Posts

Race, Racism, and Relationships: What Matters for Teens’ Mental Health?

By Jessica Stern, Reprinted from YouthNEX Think back to your teenage years: Was it a happy time in your life, or did you struggle with feelings of depression? Did you lean on your close friends or family members for support, or did you deal with your feelings by yourself? And did you ever experience racial […]

Translating Freedom Dreaming Into Actionable Commitments Your Organization Can Implement Now

By Tara Spann (Chief People and Strategy Officer, MENTOR), Reprinted from America’s Promise Alliance Imagine a world where people were not judged or treated differently simply because of who they BE.  Visualize a world free of injustices, free of hate, free of ignorance.  Dream a world of joy, a world of love.  These are my […]

Racism, Stress, and Youth Safety in Activity Spaces

By Dr. Anna Ortega-Williams, Dr. Jamie M. Booth, Dr. Dashawna J. Fussell-Ware, Dr. Yolanda Lawrence, Donnell Pearl, Ny’Ela Chapman, Reprinted from the Society for Research on Adolescence From Society for Research on Adolescence There is a gap in research wherein Black youths’ experiences of racism in routine spaces are sparsely documented. In their latest article […]

Everyday acts of resistance: New study shows how mentors support undocumented youth

Sánchez, B., Garcia-Murillo, Y., Monjaras-Gaytan, L. Y., Thursby, K., Ulerio, G., de los Reyes, W., Salusky, I. R., & Rivera, C. S. (2022). Everyday acts of resistance: Mexican, undocumented immigrant children and adolescents navigating oppression with mentor support. Journal of Research on Adolescence.  https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12755 Summarized by Ariel Ervin Notes of Interest: Having an undocumented status […]

Profiles in Mentoring: A conversation with Torie Weiston-Serdan on Critical Mentoring

Written by Vera van den Berg  Torie Weiston-Serdan is the founder of the Youth Mentoring Action Network— a non-profit organization that focuses on youth mentoring. Moreover, Torie Weiston-Serdan is the author of “Critical mentoring: A practical guide”. She examines how marginalized and minority youth are served by mentoring and mentoring organizations. Critical mentoring, central to […]

Talking to Your Children About Asian Hate

By Betty Wang, MD, Reprinted from The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds  Over the last year, there have been very disturbing reports and videos of hate and violence towards the Asian community. As a Chinese American, these events have left me with a sense of increased vulnerability for myself, my family, and my community. […]

How to talk to children about difficult news

Reprinted from the American Psychological Association Assisted by Robin Gurwitch, Ph.D.  Children’s lives are touched by trauma on a regular basis, no matter how much parents or teachers try to keep the “bad things” away. Instead of shielding children from the dangers, violence or tragedies around us, adults should talk to kids about what is […]

How Racism Can Affect Child Development

Reprinted from the Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University  Years of scientific study have shown us that, when children’s stress response systems remain activated at high levels for long periods, it can have a significant wear-and-tear effect on their developing brains and other biological systems. This can have lifelong effects on learning, behavior, and […]

[Webinar] Living United for Racial Equity and Social Justice

Date: Thu, Nov 19, 2020 1:00 PM – 2:15 PM EST United Way has been utilizing partnerships in order to identify issues and implement change in communities for over 125 years. Given the detrimental effects structural racism and COVID-19 has had (and continues to have) on communities across the United States, United Way leaders from […]

How African American boys and young men cope and adapt to racial and socioeconomic stressors through research

Barbarin, O. A., Tolan, P. H., Gaylord-Harden, N., & Murry, V. (2020). Promoting social justice for African-American boys and young men through research and intervention: A challenge for developmental science. Applied Developmental Science, 24(3), 196–207. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2019.1702880 Summarized by Ariel Ervin Notes of Interest:  Although there is a lot of evidence that proves how detrimental racism and being […]