Sophia* is a mentee in the Allies mentorship program and has been matched with her mentor for 5 years. We asked her if she would be willing to share her experience in our program, and here are her powerful words…

Hi my name is Sophia*. I have been a part of the mentoring services for about over five years now. It started in 2016. My very first mentor’s name was Shannon*. Back then I was very very lost. I didn’t have any goals in life. I felt very alone. I was suffering through depression and anxiety. I had gone through some pretty traumatic experiences at a very young age. At first when I was told about the mentoring service I was very nervous. I felt like it was just another therapist or basically another DCS caseworker. I knew that I needed at least some type of support system and somebody that I could talk to so I decided to give it a chance. First they had me fill out paperwork on different things I was interested in like hobbies and things that I enjoy doing. They gave me a preference on age and other things just to make sure that I felt comfortable.

When I first met my mentor it was her and another mentor basically there to supervise. We just talked to get to know each other, played a few games and did a lot of icebreakers. Then, after they reached out to me asked me how I felt like it went. They were very open about making sure that I felt comfortable. Soon after that I started talking to my mentor on the phone. She would come and visit me, sometimes take me out on mentee dates as I like to call them.

I noticed after the first couple of times of me meeting with my mentor that this was nothing like a meeting with a therapist or talking to a DCS caseworker. It was almost like I had a friend but a friend that I knew would always encourage me to make the right decisions. I grew a really close bond with my mentor. We would go out for breakfast. Go to the park. Me and my mentor actually colored this canvas.

It was nice having someone to talk to that actually made me feel a lot normal especially being a kid in the system. After a while of meeting with my mentor. It’s almost like she became family to me and I became family to her.

Personally I feel like Allies is a great mentorship program to join. Especially for kids who don’t really have family out there. I feel like I can talk to her about anything. Whenever I have a problem I will call her, never does she hesitate, she always makes sure I have everything that I need. She also always made sure that I was safe. I remember one time she took me out for my birthday to go get my nails done. It may have seemed like something small to other people but to me it really touched my heart. I always knew I had someone to depend on.

I ended up keeping my mentors for a long time. To this day I am 19 years old and I still talk to my mentors. I still go out and do things with them. My mentors were and still are my biggest motivation. I hope that the Allies program continues to strive and get bigger. They can really change someone’s life without knowing it.

*Names have been changed to protect the identity and confidentiality of the program participants