Building Healthy Communities: Mentorship and Resilience Project (MRP)
Mentoring Black Youth to Build Resilience & Their Professional and Social Networks
Concordia University of Edmonton (CUE) has partnered with NorQuest College, Boys & Girls Clubs Big Brothers Big Sisters of Edmonton & Area, and CUE’s Black Students Association, to develop Building Healthy Communities, a Black youth (18+) Students Mentorship and Resilience Project.
This one-year outreach project led by Dr. Cecilia Bukutu (CUE) and Dr. Viola Manokore (NorQuest College) aims to:
- Develop and facilitate a unique community-based one-on-one social networking and career mentorship program that pairs Black youth (mentees) across Edmonton with volunteer successful Black professional mentors (mentors).
- Develop and facilitate interactive workshops aimed at enhancing the student’s (mentees) career potential through building social capital, networking and career development skills.
- Provide training to build and enhance students’ resilience to support integration and inclusion into the Canadian workforce.
Black youth do not always have a robust social network or connections that can help them gain meaningful employment and the skills needed to succeed in job searching and the workplace. Black youth also experience racism, prejudice and segregation that impact their wellbeing and opportunities for employment and advancement.
The project plans to address these issues by providing mentorship, networking, career and resilience-building opportunities to develop key skills, self-esteem, a sense of belonging, and ultimately improve career outcomes among a diverse group of Black students of African and Caribbean descent in post-secondary institutes across Edmonton.
Project supported by:
This project has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada.