Practice

What’s new in public policy? November, 2018

By Janet Forbush Background:  The past ten days in the history of the United States of America have been startling, horrifying, and nationally traumatizing on several levels.  How often have we heard the phrase “words matter” over these past several days?  But are we truly listening to those two words?  As youth advocates and mentors, […]

Cops and black kids: Does police mentoring defuse the tension?

By Stell Simonton, youthtoday.org In early 2017, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America took on a program nationwide that pairs youth with police mentors. Another mentoring program in Atlanta pairs teens with officers on horseback, the Atlanta Mounted Patrol, and the youth get to know the officers as well as groom horses when police are off-duty. Other […]

How a positive outlook on the future may protect teens from violence

By Alison Culyba, theconversation.com Youth violence is pervasive and has serious consequences for teens’ health and well-being. Based on a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey of ninth to 12th graders in the U.S., 1 in 6 youth report carrying a weapon in the past 30 days, and 1 in 4 report being in a […]

What’s new in public policy? Mid-October, 2018

By Janet Forbush Background:  In less than three weeks voters will go to polls throughout the country to exercise their civic responsibility and opportunity to cast votes in the midterm 2018 elections.  This event offers a valuable time for mentors and mentees to participate in a cornerstone activity that guides our democracy.  Many of our […]

Five Common Methodological Challenges in Mentoring Research (and How to Address Them)

By Matthew Hagler To increase the effectiveness and availability of mentoring interventions for our youth, researchers and practitioners must form dynamic, bidirectional collaborations. Even beyond such partnerships, it is important that all stakeholders in mentoring programs be able to understand and critique mentoring studies, including their methodological limitations. I’m currently teaching an undergraduate research methods […]

The crisis of connection: Roots, consequences, and solutions

Written by Niobe Way, Psychology Today At the beginning of the twenty-first century, we are facing a crisis of connection. People are increasingly disconnected from themselves and each other, with a state of alienation, isolation, and fragmentation characterizing much of the modern world. In place of the “we,” we have been left with the “me,” the […]

Youth mental health is a global issue

Written by Amanda Nguyen Society of Research on Adolescence A few years ago, on sharing my goal to pursue research that would improve youth mental health and well-being in low-resource settings, I received a reply, “But isn’t mental health kind of a first world problem?” At the time, I was caught a bit off guard, […]

What’s New in Public Policy? October, 2018

by Janet Forbush, Contributing Editor Background:  Earlier this week the eight sitting justices of the U.S. Supreme Court returned to the bench or our highest court for a new season to resume deliberations on several issues brought to them by litigants from states across the country.  Meanwhile, just down the street from the U.S. Supreme […]

A Spotlight on The Mentoring Enhancement Demonstration Project (MEDP)

by Bobbi Jo Ortiz, LCSW, CEO & Annette Baumann, Big Brothers Big Sisters El Paso A repost from National Mentoring Resource Center Project Name: Northward Bound Mentoring Enhancement Project Agencies/Programs Involved: Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Lubbock, BBBS of Las Cruces (now BBBS Mountain Region) Why did you decide to get involved in the MEDP project? What […]

Sustaining the volunteer base for mentoring programs

By Meanie Ervin, Director of Communication, Adopt A Class A repost from National Mentoring Resource Center Hi Friends, It’s Melanie Ervin, Director of Communication of Adopt A Class. I am here to share our work and 3 lessons we’ve learned that has sustained our program year over year. But first, What is Adopt A Class? Adopt […]