A Tonic for Isolation

Mentoring was not a strategy for addressing Amelia’s social isolation due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but it has turned out to be a critical aid. 

Just before the pandemic began, Amelia was matched with a Great Life mentor. She had been experiencing multiple mental and physical complications due to her life circumstances, which included isolation, and her mental health care coordinator thought a Great Life Mentor could help. 

Great Life Mentoring is a mental health intervention that uses well-screened, trained and supported volunteers to bolster mental health outcomes of children from low-resource families. 

Each week, Amelia would face her fears by going out with her mentor for a couple of hours and return home safely. In doing so, she became more and more comfortable. She learned that her mentor could be trusted and they became friends. 

In fact, her mentor, Michelle, actually brought a sense of peace and calm that Amelia didn’t have anywhere else in her life. 

Michelle had a genuine interest in what would help Amelia thrive in life, whether it was encouraging her talent as an artist, being around animals—which was pure joy for Amelia—or empowering and supporting Amelia to make her own decisions. Past experiences in life had taught Amelia to not rely on others, but she learned that was not the case with Michelle. 

When the pandemic began and isolation became even more acute, Michelle was still there for her friend. Instead of going out together, the two friends agreed to talk on the phone for one hour weekly. They texted pictures of animals to each other in between. 

Even though Amelia was spending extended periods of time alone, she knew she could always count on that weekly phone call. She also believed that Michelle was thinking of her and caring about her in the days between. Those things helped ease the loneliness that often comes with isolation.

In time, these two friends were able to return to in-person mentoring, though with protective masks and distancing. Michelle was able to see that, although her friend feels anxious toward things that are new to her, she was willing to make the effort with her mentor by her side. After taking those risks, Amelia was pleased by the beauty she experienced. She even said she was proud of herself. She is healing and her life is improving. 

The two friends have developed a deeply caring and faithful friendship and say they’ll be “friends for life.”

Great Life Mentoring is a beautiful way to enjoy your life while making the world better for a child facing adversity. Volunteer opportunities in Portland OR and volunteer opportunities in Vancouver WA are available now.