Mentoring Vulnerable Youth in One of America’s Most Dangerous Cities: From Violent Streets to University Classrooms

Abstract

Using rich narratives provided by youth, this research examines the holistic role of mentors in the lives of young people coming of age in an impoverished and dangerous context (n = 44). Mentees experienced household adversities (e.g. parental separation, substance abuse, familial incarceration) and community violence (e.g. neighborhood shootings, gangs, and assaults). Mentors provided emotional support, educational support, and protection from harm. In addition, youths experienced mentor versatility. Mentors were perceived as effective in aiding the youths’ resilience and at helping them navigate multiple levels of stressors and criminogenic conditions.

Effectiveness, working mechanisms, and implementation of youth-initiated mentoring for juvenile delinquents: a multiple-methods study protocol

“…Strengthening natural mentor-mentee relationships alongside professional involvement has three main benefits over matched mentor-mentee relationships: it is more accessible, durable and empowers the social network. First, it is estimated that about 63–86% of youth can identify a natural mentor (e.g., Dang, 2012 ; Erickson et al, 2009 ; Hurd & Zimmerman, 2010 ; Tucker et al, 2019 ; Van Dam et al, 2017 ). This relatively large accessibility could counteract delays typically experienced in formal mentoring due to a larger need and interest in these programs than available volunteer mentors (Raposa et al, 2017 ; Spencer et al, 2019 ; Tucker et al, 2019 ).…”

“…First, it is estimated that about 63–86% of youth can identify a natural mentor (e.g., Dang, 2012 ; Erickson et al, 2009 ; Hurd & Zimmerman, 2010 ; Tucker et al, 2019 ; Van Dam et al, 2017 ). This relatively large accessibility could counteract delays typically experienced in formal mentoring due to a larger need and interest in these programs than available volunteer mentors (Raposa et al, 2017 ; Spencer et al, 2019 ; Tucker et al, 2019 ). Second, evidence suggests that youth-initiated relationships are more durable than matched relationships, which increases the likelihood of positive youth outcomes (e.g., Schwartz et al, 2013 ; Grossman & Rhodes, 2002 ; Spencer et al, 2016 ).…”

“…Second, evidence suggests that youth-initiated relationships are more durable than matched relationships, which increases the likelihood of positive youth outcomes (e.g., Schwartz et al, 2013 ; Grossman & Rhodes, 2002 ; Spencer et al, 2016 ). Approximately 74% of all informal mentors are still involved in the youths’ lives after two years (Van Dam et al, 2017 ), which could be explained by youths choosing their mentor, contributing to a better mentor-mentee match (Tucker et al, 2019 ). In contrast, matched mentors and mentees often struggle to form meaningful connections, causing the relationship to end prematurely (e.g., (Grossman et al, 2012 ; Grossman & Rhodes, 2002 ).…”

Advancing Urban Peace: Preventing Gun Violence and Healing Traumatized Youth

“…Youth mentorship and street outreach conflict ‘interruption’ have also shown some success in reducing urban gun violence, through programs known as Cure Violence and Ceasefire (Abt and Winship, 2016; Butts et al, 2015; Papachristos and Kirk, 2015; Skogen et al, 2008). Others note that street-level youth mentorship can buffer individual and community scale traumas, and improve life outcomes (Dubois et al, 2011; Tucker et al, 2019). We find that a largely unaddressed issue in almost all urban youth-focused gun violence programs is a simultaneous focus on acknowledging and addressing the traumas that may be contributing to violence and supporting individual and group behavioral change (Kerig, 2012).…”

“…These programs stop the transmission of violence in a manner similar to that of public health interventions designed to curtail epidemics, and typically involve community mobilization, street outreach, and partnerships among frontline staff in police, probation, and social services sectors (Braga et al, 2001; Hemenway and Miller, 2013; Slutkin and et al, 2018). Yet, the youth offenders and victims of urban gun violence are often dealing with the traumas of living in communities with long histories of structural violence and racism, including racial segregation, chronic withdrawal of social services, dehumanization through police violence, and alienation from other government institutions, all of which can contribute to gun violence (Jacoby et al, 2018; Ross and Arsenault, 2018; Tucker et al, 2019). A number of community-based gun violence reduction programs that enroll youth, such as Ceasefire and Cure Violence, focus on interrupting gun conflicts, changing social norms around violence, and offering participants some alternatives to street life such as education, employment, and other services (Braga et al, 2019; Kennedy, 1998; Papachristos and Kirk, 2015; Slutkin and et al, 2018).…”