A new public report by researchers in Brock University\u2019s Department of Child and Youth Studies sheds light on a pilot program that provides mentorship support to student parents.<\/p>\n
The program pairs mentors recruited by Big Brothers Big Sisters with student parents who receive support from Strive Niagara for high school programming and childcare.<\/p>\n
\u201cParticipating in a mentoring\u00a0program takes considerable commitment, and more so with individuals who may be struggling,\u201d notes\u00a0Sandy Toth, Executive Director of Strive Niagara, adding that she\u00a0values the efforts of both the mentors and mentees.<\/p>\n
The pilot program was first developed by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Niagara Falls (BBBSNF) in partnership with Strive Niagara, and later expanded into the Welland area by Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Niagara (BBBSSN) staff.<\/p>\n
Barb Van Der Heyden, Executive Director of BBBSNF and Interim Executive Director of BBBSSN, believed it was important to obtain an impartial and thorough analysis of the program.<\/p>\n
\u201cBig Brothers Big Sisters of Niagara Falls recognizes the importance of being able to measure outcomes for all programs our agency offers to our community, and especially for a pilot program,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Professor Rebecca Raby, Associate Professor Christine Tardif-Williams and then-master\u2019s student Amber Varadi carried out the study with funding support from Brock\u2019s Social Justice Research Institute and the United Way.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is valuable to engage with initiatives that are happening on the community level as it deepens ties between Brock and the Niagara region,\u201d said Raby.<\/p>\n
The team held multiple interviews with student parents, mentors and program staff between 2018 and 2019, completed their analysis and released a final report of their findings earlier this fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a great experience interviewing student parents and learning about their lives,\u201d said Raby. \u201cIt was very clear that the student parents face a number of different challenges linked to social inequality and how much they therefore benefit from support programs like Strive Niagara.\u201d<\/p>\n
Overall, the researchers found extensive value in the mentorship program, which provides much-needed support to an underserved population in Niagara and, as Tardif-Williams notes, \u201cseems to hold the potential to improve the wellbeing of both student parents and their children.\u201d<\/p>\n
The report also outlined some ways in which the program could be refined in response to the feedback that the researchers collected.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of the young mothers\u2019 day-to-day challenges, such as lacking adequate housing, childcare and accessible mental health supports, can make the possibilities of developing or maintaining positive connections especially difficult,\u201d said Varadi. \u201cBy bringing these forms of inequality to the surface, the report demonstrates where valuable supports are offered and where further necessary supports can be established.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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