skip to main content

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

play newscast audioPlay

Florida faces lawsuits over its new election law, a medical board fines an Indiana doctor for speaking about a 10-year-old's abortion, and Minnesota advocates say threats to cut SNAP funds are off the mark.

play newscast audioPlay

The White House and Speaker McCarthy gain support to pass their debt ceiling agreement, former President Donald Trump retakes the lead in a new GOP primary poll, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is impeached.

play newscast audioPlay

The growing number of "maternity care deserts" makes having a baby increasingly dangerous for rural Americans, a Colorado project is connecting neighbor to neighbor in an effort to help those suffering with mental health issues, and a school district in Maine is using teletherapy to tackle a similar challenge.

More Black Mentors Urged for Pennsylvania

play audio
Play

Tuesday, February 14, 2023   

A new study shows despite a long-term increase in mentoring over time, there has still been recent backsliding with Generation Z, who appear to be less likely than millennials to have a mentor. More than 2,600 people participated in the Who Mentored You? study, which revisits the mentoring gap to see if the mentoring movement has succeeded in closing it.

Tim Wills, chief impact officer with MENTOR, said the report found fewer than half of baby boomers reported having a mentor, seven in 10 millennials had a mentor and one in three Generation Z youths reported growing up without one.

Willis said Pennsylvania needs Black male mentors most acutely.

"So there's a real gap for male mentors to step up," Willis said. "There's a gap when you look at African American mentors as well. So folks of color, stepping forward to be mentors, as well. And then just throughout the entire state, there's over 1,000 young people who are sitting on waiting lists today, waiting for mentors in the state of Pennsylvania."

The study noted the growth of mentoring has been slower in rural areas than in suburban or urban locations. Wills emphasized that young people in rural parts of Pennsylvania as well as those in foster care are less likely to have a mentor, and more mentors are still needed to close the gap.

The MENTOR study found that Americans attribute a little more than half of their success in life to the mentoring they had growing up. Wills said young people have experienced some trauma because of the pandemic, and having a mentor has helped some of them with their mental-health needs.

"Young people say time and time again that when there's a mentor in their life, the quality mentor in her life, more than half of them equate that to the success they've had in life," he said. "And so, young people need these caring adults to show up for them."

Wills encouraged Pennsylvanians interested in mentoring to visit mentoring.org, and review the resources document on Becoming a Better Mentor. It is a 12-part series on strategies and how adult mentors can provide quality relationships that help elevate youth in their communities.


get more stories like this via email
Florida's newest elections law requires that third-party voter registration groups provide mandatory formal signature-matching training to specified persons by the Florida Secretary of State. (Pixabay)

Social Issues

play sound

The moment Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a sweeping elections bill into law last week, several voter-advocacy groups filed lawsuits against it…


Health and Wellness

play sound

An Indiana licensing board has fined a local physician $3,000 and handed her a letter of reprimand after she went public about a 10-year-old Ohio pati…

Social Issues

play sound

Groups fighting for children's health are asking Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers to require insurance companies to cover hearing aids and related …


There used to be twice as many marshes and wetlands in Pennsylvania as there are today, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. (Christina Saymansky/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

From conservation to sportsmen's groups, the U.S. Supreme Court is getting plenty of backlash over its most recent ruling, which weakens federal …

Social Issues

play sound

Rural Nebraska could lose on two fronts if two of Gov. Jim Pillen's budget vetoes are allowed to stand. Pillen struck down a second year of …

Smaller and mid-sized farms say due to market concentration and supply-chain issues within agriculture have made it much harder to get their foods to various markets, including schools and restaurants within their own regions. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Rural development leaders say getting healthy, locally grown food to underserved areas is a challenge in states like North Dakota. They hope a new …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A new report spotlights some of the challenges to accessing behavioral health care for the one in seven Americans who live in rural areas. Kendall …

Social Issues

play sound

On Wednesday, Xcel Energy customers will have a chance to tell the Colorado Public Utilities Commission what they think about the company's request - …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021