Children’s Network of Southwest Florida and the United Way of Lee, Hendry, and Glades partnered almost 8 years ago to create a Family Mentor Program. In the program, Volunteer Mentors connect with parents who are served in child welfare. Mentors provide support and encouragement to help the family be happy, healthy, and whole. By helping support families when they need it most, you can help break generational cycles of abuse, neglect, and poverty — all an hour at a time.
Program Mission
Each Mentor will work to build a committed and trusted relationship with parent(s) to help them define and meet goals to achieve and maintain greater self-reliance to prevent future involvement with the child welfare system.
How Mentors Help
Volunteer Mentors give compassionate, non-judgmental support to work with parents in the following essential areas:
• Social Connection: Helping parents develop social supports;
• Hands-On Assistance: Connecting parents with available benefits and services (such as food stamps, medical resources, free tax filing, etc.);
• Friendly Visitation: Offering a caring and supportive relationship in the spirit of “families helping families” to reduce feelings of isolation; and
• Basic Parenting Assistance: Assisting with parent education by teaching, coaching, and modeling healthy parenting.
If you are new to mentoring, don’t worry. You will receive training on engaging the families, how the
child welfare system works, safety, confidentiality, planning for success, and more. We’re here to help you help families!
Training will cover the areas of Safety, Confidentiality, Planning for Success, Signs, and Reporting of child abuse and neglect, Family Engagement, plus an overview of the Child Welfare System.
Watch our Family Mentor Program Video
Please respond to this opportunity, and we will be in contact! Thank you!
