Friends Building Positive Relationships with Youth and Families

As our professional mentors, called Friends, begin their work supporting youth enrolled in our program, they are intentional about every opportunity to build trusting, nurturing relationships with both youth and their families.

For example, Eduardo was able to step in at the last minute when a caregiver was unexpectedly unable to attend a planned birthday celebration at school. Eduardo problem-solved together with the caregiver, handled the purchasing of birthday cupcakes, and watched the young birthday boy beam with pride as he handed out the treats to his classmates.

Chelsae attended a Kindergartener’s end-of-school program and filmed it so that the child’s mom, who was unable to attend due to work, could see it. The young girl threw kisses and made hand hearts to her mom through the camera, so excited that her mom would be able to watch the recording taken by her Friend.

These seemingly small experiences carry significant weight for these children and their families. They are an important part of building a positive foundation for the trusting, supportive relationship between our Friends team, the youth, and their caregivers. We are eager to continue building these relationships and bringing positivity and resilience to our community through actions, big and small!