Peer Mentoring

Peer mentoring encourages youth, age 10 – 15 years to support their peers either one to one or one to a group. It is a non-threatening approach to help youth explore opportunities in recreation, academics and make personal decisions.

A mentor is a person who leads another person in a positive direction by offering listening, attention, transferable skills, interpersonal skills, empathy and compassion.

A mentee is a person or group of people who are mentored.

Mentoring programs vary from work place settings and schools to community centers, where employers mentor new employees, adults mentor high-risk youth and youth mentor youth. Among youth, a suggestion from a peer is often more acceptable than the same suggestion from an adult.

Youth 10 – 15 are in a critical age group and are often unaware of opportunities beyond swimming programs, day camps and personal surroundings. Peer mentoring allows for a “for youth by youth” philosophy. Mentors listen and are supportive and often have a non-judgmental, common sense, age appropriate reaction to mentees concerns, questions and issues.

Some features of peer mentoring include:

• Focus on the needs of the youth

• Requires voluntary participation

• Places high priority on confidentiality

• Expectation of mentor to honour policies and procedures of the mentee.

The benefits of peer mentoring include:

• Increases in self esteem, skill building, social involvement with peers

• Peer mentoring can offer an important form of support for students experiencing strong emotions with death, divorce, family relationships, pregnancy and other challenges to daily life.

Peer mentoring explored in a risk free, non-threatening environment, can be very important in the development of aspirations, confidence, social skills and competence in youth. It also follows the “role modeling” philosophy whereby mentors role model appropriate, acceptable behaviour so that peers can follow that behaviour.

There are a whole range of mentoring processes each of which is tailored to suit specific needs at appropriate stages in the development of both mentor or mentee. Mentoring is being welcomed in the community.

For more information on where you can become a mentor in the Windsor-Essex County area, please contact Big Brothers Big Sisters, Windsor - Essex: 945-5909.