Are you a person with a disability who is interested in helping others? Consider using your life experience to do so by becoming a mentor in the Ohio Mentorship Project.
The Access Center is proud to be one of three Centers for Independent Living (CILs) partnering with University of Cincinnati Center for Excellence on Developmental Disabilities (UCCEDD) to launch the Ohio Mentorship Project. The Ohio Mentorship Project was designed to help people with disabilities in Ohio and their families navigate life by getting help from a mentor who has lived through the same or similar circumstances.
Along with Access Center, Linking Employment Abilities and Potential (LEAP) and Services for Independent Living (SIL) have also partnered with UCCEDD on the Ohio Mentorship Project. The project is part of an Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) grant which requires at least eight weeks of mentorship between mentors and mentees. The grant cycle ends in December. Each CIL is hoping to recruit at least ten people with disabilities and train them on how to be a mentor to others between now and the end of November.
Mentors will be encouraged to build friendships with mentees while providing guidance and teaching self-advocacy skills to help mentees better understand their disability and/or accomplish any other goal they may have. The training will provide mentors with guidance on how to best fill their role.
You do not have to have any prior mentoring experience to participate in the project. You simply have to be a person with a disability who is willing to help others and share your experience. Training for the Ohio Mentorship Project requires an eight-hour commitment to be trained as a mentor before eight weeks of mentorship. Training will be virtual via Zoom or Microsoft Teams depending on the CIL conducting the training. The training is being conducted virtually in the hopes that the CILs involved in the project will be able to recruit mentors from across Ohio. Training will be broken up into two four-hour modules. You will be paid for the training regardless of whether you are given a mentee or not.
Mentors will be compensated $300 for completing peer mentor training. Mentors who successfully meet with mentees twice and successfully document interactions will be compensated $100. Mentors who successfully meet with mentees four times and successfully document interactions will be compensated $250. Mentors who attempt mentees three times unsuccessfully will be compensated $50. Some mentors will be matched with multiple mentees and compensated accordingly. Mentors will learn how to properly document interactions with mentees during the training.
UCCEDD and the CILs involved in the Ohio Mentorship Project will match mentors and mentees based on disability and/or life experience. Once a match is made, mentors will be given the contact information of mentees. Mentoring meetings can take place in-person, via telephone, text, or an online meeting platform.
Mentor applications will be open until the end of September. UCCEDD and the CILs involved in the Ohio Mentorship Project hope to train the first group round of mentors in September and the second group in October. To submit a mentor application, visit https://www.tfaforms.com/5125462. If you have further questions, contact [email protected]
