Empowerment Hub: Youth Leadership + Peer Support Resources

Youth Mentorship

mentorship is Leadership.

Effective mentorship is a cornerstone of personal and professional growth for young people. This section provides comprehensive tools and resources for both mentors and mentees to build strong, supportive relationships.

Learn about the principles of successful mentorship, how to establish meaningful connections and the benefits of guided support. With access to best practices, training modules, and case studies, this collection aims to enhance the mentoring experience, fostering mutual learning and development.

Youth Voice and Authentic Engagement

Youth Voice and Authentic Engagement

Whether you are hiring a youth mentor for the first time or are ready to level up your youth mentorship program, there are some basic steps to follow.

This resource, created with the help of our National Youth Advocates, and funded by ViiV Healthcare’s Positive Action for Youth (PAFY) Grant, covers organizational considerations for starting a youth mentorship program, training for youth mentors, understanding confidentiality, civil rights for people living with HIV, and more.

Reports and Toolkits

Boundary Setting Between Service Providers and Youth: PSY & OCFS

This toolkit was developed from a training webinar and aims to support direct service providers to identify healthy boundary-setting techniques and how to engage young people with critical thought and awareness when building trust and balancing a professional relationship.

Self Care and Community Care: PSY

With the help of our National Youth Advocates and the support of ViiV Healthcare’s Positive Action Community Grant Program, this resource examines self-care, community care, self-determination, and best practices for supporting sex workers to ensure that programs have intentional processes in place for all young people.

Centering the Needs of LGBTQ+ Youth: PSY & OCFS

This toolkit explores how to meaningfully center the needs of LGBTQ+ youth experiencing and includes affirming terminology, best practices, and concrete tools for working with LGBTQ+ youth in empowering ways

Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring: MENTOR

A guide to best practices in youth mentoring, covering recruitment, screening, training, and support.

Working with Youth and Navigating Vicarious Trauma: PSY & OCFS

This toolkit explores best practices and strategies for working with youth while navigating vicarious trauma which has a life-changing effect on service providers, affecting their views of the world, relationships, and connections with family, friends, and community.

Youth Mentoring Toolkit: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

Offers a step-by-step guide to developing, implementing, and evaluating youth mentoring programs.

Podcast Resources

  • Mentoring Moments

    Amanda Rootsey, founder of Shine From Within and coach to youth mentors all over the world, interviews folks about what’s going on for youth today.

    This podcast features discussions with experts and stories from mentors and mentees about the power of mentorship.

    Learn More

Web-based Resources

  • PSY’s partner organization, LYRIC, a youth-serving organization shares a youth mentorship programs for LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness.

    Learn more: https://lyric.org/mentorship-program/

  • Offers resources and support for effective youth mentoring, including research, best practices, and program toolkits.

    Learn more:     https://www.mentoring.org/

  • Provides a wealth of resources, including training materials, guidelines, and case studies for youth mentors.

    Learn more: https://mentorhub.org/

  • Provides practical tips and insights on how to be an effective mentor for young people.

    Learn more: https://www.thechangemakerproject.org/mentors

Video Resources

The Unique Needs of LGBTQ+ Youth Experiencing homelessness

This video was produced for the True Colors Fund Learning Community, which focuses on establishing a common understanding about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth homelessness.

The Power of Youth Mentorship

This video discusses the transformative impact of mentorship on young people's lives.

Once Homeless, Now She’s a Site Coordinator

A PSY partner organization in Hawaii, Residential Youth Services and Empowerment (RYSE), shares a story of a young person who was formerly experiencing homelessness and is now a staff member at a youth-serving organization.

Peer Navigation: A Youth-led Roadmap to Success

Our National Youth Empowerment and Mentorship Initiative’s cohort of leaders worked hard to expand youth mentorship in communities across the country. Watch the video we created in collaboration with youth leaders to learn more about the importance and impacts of youth mentorship programs.