UNDERTAKING A NEW INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION: THE SHARED ROAD TO ADULTHOOD

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Have you been following the international Re-Generations project? If so, you know that the Italian (Defense for Children Italy) and Greek (ARSIS) organizations have already completed several mentoring groups and have finalized more than one cycle of their programs for migrant youth.  This has been accomplished thanks to the training of their teams and the project monitoring we have done from Punt de Referencia. This collective stage has come to an end, as the start-up task has been successfully completed and evaluated, so the official closure of the project will take place in Greece on May 10-13 where the three entities participate.  Punt de Referencia is represented there by both volunteers and mentored youth who have been involved in the project.

Starting shot for the Road to Adulthood project

The good rapport between the organizations participating in Re-Generations and the work we have been able to accomplish together has made us want to continue collaborating in order to innovate for improving our mentoring models, based on the lessons we have been learning. International collaboration allows us to gain more insight into intervention with migrant youth, and for this reason we are embarking on a new joint journey that will last until January 2024: the Road to Adulthood project. The organization, Mentoring Europe, will also join us in this new phase.

 

In participating in Road to Adulthood, Punt de Referencia will not only act in the role of trainers but we will also assume the challenge of developing a new methodological guide for our project, Atenea: mentoring for educational success, and in-depth knowledge of educational opportunities as related to young people who have migrated to Catalonia.

 

Mentoring model of Referents project: how it helps young unaccompanied migrants

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Xavi Alarcón, resercher

 

Last March I received my doctorate from the University of Girona, under the supervision of Dr. Oscar Prieto-Flores. My thesis has focused on evaluating the positive effects that social mentoring has on young people of foreign origin, mostly unaccompanied minors who were under the guardianship of the DGAIA (General Directorate of Attention to Children and Adolescents), who, when turning 18 gained admission to the assisted flats of the Support Area for Young People in and Out of Care.

The young unaccompanied migrants who participated were part of the Referents project of Punt de Referència Association. Firstly, the study focused on identifying the aspects on which the mentoring project had an effect. Secondly, to determine what are the types of social support that mentors provide to young people. And, thirdly, to show how this support can be a significant complement in the support network for young people. All these elements have a direct implication in their transition to adulthood and in their social inclusion as a migrant group.

 

Increased psychological well-being: self-esteem, resilience, and hope

Conducting questionnaires with more than forty young people (some participated in the mentoring project, others did not), we were able to highlight that the mentees significantly improve self-esteem, resilience, and hope. Our interviews with ten migrant youth and their mentors helped us understand why these improvements occur, compared to youth who were not mentored.
Mentors are a source of emotional support and advice. The display of active listening and the ability they show to empathize with the mentees’ situations are the key to fostering a positive vision of youth towards themselves. The easy access that mentors promote also facilitates mentees to feel open to receiving advice. Shows of concern through advice and messages of hope help young people feel more patient with all the obstacles they encounter, fostering a more favourable vision of their future. All this is explained by the mentees in their own words:

“If I have problems, I can call her (the mentor) at any time and explain my problem to her and if she can, she helps me. […] It helps me, because about my papers, I explained to her and she gave me advice, she tells me to continue studying, that hopefully one day I will have the residence permit…” Mentee

“You may have a problem and this person can help you fix the problems you have, and since I am not a local, the people who are from here know much more […] and they can tell me about things that can help me in the future.”    Mentee

 

Improving educational futures: educational aspirations and expectations

In addition, mentors mean an improvement of the possibilities that their mentees get to know the resources in their environment. This implies that young people have more opportunities to find services or people that help them continue with their development, and in the transition to adulthood. These new opportunities and the guidance of mentors help youth to plan their careers more calmly, having someone to guide them to achieve what they want for their future. One of the mentors and one of the youngsters provide an example:

“One day we went to one of those places that are like a youth centre, […] we passed by and wanted to see what they offered for young people. A girl assisted us who immediately… ‘Look, here you have people who can help you make a resume, we do concerts, activities, football and many things for young people’. And yes, I took him to a place where they could really offer him the possibility of expanding his environment.”     Mentor

“I like to be in touch with many people. Because a memory is a memory, but your memory and my memory, if we work together, will be two ideas that work. […] Before things were always in my head, I didn’t talk to anyone… Well, since I arrived here, with many projects, collaborating with them, I started to forget my things, I started to relax with my stuff…. Thanks to everyone on the project who help me.”     Mentee

 

 

Training and monitoring of volunteers: Well-targeted and problem specific mentoring approach

As the previous young man’s testimony suggests, Punt de Referència does not only connect them with adult volunteers who can provide support by themselves. The entity seeks to provide volunteers with the necessary tools to carry out this educational accompaniment. They can do so because they know the group first-hand, they have been supporting them for many years through the different projects they develop, and they attach great importance to training and monitoring mentors. The academic literature on mentoring calls this type of approach “well-targeted and problem specific”. Other studies have shown that these mentoring projects tend to have greater effects in academic, psychological, and social terms. Summarizing this entire training and follow-up structure is difficult, but the positive effect it has on the task of mentors can be summed up in their own words:

“They put us in context, in relation to the current legal framework of all migrant youth who arrive, if they have requested political asylum or if they are unaccompanied minors. […] Later, I would consult often with Cristina (project technician). I mean, I would explain anything to her, and she would give me feedback.”     Mentor

“During training, at the beginning, they told us everything that could happen to them. […] They put you in difficult situations and I think it’s a very good idea, because it’s a way of making you understand that not everything is nice. It may happen that the young man comes to you one day and brings up something and you do not know what to answer…”   Mentor

 

Mentoring as a complement to an existing support network

It is also important to note that, in addition to mentors, these youth have more adult references. The Spanish Federation of Assisted Projects and Flats (FEPA) and the entities that belong to it, are a great support in the emancipation of this young group. On one hand, as pointed out before, there are the entities and educators who support them in assisted flats. On the other, relatives in the country of origin, who remain in contact with their young ones through social networks and instant messaging.

Educators normally focus on many areas of the young people’s lives. This implies helping them to develop their skills for emancipation, accompanying them in their search for training courses, providing them with support in their document and administrative management, etc. Family members, on the other hand, are a valuable source of emotional support, although sometimes young people do not want to share their discomfort with them in order not to worry them. Therefore, many of them need other adult guides to help them cope with day-to-day difficulties, having a space for reflection in which to talk about personal problems, concerns, and challenges for the future. It is precisely in this space where a mentor can help, establishing her/himself as a clear complement in the support that they can receive from institutions and from family in the distance.

 

Volunteering in Punt de Referència helps to empathize with young migrant and to raise awareness in the immediate environment

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Clàudia Frontino, Agència Talaia

 

How can I accompany a young person who has migrated? What is my role as a volunteer mentor? What do I do if I don’t know how to accompany? Is it a good idea to involve my family? These are frequently asked questions by those starting a mentoring or volunteering period. As it happens, when such a process begins, doubts about one’s own abilities when it comes to accompanying young people in and out of care without a family network, are normal.To find out in detail the feelings and opinions of those who participate in Punt de Referència’s programs, and to improve the training and support model offered, we have commissioned a study from DEP Institute on the effects it has on volunteers’ participation in Referents mentoring project.

Next, we present the main conclusions of the study, which indicate how the perceptions and attitudes of volunteers change because of the accompaniment process. If you wish to access the full study click here.

 

To understand how the study was designed and the results obtained, it is necessary to first point out the three areas into which it was divided, and which refer to the various impacts that participation in Referents project may have for volunteers:

  1.      Community area: about the effects from a communal, social, or individual point of view in a society.
  2.      Interpersonal area: the effects it has on volunteers from the point of view of how we communicate or relate to others.
  3.      Personal area: what benefits does volunteering have for the individual with respect to himself/herself?

 

Community area: empathy and awareness

One of the relevant conclusions of the study is that participating in Punt de Referència’s volunteer program helps to better understand the situation, challenges and difficulties faced by youth in and out of care to emancipate themselves, whether in legal and administrative or cultural and religious matters. It also contributes to detect racist attitudes and behaviours, both their own and those of society. It also helps to generate social awareness in the environment and, to a lesser degree, to participate in associations or social events.

All of this is important because often, from the outside, ignorance causes a lack of empathy and, consequently, an absence of action, recognition of the other, prejudice, etc. The study shows that people who participate as volunteers become aware of many aspects that make life difficult for youth in and out of care, incorporating this new knowledge into their daily lives. For example, there are those who claim to have discussed their volunteering experience with family and friends, others who find similarities between youngsters who appear in the news and young people from Punt de Referència’s mentoring project.

 

“Every time I hear of a tragedy, I immediately think that it could have been him… Volunteering is useful for placing what is a political or geopolitical problem in a personal level and seeing that it is affecting specific people. And thus, you go from valuing it from a theoretical or abstract perspective to a more personal, empathetic point of view”.

 

In addition, one of the highlights of this area is that people who participate as volunteers react more to racist or discriminatory comments and confront them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interpersonal area: listening and accompanying


Regarding this area, the study points out that volunteers learn to adapt communication according to the moment of the person in front of them, establishing relationships based on empathy and respect, overcoming age, cultural or religious differences. It also shows the work they do to not provide solutions or not try to change the other person’s way of thinking, as well as respect silence.

“I dare say that what helped me was knowing how to listen, giving time and silence, and understanding that our respective rhythms of conversation are not the same”.

Finally, it should be noted that the fact that being a mentor helps to change perspectives towards an equal relationship is highly valued, far from the idea of ​​charity or a certain paternalism. It means going from the idea of ​​helping to the idea of ​​accompanying or, to “walk side by side”, as it is said in the study.

 

Personal area: reflections and changes

The last area explored by the study is in a more personal field, referring to changes in the perceptions of the people who volunteer. Broadly speaking, this section highlights those volunteers having participated in Punt de Referència’s projects, minimize their own problems. Some of the aspects that stand out in this area, and which are dealt with indirectly, are:

Self-assurance

Better adaptability and flexibility facing changing situations

Being more patient and gaining long-term vision

Minimizing problems 

Rearranging the scale of values in communal or family terms

Self-knowledge

“It has also given me assurance. I thought I wouldn’t know how to do it. And I wanted to do it all at once… I was very afraid of screwing up, saying anything…”.

 

Conclusions

Volunteering is a journey to review oneself, to learn and listen. Accompanying youth in and out of care is a complex task and, at the same time, enriching and transforming. Whether because of what changes outside or inside oneself, volunteers who have participated in the study recognize that they have become aware of the difficulties and obstacles of these youngsters and, at the same time, have incorporated new behaviours. Listening and pausing, pointing out and reproaching racist behaviour, acknowledging the place one occupies when accompanying, creating supportive relationships… The study has collected a whole set of lessons learned and reflections, which can be of help to other people participating in Referents project new volunteer programs, as well to Punt de Referència’s professional team to improve processes in the future.

International collaboration to promote mentoring will continue beyond Re-Generations

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After two years replicating the Referents project in Greece and Italy within the framework of the Re-Generations Project –training professional support team and designing and following-up on the projects’ implementation– the two entities have acquired the necessary knowledge to continue alone.

This experience will end in May with a joint meeting in Greece, where we will share the experience gained by each country and the results obtained. The meeting will also be open to other organizations interested in mentoring. In the meantime, the video made by Punt Referència is available.  It explains how mentoring has served in all three countries for accompanying young migrants without family ties in the territory, as they work their way towards emancipation.

 

 

Despite closing this stage, the collaboration between the entities will continue in a new project which also includes the European Center for Evidence-based Mentoring: the project Road to Adulthood -Mentorship Helping Migrant and Refugee Unaccompanied Minors Navigate Adulthood. You will hear from us soon!

Sharing international viewpoints on migrated youth and mentoring

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We have already spoken on other occasions about the international project Re-Generations, in which we have been involved in implementing mentoring projects for ARSIS (Greece) and Defense for Children (Italy) over the past two years. This month we co-organized a virtual meeting of agents involved in mentoring and accompanying young people –both those under guardianship and after their independence– and with people who support our projects, such as technical and political representatives from the public administration, funders and other social entities.

 

The event began with the presentation of the Re-Generations project and the entities involved. A study of the impact of mentoring on young people was also presented:  Òscar Prieto (University of Girona) explained about the collaboration between the university and Punt de Referencia in the Applying Mentoring study, which measured the impact of mentoring in the Referents project. Prieto’s study showed that the self-esteem, resilience and hope for a better future improved the mental health of the Punt de Referencia youth. Also the mentored youth showed an improvement in their educational aspirations three times greater than young people who had no mentoring.  Based on the data collected, the hypothesis is that the potential for improvement of unaccompanied youth is due to the fact that the Referents’ project intervention incorporates a socio-educational accompaniment into an intense mentoring relationship.

 

 

In the second part we learned of the experience of the Italian and Greek participants, who explained the reality of migrant youth in their countries. From Catalonia, we offered various experiences from both the public and private sectors:

From the Catalan government (Generalitat) there were two presentations: Ester Cabanes, director of the Directorate General of Child and Adolescent Care presented the Generalitat’s strategic plan for receiving unaccompanied migrant youth; and Cesc Poch, presented his viewpoint as Director General of the Catalan Youth Agency.

In addition, we were able to share the work of the Barcelona City Council in receiving young people, as presented by Ana Lemkow, of the city’s Directorate of Citizenship Rights (Area of ​​Social Rights, Global Justice, Feminism and LGTBI).

There was a presentation by Fundació de Nous Cims (New Peaks Foundation), one of Punt de Referencia’s funders, in which the speaker explained the reason behind the Zing scholarship program for young people who want to continue their studies, as well as the Foundation’s support and commitment to mentoring.

To close the day a debate was held among the persons and institutions of all three countries. The Catalan agents spoke of their support for young people, the sustainability of mentoring projects and political advocacy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Youth Mentoring Begins in Greece and Italy as Part of Re-Generations

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A few months ago we explained the role of Punt de Referencia in the Re-Generations project: Defence for Children (Italy) and ARSIS (Greece), were interested in initiating projects to mentor young refugees as they come of age as adults.  Punt de Referència assisted them in training each organization’s professionals, adapting the Referents Project’s methodology to the needs of each, and monitoring the implementation process.

 

In early 2020, after receiving training from Punt de Referència, ARSIS and Defense for Children completed their own training process of new mentors for the pilot groups. But unluckily the COVID virus hit just as they were assigning volunteers to the youth with whom they would start the mentoring relationship, or in some cases, shortly after the first encounters. Both organizations have had to conduct some assignments and follow-ups virtually.

 

 

In March, a joint participation was also planned for the European Mentoring Summit (postponed until the autumn), as well as a meeting to be held in Barcelona, in order to continue with Punt de Referència’s training process. In the end, the training day was held virtually, organized In early 2020, after receiving training from Punt de Referència, ARSIS and Defense for Children completed their own training process of new mentors for the pilot groups. But unluckily the COVID virus hit just as they were assigning volunteers to the youth with whom they would start the mentoring relationship, or in some cases, shortly after the first encounters. Both organizations have had to conduct some assignments and follow-ups virtually.

Session 1: Accompaniment from an affective bond: The potential of accompaniment stemming from an affective bond was highlighted. ARSIS and Defense for Children put on the table cases and dilemmas that have arisen as mentoring relationships began: for example, how to work to achieve a balance between the educational goals to be achieved with the young person and taking care of the affective bond in the relationship.

Session 2: Delving into the monitoring phase of the mentoring relationships: Now that mentoring relationships have begun, it’s time to do the follow-up: which tools allow you to do this? What roles do the volunteer and the professional technician each play in the accompaniment and how can they complement one another?

Session 3: Closing phase of mentoring relationships: All mentoring relationships end with a closure, although the relationship may have continuity beyond the project. Sometimes it is necessary to make an early closure: at what point should a closure be considered and how should it be carried out in order for it to stay positive?

 

As the Greek and Italian mentoring projects consolidate, Punt de Referència will continue to guide them in the process. For their part, these two organizations are contributing to Punt de Referència’s understanding in the field of Human Rights, a perspective that can add considerable value to social mentoring.

JOVESxJOVES recieves a donation, from Hamburg

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“The company I work in, every Christmas makes donations to several NGO’s. I have proposed to include Punt de Referència as a candidate this year and you have been accepted.”

This was the email sent by Martina (a volunteer in Referents project) that filled us with excitement. In Punt de Referència we love when people involved as volunteers in the entity have had a positive experience becoming mentors for care-leavers and helping them in their emancipation. After this great experience, some mentors find other ways to support us, and they always help us getting to new opportunities.

The donation from the company where martina works, shows that behind her purpose there is the conviction of a person that is satisfied with her experience in Punt de Referència and that is what she tells to people around her. It is the best gift!

 

What will we do with the donation?

The company Fr. Meyer’s Sohn (GmbH & Co.) KG has sent us a donation. The amount will be used to launch the new youth participation project: JovesxJoves. A place for group meeting where boys and girls can develop their affective ties, build their own discourse (what do we want to tell the world?), and communicate through Instagram and also through a social participation action. 

We will tell you soon how it’s working!

Learning and teaching at the International level

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Last March we told you that Punt de Referència was involved in the Re-Generations project, where we offer training and support to two organizations: Defense for Children Italy and ARSIS (Greece). They are both interested in incorporating mentoring into the emancipation process for refugee youth as they come of age.

foto de ARSIS - Association for the Social Support of Youth.

Since then, and building on the initial training we had offered, these entities have been adapting Punt de Referència’s methodology to their own realities. Now the time has come to put everything they had been planning into practice. Defense for Children has now selected and prepared the mentoring group who will soon meet the youth group! ARSIS, meanwhile, is in the selection phase for participants.

In March 2020, we will hold a workshop in Barcelona ​​where Punt de Referència will provide oversight of the actions that the two groups have taken to date and work on both the development and closure of mentoring relationships. The two entities have also confirmed that they will attend the upcoming European Mentoring Summit in Barcelona, ​​organized by the Social Mentoring Coordinator (an initiative of Punt de Referència). At this event we will learn of new ways for supporting young people based on the projects of the two entities.

 

 

In October, we traveled to Leewarden (Netherlands) to take part in the Mentoring Short Course, organized annually by the European Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring. This course combined presentations of the results of the latest research in the field of mentoring with practical lectures and workshops about the challenges that organizations like ours from around the world face every day

We heard reflections from Jean Rhodes, who provided clues for ensuring a good mentoring relationship and for detecting natural mentors in our youths’ circles, above and beyond what formal mentoring provides.

We also discussed how to work with mentors about their own privileges when dealing with the mentored youth, in order to be aware of them when building relationships.

 

The space also allowed us to share with groups from other countries the challenges we face, such as, for example, how to achieve a system that provides good evaluations of mentoring relationships, among others.

 

 

 

 

The Referents methodology goes to Italy and Greece

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Genoa (Italy) and Thessaloniki (Greece) have come on board for creating mentoring projects that can transform not only individuals, but societies as well.

Re-Generations is the name of the project promoted by Defense for Children Italy (DCI Italy) and joined by ARSIS (Greece) with the aim of providing support, through volunteers, for young people between the ages of 18 and 21. To achieve this, Punt de Referència is training and assisting in the implementation and supervision of mentoring projects in these two countries, both of which share similarities with our own Referents project.

This relationship will last for 3 years. During this time, Punt de Referència has been commissioned to propose a mentoring methodology adapted to the needs of the youth groups with whom each entity works. Initially the projects will be at the city level, but have the intention of eventually being extended throughout both countries. In the case of Genoa the focus is on previously fostered youth and in the case of Thessaloniki, on refugee youth.

Punt de Referència will provide expertise on how to involve citizens through networking to assist the youth and how to train professionals and mentors for handling the mentoring relationship between adults and the young persons.

 

Contact made in Genoa

The first 3-way meeting took place in Genoa in February. Over two days an analysis was made of the needs of each country according to its context and realities and the foundations were laid to begin this project.

 

What are the next steps for these organizations? Up until September they had been putting together the approach to their mentoring projects.  Since then they have begun to seek out a network of collaborators that will allow them to begin. In March 2020, the three entities will meet again within the framework of the Mentoring Congress (organized by the Social Mentoring Coordinator) and work together to review the initiatives implemented.

This project is made possible by funding from the European Commission’s Department of Migration and Home Affairs.

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