1. Working with InnVision Shelter Network to Create an Unhoused Mentoring Program
Aparna Jayaraman|Laura Becker-Lewke|Lynelle Bilsey|Michael Hollingshead|Mudra Josephson|Meredith Wilkinson
v Have a dedicated volunteer running program: help recruit new mentors,
guide new mentors with vetting, work with case managers on pairing,
check in with mentors, plan monthly check-in meetings
v Ask current cohort to extend commitment until September and plan on
starting new cohort in Fall with more recruiting
v Monthly check-ins to be mixed with different cohorts so that new mentors
can interact with more experienced ones
v Have a running list of mentees such that pairing can happen quicker
v Advertise mentorship in volunteer orientations and other IVSN events
v Santa Clara County has about 8,465 unhoused people
(2011)
v Palo Alto has approximately 250 (2013)
v Opportunity Services Center (OSC) sees about 120
clients/day and houses about 131 people in permanent
supportive housing
v Very few clients have engaged in all of the services
available
v Housed clients tend to only ask for financial help, but not
enlist help from case managers or attend workshops
v Drop-in clients tend to make limited progress towards
finding jobs and permanent housing
v Plan and implement a 3-month pilot mentorship
program to increase client's self-efficacy, help them reach
their goals, and encourage them to take advantage of the
OSC’s offerings
v Track and assess the relationships of ~15 mentor-mentee
pairs
v Assess feasibility of an adult unhoused mentorship
program with mentors recruited from outside the
unhoused community
v Create and conduct surveys with mentees and mentors at
2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks to measure each developing
relationship
v Administer a self-efficacy assessment to mentees at the
beginning and at the end of the program
v Conduct monthly check-ins with mentors to teach
mentoring skills, including active listening and
motivational interviewing
v Collect final feedback on the mentor program pilot from
stakeholders, including mentees, mentors and IVSN staff
involved in planning
Background
Objectives
Methods
Reflections and Milestones
Trends in Mentors’ Bios
v 8 out of 8 in program submitted bios to be paired
v 5 walk/hike with 6th citing physical activity
v 5 want to build trusting relationship with mentee
v 5 hoped they could help mentee make change
v 4 expressed desire to make a difference
Mentors’ First Impressions
v 4 took survey about first meeting with mentee
v All met once a week for 1-1.5 hrs/week
v Mentors spent ~25% talking and ~75-100%
listening
v Only 1 mentor knew mentee’s goals, 1 mentor
remarked it was too early in their relationship
v 50% had somewhat encouraged mentee to use OSC
resources
Recommendations
Feb: Start
planning the
program
April 21 &
30:
Orientation
May 1st: Start
Program
May 19th:
Check-in #1
June 2nd:
Check-in #2
June 30th:
Check-in #3
July 28th:
Final Check-
in
Timeline
All mentors finished
vetting, mentees take
pre self-efficacy test
All mentors are
matched and
met at least once
Expected Actual
2 mentors
completed vetting
Most still in
vetting and none
paired, no self-
efficacy test given
One paired, over
half vetted
Almost all vetted
and waiting for
pairing
All completed
vetting, 3
mentors paired
Date changed to
Aug 4th
Most mentors are
vetted and ready
to be paired
Post self-efficacy test for
mentees and collect
feedback from mentees,
mentors, and staff
July 16th: All 8
mentors paired,
not all have met
0
3
6
9
12
15
Orientation Check-in #1 Check-in #2 Check-in #3
NumberofMentorsPresent
Mentor Retention
Paired
Un-paired
Client Opinions
Yes
49%
No
31%
Don't
Know
13%
No
Response
7%
Yes
58%
No
22%
Don't
Know
11%
No
response
9%
Word Cloud of Mentor’s Bios
Data
Sources:
Client
opinions
were
gathered
during
a
smoking
cessa8on
survey
administered
by
SPRC
with
added
ques8ons
on
mentoring;
Mentor’s
First
Impressions
are
based
on
surveys
given
to
mentors
aDer
they
had
met
their
mentee
at
least
once.
Feedback
for
the
program
was
collected
from
feedback
surveys
given
to
staff
and
mentors
and
verbal
feedback
given
during
monthly
check-­‐ins.
Special
thanks
to
the
mentors;
mentees;
the
OSC
residents;
drop-­‐in
clients
and
staff;
Smita
Das,
MD,
PhD,
MPH;
Anita
Lowe;
Dr.
Jodi
Prochaska,
MPH;
Dr.
Brian
Greenberg;
Philip
Dah;
and
the
Miller
Award,
Department
of
Psychiatry
and
Behavioral
Sciences
Mentorcouldhelp
achievegoals
Interestinhaving
mentor
Program Feedback
v Required vetting for mentors could be confusing
and took long time with many parts to finish, all
at different locations
v Matching took longer than expected with no
real recruitment of mentees, added to case
managers’ heavy workload
v IVSN Staff did not expect matching, organizing
check-ins, and staying in touch with mentors to
be so much work
v Both mentors and mentees said they enjoyed
relationship