Mentee Recruitment Flyers
For many immigrant youth, the journey to reach the US is marked by prolonged periods of displacement, challenges and trauma. Once they have arrived or have been resettled in the US, a new challenge presents itself. The challenge of forging a new life, home and future in a context full of socio-economic, linguistic and cultural hurdles while also managing the social and emotional effects of homesickness and the diverse immigrant experiences they bring with them.
Newcomer youth, especially teenagers and young adults, thus have to adapt to their new lives during a key period of transformation. This period of transition generally sets a young person on a path into adulthood and includes completing High School, pursuing further education, finding or securing employment and an exploration of a sense of identity and community. Newcomer immigrant youth thus face their own challenges of adaptation along with the challenges posed by this important period in their young lives.
MLOV’s Immigrant Youth Mentorship Program
To support newcomer immigrant youth in this challenging period of adaptation and transformation in a new landscape, MLOV runs an Immigrant Youth Mentorship Program. The mentorship program pairs newcomer immigrant youth with mentors with experience and knowledge that can help guide, support and inform the youth through a 12 week period and beyond. Mentors help connect youth to appropriate resources in the community, can provide educational and career coaching, help with English-language learning, and provide social & emotional support for the youth. MLOV’s mentorship curriculum, orientation process, one on one case management, and general program management help guide and support mentees and mentors throughout the process and beyond. Once mentors and mentees have completed the carefully curated 12 week experience, mentees receive a scholarship of $250 as well as opportunities to join other MLOV youth programming as well as continue on with their mentor!
For any questions about the program please reach out to Mikel, our Student Success and Post-Secondary Initiatives Manager at mikel@mlovdc.org.
The Mentees
MLOV's immigrant youth mentorship program is a transformative initiative designed to empower and uplift young refugees and immigrants who have arrived in the United States, aged 15 to 24. Having served dozens of participants so far and with new cohorts starting soon in 2025, MLOV’s Immigrant Youth Mentorship Program has grown and strengthened over the last two years.
Now working with the DC Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) and its partner organizations, MLOV receives and onboards immigrant youth who have ORR-eligible status, including Refugees, Asylees, Unaccompanied Refugee Minors, Victims of Trafficking, Afghan Parolees, Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolees, and Minors with Special Immigrant Juvenile Statuses. Youth with ORR-eligible status residing in the District of Columbia are then accepted, onboarded and matched with a mentor who best fits their assets, goals and needs including language and cultural competency, education and career aspirations and more.
If you or someone you know are interested in joining the program as a mentee please fill out this application form.
The Mentors
The goal of our mentors is to create an encouraging and supportive relationship with our mentees which assesses both their assets and needs to help each youth find and take their “next step”.
To do this, MLOV recruits volunteer mentors from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences to have a wide talent pool ready to be matched with the specific needs of each immigrant youth joining our program. All mentors must be residents of the DMV area and have prior experience working with or connections to immigrant communities in the US. We recruit mentors from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds to ensure that we have a best fit for every immigrant youth mentee that enters the program.
Mentors undergo a strict application, interview and screening process to become eligible for our program, and must commit to the full 12 week program as well as a comprehensive orientation process and our end of program in-person celebration.
If you are interested in becoming a mentor for our Immigrant Youth Mentorship Program please complete this application form.
Program Testimonies
Bessie, a current 12th grader enrolled in MLOV’s Youth Programs and a graduate of the 2023 Youth Mentorship cohort shares, “My MLOV mentor helped me be more organized in how I approach my goals. For example, she gave me many ideas on how to maintain those goals, carry them with me, and organize my life around them. My goal was and is to prepare myself and apply for college, and now I have submitted my applications!”
“My mentor also helped me feel a lot better. As I said, my thoughts and goals were not very organized, and with her help I felt like I had someone who believed in me and that I could share my problems with.”
Andres, a current 11th grader enrolled in MLOV’s Youth Programs and a graduate of the 2023 Youth Mentorship cohort shares, “My experience at MLOV since I joined has been wonderful and comfortable; the environment of the place is beautiful, full of friends and teachers willing to help you with anything.”
Andres’ participation in the mentorship program helped him develop his leadership skills which he has utilized throughout his participation in MLOV’s various youth programs. He shares: “I have been able to perform various roles such as leader, member, voice, or artist in a joyful MLOV community."
