WHO WE ARE
MENTORS is a community-based nonprofit with the mission of enhancing the dignity and quality of life for justice-impacted individuals and families by strengthening communities of color, eliminating barriers to opportunities, and helping those in need reach their full potential through solidarity, learning, and the power of work. MENTORS provides emergency and permanent housing solutions, referrals to medical and mental health services, as well as education, employment, and community re-entry strategies. These services are woven together using individual mentorship and experienced case management designed to empower and foster successful self-management. Since 2019, we have helped 3000 previously incarcerated individuals succeed in obtaining permanent housing, employment, and behavioral health services.
As a Black-owned and operated organization with knowledge of the criminal justice system, we serve our clients equipped with lived experience and an understanding of nuance. We know how to serve our clients because we've lived their struggles; that foundational understanding makes us uniquely qualified to be stewards of community justice.
At our MENTORS Community Centers, we are proud to offer a variety of services and programs. Despite our first center opening in the middle of a pandemic, the community centers now serve approximately 1600 community members per month across our two locations. We offer food drives, clothing drives, a computer lab, childcare resources, and many other resources that support our community. Our Harm Reduction services specifically include providing utility bill assistance, safe needle disposal, informational naloxone resources, and safe sex work kits to clients. To expand the capacity of these services, we are constantly working to engage with clients with lived experience to improve the methods of service distribution we employ.
