mentors

Description of Resource:

This resource, provided by Concerned Black Men National’s CARES Mentoring Movement, is intended for use in high school settings to offer support to young parents in the student body, as well as to deliver key messages to all students using monthly assemblies. The guide is built around a series of guided activities, intended to be led by a facilitator and team of mentors, who take a group of young parents through discussions on meaningful topics: mentoring, heritage, spirituality, stress, wellness, relationships, media, creativity, prosperity, and community.

Tips for successful facilitation of these groups, called Wellness Mentoring Circles, are provided, as is a “covenant” for youth participants and information about conducting the schoolwide assemblies.

Goals:

Supporting young parents in the school by providing group discussions designed to help them remain connected to school and community and stay on path to graduate and move forward with their lives. The program also has a secondary goal of infusing the entire student body with positive messages related to the core topics of the curriculum.

Target Population/Eligibility of Target Sites:

The content is intended for use with young parents in high schools, and more specifically, with a primarily African American audience, although many of the activities may be able to be adapted for use with other groups of young parents. The material is most applicable to high schools or programs serving young parents.

Corresponding Elements of Effective Practice:

Monitoring and Support

Key Personnel:

The groups are intended to have both a facilitator and multiple mentors leading the activities. In view of the potential sensitivity of the topics that are explored, as well as the oftentimes challenging interpersonal dynamics that accompany a group mentoring format, the NMRC strongly recommends that facilitators have appropriate professional training and experience in a relevant field (e.g., social work). Training and ongoing support for mentors is also highly recommended. The manual for this resource also notes the critical importance of having the buy-in of school leadership and staff in the implementation of the program.

Additional Information:

The guide recommends that facilitators and mentors read the CBM Cares resource A New Way Forward: Healing What’s Hurting Black America, as a starting point so that they better understand the philosophy behind these activities and the overall goals of the program.

Resource Name:

Wellness Mentoring Circles for Young Parents: A Guide for Facilitators and Mentors

Publisher/Source:

National CARES Mentoring Movement

Author:

Several individuals contributed to the development of this resource:

Editorial Director – Susan L. Taylor
Editor in Chief – Asha Bandele
Senior Researcher and Writer – Jeannine Amber
Senior Curriculum Consultant – Dereca Blackmon
Curriculum Consultants – Tracey Robertson Carter, Beatrice Haynes, Michael Steinback, Joia Crear-Perry, M.D
Creative Director – LaVon Leak
Cover Artist – Keba Konte
Copy Editor – Lena Sherrod

Date of Publication:

2015

Resource Type:

Program Management Resources

Evaluation Methodology:

Resource has not been evaluated for effectiveness

Evaluation Outcomes:

Resource has not been evaluated for effectiveness

Evaluation Validity:

Resource has not been evaluated for effectiveness

Accessing and Using this Resource:

This resource is available for download here on the NMRC website.

References:

None