My mind is playing tricks on me; mentors help mentors with new newly designed Mentorship Program

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

Studies show that good mentoring can lead to great career success. Effective mentoring takes effort, and creating successful mentoring relationships requires specific skills and sensibilities. A good mentor needs to be more than just a successful individual; they must have the disposition and desire to develop others. They have to be able to reflect on and share their experiences, and yes, this includes the failures. They have to be open to sharing how they did it right, and how they did it wrong, and this only comes with personal introspection, and a growth mind-set.

In order for mentors to be truly effective, they have to remain open to learning about themselves, but the question now comes, who supports the mentors?
Where do the community workers and members who serve our communities go for support when we’ve reached a crisis or feel overwhelmed?

I was overjoyed when I received an email from Solitair about a program that would offer support to mentors like myself, and those working around the city of Toronto. The program is being put on by F-You: The Forgiveness Project, a project first introduced to me at the end of May this year. They are a non-profit community outreach program based in Toronto, working with youth around themes of forgiveness, restorative justice and conflict management.

They have programs that address the mental health and well being of gang identified youth in custody by creating a platform that amplifies the stories of these young people. They have been featured on MTV, CBC, CTV, Globe & Mail, and The Star. There most recent efforts are directed at individuals like myself who are actively working with young people in the community. It could not have come at a better time.

We are three weeks into the “Break it down” series, which is a five-week mentor support virtual conversation series. The weekly discussion take place on Tuesdays from 6:00 pm-8:00 pm via Zoom, and are facilitated by Solitair (solitair@thefyouproject.com), and his team members Lesley (lesley@thefyouproject.com), and Snjezana (snjezana@thefyouproject.com)

Our discussions so far have been on how best to engage in important conversations about mental health, education, accountability, and self-awareness. There is a stress on the importance of connecting and communicating with other mental health professionals, and youth workers across the city. Why? So that we can share insights and resources that can benefit us as professionals, and help the BIPOC communities achieve a better quality of life.

This is the first session of the series and it was available to all community organization workers and community members. We are in the middle of exploring long held beliefs and methods of addressing mental health in the BIPOC communities. It has been an amazing experience so far sharing and receiving insights and best practices from the other members of our small group.

What I do enjoy is the fact that so far, we have been able to have in-depth conversations and feel safe doing so. They did warn us ahead of time that the conversations would reference themes of: anxiety, stress, paranoia, fears of failure, trauma, violence, and post-traumatic stress, and because of that, we might be triggered. What is important to mention at this point is the piece around confidentiality. Although I am able to share aspects of my experience with “Break it down,” there are certain parts of the experience that must remain confidential due to the sensitivity of what we as a group discuss.

We have been encouraged to participate in the conversation through reading selected materials, listening to and discussing a curated music playlist. The
Program has approximately ten hours of online conversation time over five weeks, including reading/listening materials that serve as the basis for the weekly conversation themes.

We are reading selected chapters/readings from Shook One: Anxiety Playing Tricks on Me by Charlamagne Tha God, as well as sample of songs used for concept references. You might be familiar with some of them:
Shook ones – Mobb Deep
Mind playing tricks on me – Geto Boys
Drink away the pain – Mobb Deep
Feel it in the Air – Beanie Sigel

Even experts need to seek out help. It is one of those things that cannot be stated enough. How can we expect our mentees to interact and understand different perspectives, if we ourselves do not do the same and go beyond that. It starts with us taking the necessary steps to ensure we are at our best. I am excited by what I am going to learn during this experience that I will be able to share with you.