Silver Lining Mentoring is proud to have participated in Youth Mentoring Day, hosted by our community partner Mass Mentoring, to again advocate for youth mentoring to be a budget priority given the critical impact mentoring organizations can have on youth and our community. We had three staff members, two mentors, six mentees and our Lived Experience Fellow Jarrett Harper present to represent SLM and advocate on behalf of youth mentoring state-wide at the State House.
We were so inspired by the insights our young people and Jarrett were willing to share with our state senators and representatives – they each touched upon why mentoring matters and how powerful the impact of mentoring can be for everyone. Jarrett served as a passionate advocate on behalf of young people, and SLM staff worked to ensure that our young people and mentors had the info they needed to feel prepared and empowered to show up to this event.
SLM staff, mentees, mentors, and our lived experience fellow met with staff from the office of Representative Aaron Michelwitz as well as folks from the Joint Committee on Revenue to ask for level funding for the Mentoring Matching Grants line item (7061-9634) to be funded at $1,800,000 in the FY25 budget. We shared examples of what mentoring relationships look like in action and what kind of impact they are having both on youth and our volunteers. Fellow Jarrett Harper specifically shared his own personal experiences and spoke to how mentoring is a preventative measure that our state should be investing in. He highlighted the foster care to prison pipeline, and how mentoring is a cost-effective intervention that not only positively impacts outcomes for young people, but for our entire society.
Advocating for continued funding for youth mentoring felt incredibly important this year, especially after learning that congress cut $3M from the Youth Mentoring Grant Budget in 2024. We remain inspired by the insights our young people and Jarrett were willing to share this afternoon with our state senators and representatives – they each touched upon why mentoring matters and how powerful the impact of mentoring can be for everyone.
There is still time to further your impact, in helping to secure level funding for the MMG line item: Sign the One-Click Politics Campaign Today!
Interested in learning more about mentoring a young person in foster care? Check out the Become a Mentor page and explore options for attending an upcoming volunteer info session.
