Your role is to walk alongside your mentee, not in front of them trying to pull them along, but next to them. You are not their counselor, but you are their friend. We offer free counseling and mental health care to our participants to be able to guide them on their journey, so please feel free to encourage them in the direction of those resources if further guidance in that way is needed.

It may feel natural to step in and help, but if you’re doing the work for your mentee, it can turn into enabling instead of equipping them to take the steps needed to help themselves. Be there to build trust, establish a friendship, and be someone they can turn to without judgment.

Our heart at Good Sam is to compassionately reach people where they are and never try to force our beliefs, morals, etc., but to show our love by our actions. “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

As trust is built, it is vital that you are a safe person for your mentee. Trust takes time to build, but can be broken so easily when it is abused.

Your mentee has more than likely gone through very difficult times and relationships where trust has been broken. If they get to a point where they confide in you, please value that and do not betray that trust. What they share with you shouldn’t be shared with anyone else, UNLESS there is danger to themselves or others (such as children, other participants, etc…) involved.

If that is ever the case, you will be equipped and required as a mentor and mandated reporter (as talked about in the mandated reporter training video during mentorship onboarding) to let us know so we can take the appropriate steps to ensure no harm comes to anyone.

We care for our mentees deeply, but we also care deeply for YOU as a mentor. If at any point, you find yourself feeling overwhelmed or triggered in your journey as a mentor, please reach out to us. We are here for you and care about your mental, physical, and spiritual health in this journey as well.

There will be individual monthly check-ins, and group mentor check-ins every 3 months with Good Sam staff to help ensure that you are being taken care of and don’t ever feel alone in or stressed in your commitment to Good Sam’s mentoring program.

We support our participants here at Good Sam in every way we can physically, mentally, and spiritually. They are equipped with a Resource Coordinator to guide them on their journey and meet attainable goals to better themselves and their lives.

We know that you may want to treat your mentee to dinner, coffee, or a gift, and that’s fine! We do ask that you do not give them cash, Venmo, Paypal, etc., for their own protection and accountability as they grow and work towards their goals. If these needs arise and you are asked for any financial support, please direct them back to their Resource Coordinator, or feel free to let the Community Engagement Coordinator know and they will make sure their Resource Coordinator is aware of any further needs that we can help with.