Atrayus O. Goode, president & CEO of Youth Mentoring Collaborative (YMC) grew up in a household plagued by drug abuse. His background shapes his understanding of how Black and Brown students navigate traumatic experiences while attempting to get an education.
“Meeting my first mentor through the 100 Black Men of
America afforded me the social and emotional support I needed to chart a
different course, ultimately becoming the first in my family to attend college," Goode said. “That experience launched me into a lifetime journey of exploring
how relationships, especially in a mentoring context, can bring fulfillment
through noticing, caring effectively, and moving to action for yourself and
those you love.”
Youth development experts from across the country gather on
Saturday, November 12 at Friday Center, 100 Friday Center Drive, Chapel Hill,
NC for the annual Carolinas Youth Mentoring Symposium
to discuss ways to expand mentoring programs that promote health and well-being
of families most impacted by systems of oppression. The YMC office is located at Provident1898, a Black-centric coworking community located in the historic NC Mutual tower.
Goode says mentoring has the potential to disrupt patterns
of disparity, while also perpetuating structural oppression through how programs
view marginalized groups as targets of grant proposals instead of human beings.
“Instead of acknowledging how communities have been
systematically stripped of power, many nonprofits—especially those focusing on
mentoring and youth development—treat recipients of their services as needing
to be saved from poor life choices,” Goode said. “For people on the receiving
end, these invalidating environments create feelings of internalized
inferiority that lower expectations, harm self-esteem, and ultimately impact
their well-being.”
This year’s symposium features topics that elevate the power
of identity-affirming mentoring relationships. Goode says YMC is exploring
Healing-Centered Mentoring, an approach that examines the youth experience
through varied perspectives to identify ways mentoring can promote mental
wellness, while reducing structural barriers to mental health services.
Goode said Covid-19 exacerbated the mounting youth mental health crisis as school systems across the country continue to be overwhelmed with students experiencing elevated levels of stress and anxiety.
“But while the pandemic was hard on everyone, pre-pandemic realities for black and brown students disproportionately worsened pre-existing mental health conditions, hitting them and their families harder,” Goode said.
Participants at the symposium will be educated on several
topics including advocacy, youth power and critical mentoring.
“Symposium attendees will have the chance to
network and learn from each other, with the goal of taking knowledge back
to their organizations. A new feature for this year's event is our
youth track,” Kanalyn Jackson, vice president of training and organization
at YMC said. “This track will have session topics around building
relationships, entrepreneurship, working music industry, and the
opportunity to connect and have fun.”
Malenia Swinton, vice president of community engagement at YMC,
said mentoring programs across the country, and specifically in North Carolina
have experienced significant mentor and mentee attrition. Not being able to
meet in person for mentoring session, funding and sustainability and mentor
morale are contributing factors that negatively impact programs.
“However, we've seen mentoring programs rise to
the challenge and fill gaps in services in their communities,” Swinton
said. “Communities are reprioritizing young people and their mental health,
pouring more resources into mentoring programs and other initiatives that
support the health and well-being of youth.”
Swinton believes the symposium will serve as a catalyst for
attendees to become more invested in the mentoring movement.
“By bringing together some of the brightest and most forward-thinking leaders from government, education, business, and beyond: we hope the Symposium plants the seed for even more meaningful and impactful mentoring relationships,” Swinton said.
Hannah McKinney, manager of communications & storytelling at YMC, said the story of mentoring is about radically changing the lives of youth and their families.
