2022 National Mentoring Summit to Address Youth Mental Health
January 21, 2022
Relationship-Centered Recovery Amid Wave of School Disruptions
Contact:
Krista Mason, kmason@mentoring.org, (443) 846-1625
David Loewenberg, dloewenberg@thehatchergroup.com, (301) 485-4365
The national mentoring community, including 2,000 practitioners, researchers, philanthropic investors, youth leaders, and government and civic leaders, will gather virtually Jan. 26-28 for the 2022 National Mentoring Summit, convened by MENTOR.
Speakers will address the role of mentoring to help address growing concerns about youth mental health, the importance of a relationship-centered recovery, and the impact of the latest wave of school disruptions. The need to expand proven mentoring for young people is as urgent as ever:
- Over the last year and a half, many young people’s webs of support have been seriously weakened as they’ve experienced disconnection and, for some, trauma and loss.
- More than 175,000 children in the U.S. have lost a parent or caregiver due to COVID-19.
- While depression and anxiety about learning are common among young people, many lack an adult at school or in their lives to talk to about their concerns or help them with schoolwork, especially as educators and school leaders have been asked shift and take on new roles and measures due to the pandemic.
- Mentoring can help address this crisis of connection. Young people who have a mentor are much more likely to participate in after-school activities, be leaders in clubs and teams, volunteer, and go on to college.
The National Mentoring Summit is the annual opportunity for the mentoring movement to advance a collective mentoring agenda, strengthen programs and practices, and collaborate to drive innovations in healthy youth development through mentoring.
This virtual event is open to the media and access is available by contacting Krista Mason or David Loewenberg (contact information listed above).
WHO:
- Dr. Miguel Cardona — U.S. Secretary of Education
- Laurie Hernandez — Two-time Olympic Medalist, Bestselling Author
- Michael D. Smith — CEO, AmeriCorps (1/28, 12:45pm)
- Amy L. Solomon — Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice (1/27, 11:00am)
- Tyra Mariani – President, Schultz Family Foundation (1/28, 12:45pm)
- Clif Smith – Author, Mindfulness Without the Bells and Beads (1/27, 9:15am)
WHEN: Wednesday, Jan. 26 – Friday, Jan. 28, 2022. View full agenda here.
WHERE: Register for this virtual event here. Registration code available upon request.
WHY: The 12th annual National Mentoring Summit occurs amid a new wave of school disruptions and growing concerns about the pandemic’s impact on students’ mental health. Speakers will address these topics and the role of mentorship in promoting a relationship-centered recovery.
MENTOR is the unifying champion for expanding the quality and quantity of mentoring relationships across the United States. 30 years ago, MENTOR was created to expand opportunities for young people by building a youth mentoring field and movement. The result: a more than 10-fold increase in young people in structured mentoring relationships. Today, MENTOR is the primary resource and expert for the youth mentoring field, representing a movement that meets young people everywhere they are – from schools to workplaces, and beyond. MENTOR operates in collaboration with 24 local Affiliates across the country. For more information, visit mentoring.org.