Evaluating a mentorship program focused on meeting the needs of immigrant children and refugee youth in Winnipeg
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Date
2021-08-23
Authors
Zulu, Bernard. C
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Abstract
This study was undertaken in part to fulfill requirements of the master’s degree program in
Sociology at the University of Manitoba. The broader applied purpose of the study is to generate
baseline data that will be used to evaluate a youth mentorship program at the NEEDS centre agency
in Winnipeg, Canada. This evaluation-based study also seeks to provide the management team
with a program description, a literature review revolving around notions of resilience and risk,
positive youth development, youth development programming, youth mentoring and delinquency
prevention as well as mentoring immigrant children and refugee youth. The youth mentorship
program is designed to help immigrant children and refugee youth ages 6-18 years to help them
settle in Canadian society. The aim of the program is to enable children and youth to build
relationships with mentors who take them out in the community to engage in recreational and
educational activities. This study seeks to capture a clear picture of the services and support that
newcomer children, youth and their families receive in Winnipeg. The study will generate
knowledge that will help to guide the development of appropriate services to best meet the needs
of program participants. The study will also address this knowledge gap through a qualitative
examination of the experiences of individuals and their families seeking help. This was achieved
through Zoom based one-on-one interviews firstly with program staff, secondly with mentors and
thirdly with parents of program participants. These interviews will form the backbone of the
needed firsthand experiences of key stakeholders required in order for the NEEDS centre to more
fully assess and potentially make needed changes to its youth mentorship program. Interviews with
program staff and mentors focus on programming and organizational activities. Interviews with
parents of participants focus on the needs of their children and families.
Description
Keywords
Resilience and Risk, Positive Youth Development, Youth Mentoring and Delinquency Prevention, Mentoring Immigrant and Refugee Youth, Participatory Action Research (PAR) model, Qualitative Resilience Research, Program Evaluation