Have you ever thought about starting a mentoring program for the clients you serve or for your parishioners? Have you ever wondered if it would be worth the time and effort? So consider this. You are a young mother. You have made many mistakes in your life. You are at risk of having your children placed in foster care or your children have just been returned to you from foster care. You want a better life for yourself and your children, but there is no one around to help you. Although she has taken advantage of the resources made available to her when her children were in foster care, she still struggles to provide food, clothing, and shelter for her children. You want to change for yourself and your children. You want to get out of the lifestyle you were somehow sucked into and you have a dream. You do not know what to do. Need help. You need a mentor.

Too often, young mothers like this find themselves alone and struggling to make a better life for themselves and their children. They need help, someone to walk with. They need a mentor. A mentor is someone who will extend a helping hand, be a confidant, a role model, and a teacher. Could your organization or church provide the help these young mothers need?

The ideal mentor for a young mother like this is a woman with some level of success as a mother. A mother, who can share her experience and her parenting mistakes, is available to talk to a young mother and spend time with her and her children, and someone who is willing to listen. Mentor mothers can teach young mothers how to lovingly raise their children, how to create structure in their homes, how to find a job, and help them develop a plan to get into college if that is their desire. Mentor mothers can help young mothers break the cycle of child abuse and neglect, and leave domestic violence behind. Mentoring mothers who have had similar difficulties and have overcome them can make a significant difference in a young mother’s life because they have been there, understand her plight and know how to effect change.

Mentoring can be invaluable to a struggling young mother. A mentoring program can give young moms like this one-on-one support from an experienced mom who will lead the way. Young parents need someone to model for them exactly what they should do as parents.

Mentoring is an important key to successful parenting. You, as professionals in the social service field, are very familiar with the emotional, physical and sexual harm done to children in the home and when they are removed from the home. Pastors, your parishioners may have come to you for advice in addressing parental concerns. These injured children need your help. The young mothers and fathers of these children need your help. Providing mentors to these parents can be the lifeline they and their children so desperately need. Perhaps after reading this article, your organization or church is interested in starting a mentoring program. The benefits of such a program for these struggling mothers and their children will surely outweigh the costs. Are you willing to help?