What to Expect When You’re Expecting to Become a Mentor

Congratulations! You’ve made it through the two-hour interview and received an invitation to the next step in becoming a Great Life mentor.

About half of the people who interview make it as far as you are now. You’re already in a very special class of people and aiming for the elite. Being invited to training means screening has begun and you’ve been recognized as having the personal qualities that can make a safe and effective mentor. 

Screening 

While you’re being trained, Great Life Mentoring (GLM) staff will continue with the screening process. We will take your fingerprints and send them to the FBI for processing. The FBI background check takes several weeks to months for completion, so we’ll be doing additional background checks in the meantime. The checks include everything from state misdemeanors to national crimes, sex offender registries, federal and state watch lists and validating social security. An extensive background check is critical when working with a vulnerable population of children. 

GLM will also be asking you to provide four references of people you’ve known at least two years. Finally, we’ll photocopy your driver's license and auto insurance card. Since you will be transporting the child, all volunteers must have the state mandated liability insurance (at the very least). 

Because the benefits to the child are proportional to how long the match lasts, we will be assessing your ability to commit to mentoring a minimum of one hour per week for twelve months.

Staff will reach out and request these things prior to your first day of training. They’ll also ask you to prepare by reading pages seven and eight of the book “Being Present: The Art & Science of Mentoring,” which we will provide for you. Lastly, we’d like you to watch the match videos on our website before training starts. This will give you a nice picture into your future. You can watch the videos here. 

Now, It’s Time for Mentor Training!

Mentor training is essential to your mentoring success. It ensures prospective mentors have the basic knowledge, attitudes and skills needed to build a safe and effective relationship. Training of mentors has documented implications for the length of the match relationship, as well as both parties’ perceptions of the quality of relationship.

The Great Life Mentoring model provides up to 20 hours of pre-match training, which far exceeds the national average of two to three hours. 

We respect that you are willing to spend this significant amount of time to qualify as a Great Life mentor, and our staff will make every attempt to accommodate your schedule. We appreciate you and aim to make training convenient and valuable. Our training has been designed to prepare you for mentoring, but you’ll likely notice many personal benefits as well. 

The Benefit to Mentors and Kids

In training, we will address the unique opportunities and challenges associated with mentoring a youth with mental health needs. Great Life mentors become an integral part of the youth’s mental health treatment plan and professional care team, with the aim of effectively addressing each youth’s needs. Although that sounds serious, and it is, you are not in it alone! You will have case management support throughout your match, even if your friend’s treatment ends. 

With a proven link between GLM and a significant improvement in mental health disorders, the lives of our children are forever improved. This is incredible and it’s only possible because of people like you. So, we do everything in our power to help you help the child. 

GLM training includes mentoring and mental health subjects to prepare you for the road ahead, but the bulk of the training is focused on developing healthy relationships. This can benefit all of your relationships, not just your mentorship. We also take ample time for practice, so you won’t start mentoring until you feel confident and comfortable to begin.

Mentors consistently express appreciation for the substantial knowledge they receive. On average, mentor knowledge increases by 59%. This increase indicates that the volunteers serving GLM children are much more qualified to mentor after having received the training. 

Remember, you’re not it in alone. First, we develop a relationship with you, then you develop a relationship with the child in need—receiving support along the way. 

Qualifying as a Mentor

If all screening and training elements are effective, you will receive a letter of acceptance and a certificate qualifying you as a Great Life mentor. The matching process will follow. 

Great Life Mentoring is a well-developed and field-tested model for integrating youth mentoring services into the mental health care system for children and adolescents from low-resource families. We’ve spent the last two decades carefully developing the model and yielding evidence. Now, GLM is ready to serve an exponential number of children who need our services, and we can’t help them without people like you. Thank you for your invaluable service. 

Here is the link to watch the match videos. We hope you enjoy them and become even more inspired to be a Great Life mentor. See you in training!