Mayor Bill de Blasio today announced the expansion of Mentors Matter, an initiative launched in September 2020 that has provided mentoring, tutoring and social emotional support to thousands of young people in New York City throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The program is being expanded from $850,000 in FY21 to $1.58 million in FY22.
Mentors Matter was designed to help resource and structure New York City’s human capital, particularly within Black and brown communities, to mentor, tutor, and support younger generations. This comprehensive set of initiatives include programs that pay CUNY students to tutor and mentor Department of Education (DOE) students, provide career exploration mentoring by connecting young people to professionals, and fund long-standing community-based organizations that offer enriching summer programming.
“Today, I am proud to announce this expanded investment into the young people of New York City. They are the future,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “By investing directly into the programs that support them and connect them to mentors in their community, we are telling young New Yorkers everywhere: we see you and you matter.”
“I am where I am today because of incredible mentors who showed me my potential, helped me navigate systems, and opened doors. My mentors also helped me realize the power of collective movements towards black and brown liberation—empowering me to organize and work in the service of my community. The expansion of the Mentors Matter Initiative will ensure that more young people who grew up like I did have the chance to meet their full potential, and then pay it forward,” said J. Philip Thompson, Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives.
“We cannot address racial inequality in New York City without empowering our young people to reach their full potential. By connecting our youth to leaders with similar lived experiences and perspectives, Mentors Matter is doing just that,” said Jordan Stockdale, Executive Director of the Young Men’s Initiative (YMI). “As a key program of YMI, Mentors Matter recognizes that our communities have the human resources and talent to raise a generation of future leaders.”
The expansion of Mentors Matter includes the following components:
- $500,000 in funding opportunities to community-based organizations that offer summer programming to young people. Click here learn more or apply for funding!
- $300,000 to extend the Mentors Matter program at the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) throughout FY22.
- $239,000 to create a new Reading Rescue program within NYC Men Teach. Through this new initiative, NYC Men Teach CUNY students will be trained in the evidence-based Reading Rescue model and offer one-one-one reading tutoring to struggling first and second grade students. NYC Men Teach is the nation’s most comprehensive program designed to increase the number of qualified men of color teaching in our public school system.
- $175,000 for a new CUNY-YMI Mentoring in Medicine initiative which offers academic, professional, and financial support to CUNY students entering the medical field.
- $150,000 for an expansion of the Public Health Internship Program in partnership with the Department of Mental Health and Hygiene (DOHMH). This program provides students from Central Brooklyn with one-on-one mentoring and career exploration supports within the public health career sector.
- $100,000 in FY22 and $145,000 in FY23 to provide full-year academic tutoring to students at Horizon and Crossroads — NYC’s two secure juvenile detention centers.
- $50,000 to fund CUNY Tutor Corps — an innovative program that pays CUNY students to tutor DOE students in math and computer science.
- $40,000 to expand the CUNY Black Male Initiative’s (BMI) Ambassador program, which provides stipends to CUNY students to mentor DOE students and develop the CUNY Justice Series.
- $30,000 to support an expansion of My Sister’s Keeper at DOE. This funding will specifically support the development of a career-exploration and mentoring program within DOE’s My Sister’s Keeper.
“Our educators must reflect the beautiful diversity of New York City, and these programs have provided so much support and mentorship for New York City students. As we round the corner of the pandemic, now more than ever, our children need a caring role model to care and look out for them and I’m thrilled these programs are growing to reach even more kids,” said Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter.
“The programs that will be expanded under the Mentors Matter initiative will harness the power and potential of CUNY student-mentors, so they can provide crucial support to New York communities where such assistance is needed most,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “Helping more young men of color become public school teachers, mentoring medical students, or working as near-peers with DOE students, epitomizes the University’s historic mission as a vital New York institution in the life of the city we are proud to call home.”
“The power of mentoring is profound, and it benefits both the mentor and the mentee. DYCD is proud to be part of ongoing efforts to keep young New Yorkers on track for success. With the expansion of the Mentors Matter Initiative, even more students in DYCD’s funded programs will benefit from being connected to responsible, caring adults—providing them with academic, career, and general life guidance as they grow into New York City’s next generation of leaders,” said DYCD Commissioner Bill Chong.
“The most critical part of a city’s public health infrastructure is the people doing the work,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Dave A. Chokshi. “We are proud to partner with the Young Men’s Initiative to fight inequities and build the skills of the next generation of public health heroes in New York City.”
"The New York City Department of Probation applauds the expansion of ‘Mentor Matters,’ and the continued commitment to providing community-based resources and opportunities to serve youth of color," said Probation Commissioner Ana M. Bermúdez, Esq. "As we have seen in our own programs, mentoring is an impactful tool for our City's young people. The connections to positive, relatable role models from one's community and the feeling of belonging are essential to the road to recovery from the pandemic."
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