Mentoring: Family Development

Family Development is an empowerment-based mentoring program where volunteer mentors, working in partnership with families or individuals, build relationships of mutual respect. Mentoring provides guidance, advocacy, and support to individuals and families seeking to restore their sense of hope and healthy independence. Typical mentoring activities include: financial literacy counseling, budgeting, helping people access and navigate community services, and teaching time management, organizational, parenting, and life skills. Mentors are aware of many resources in Saratoga County, and can be a great support to people who are going through a difficult time.

For more information on our Family Development program, please contact our Family Development and Getting Ahead Program Manager by calling 518-371-1185. You may also download the brochure below.

From Our Volunteers about Family Development

Family Development mentoring is, without a doubt, an incredible labor of love. Our mentors work overtime with our clients, with seemingly endless compassion, empathy and generosity, often through the most treacherous times in their mentees’ lives.  There are some instances where our mentors may be the only positive adult relationship in our client’s lives. They provide guidance and support to individuals and families in a wide variety of ways. From teaching families how to develop and manage a budget, repair their credit, and build financial resources, working with individuals to set goals and develop step-by-step plans to achieve those goals, helping individuals gain the tools and skills to find better paying jobs, pursue career or educational goals, providing advocacy or accompaniment when appearing in family court, meeting with their child’s school counselors or navigating the often confounding world of the social services system, our mentors are there walking alongside their clients helping families utilize their strengths and build resources for a more sustainable future for themselves, their families, and their community.

Getting Ahead

We also offer our Getting Ahead program, which helps people stabilize their situations and build resources to improve their lives.