Would You Like to Have a Peer Mentor?
Are you stressed out at school? Are you going through a major change at home? Are you feeling lonely or worn out from the COVID-19 pandemic and looking to connect with someone else your age? You might benefit from having a peer mentor. UpStreet Pittsburgh offers a peer mentoring program for teens and young adults aged 12-22.
Peer mentoring can lead to more success in school and college and better relationships with friends and parents. It can help you build up your self-esteem. There’s also evidence that peer mentoring can help with your mental health and emotional well-being. Finally, when you have a peer mentor, you have someone you can rely on. They’ll be there for you when you need someone to talk to.
At UpStreet, we screen and interview all of our mentors, and all of them go through several rounds of training. Having a peer mentor means having a non-judgmental space where you can share what’s going on in your life without worrying about who will find out. To protect your privacy, UpStreet will place you with someone you don’t know and who doesn’t go to your school.
We’ll pair you with a mentor who is a few years older than you. This part makes peer mentoring different from the other important relationships in your life—your friends, family, teachers, or community leaders. Your mentor will be someone you can trust and talk to, but they’ll also be close enough in age that they can relate to what you’re going through.
Your mentor can help you build your confidence, identify life goals, and navigate challenges. They can also share information and resources. All of your interactions with your mentor will happen over our special texting platform, so you can connect with your mentor from anywhere.
We’re here for you at UpStreet! If you think you might like to have a mentor, go to our mentoring form and choose “I’d like to find a mentor.” You can also send us a message here. And if you have a friend who might benefit from peer mentoring, be sure to let them know too.
