“I know I belong in a community surrounded by women to share ideas, hopes, and dreams. Joining Step Up was one of the best choices I’ve made. I found my safe place surrounded by girls my age and great mentors.”
- Los Angeles Step Up Teen School Year 2023-2024
Having a trustworthy adult mentor and a safe space where youth can express themselves is essential in the Step Up community, as it promotes a strong sense of belonging and is sometimes one of the only places where mentees feel comfortable being vulnerable. At Step Up, we provide the structure for girls and young women to explore their individualized success, helping them feel more confident, connected, and career-ready.
MENTOR, the National Mentoring Organization, collected outcomes in 2023 from over 2,600 multi-generational Americans in an expansive research report called “Who Mentored You?”
Overall, there has been an increase in mentoring relationships over the last 30 years, and growth through program-provided mentors leads to greater equitable access to mentors across socioeconomic lines.
Today's young people are reporting increases in the mentoring gap, with youth less likely to report having a mentor especially for millennials and gen z.
Even when mentored, most youth remember times when they wish they had mentoring - 67% of 18-21 years olds can remember a time when they needed a mentor but didn’t have one.
Americans attribute much of their success in life to mentors and these individuals can support mentees in a multitude of ways, including...
- Guidance towards upward mobility
- Providing increased sense of belonging
- Cultivate stronger mental health
“The most meaningful forms of support from mentors were building a sense of belonging, having fun together, solving problems together, exposing youth to new ideas, and helping youth build identity.” -Who Mentored You?
At Step Up, we provide the space to facilitate connection and community. Whether you’re at a Step Up Event or mentoring on Step Up's Mentoring App, there are universal factors we expect mentors to uphold.
Here are the four key factors that mentors should abide by:
- Welfare and safety of mentees
- Being trustworthy, responsible, and acting with integrity
- Promoting justice and not engaging in discrimination towards mentees
- Respecting the rights and dignity of mentees and their families
With these key factors, let’s define safety and ethics. Why are these especially important for developing youth?
Safety: The condition of being protected from or unlikely to cause danger, risk, or injury. This can be mental, physical, or emotional.
We all need safe, judgement-free zones.
Ethics: Moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the conducting of an activity.
We all have a personal code of ethics that may differ due to culture, family, religion, etc. Make sure you are self-aware and doing the right thing!
Guidelines in Ethics + Safety for Effective Mentoring Sessions
We appreciate your time, energy, and commitment to the mentoring movement – without you, there would be no programming! We also recognize that you have a wide range of experience and expertise as well as a unique understanding of the world.
In all Step Up sessions, we ask that you be conscientious of other’s perspectives, open to a variety of conversations, and willing to have fun! This is a time to connect and reflect on what you wish you’d known or thought about as a young person – a time to empower and prepare the next generation in defining and pursuing their dreams of success.
Four key points:
- When interacting with mentees, remember to check your biases and leave them at the door.
- Ensure that safety is your top priority when engaging youth, whether it's mental, physical, or emotional.
- We want to make sure that we can be open with our mentees without overstepping familial boundaries.
- It’s okay to seek guidance and assistance if something does feel right or if you have questions about an interaction.
So, why do you think ethics and safety are important in mentoring? Take some time to reflect on what ethics and safety means to you as a mentor. How do you want to ensure you cultivate safe and brave spaces for mentees?
Your dedication to mentorship at Step Up has impacted 745 teens across 27 high schools throughout our six cities, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Nashville, and New York City. Continue this impact by becoming a Step Up Member today!
Thank you for stepping up and supporting the next generation of leaders!
View the recording of the live virtual session here
Note: All of Step Up’s Training is informed by the National Mentoring Organization MENTOR’s Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring, for more information view here - Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring
Learn how to Be a Mentor here!
View our Mentor Training Resources here!
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If you’ve participated in 2024 programming fill out this survey!
Questions about Mentorship? Email mentor@suwn.org
