As the 2020-2021 school year nears its end, DEEL is reflecting on the innovative ways our partners and providers pivoted during the pandemic to continue serving Seattle children, youth, and families. Here is an example highlighting how one of our Opportunity and Access partners, Mentoring Urban Students and Teens (MUST), provided continuity of near-peer mentorship services.
Social connection and mentorship became more important than ever for students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cancelled academic and social activities put many students at risk of social isolation and disconnection from school, creating new social-emotional hardships for families. Simultaneously, the movements for racial justice that swept across our nation alongside the novel coronavirus unearthed historical trauma that compounded the urgent need for social connection and culturally responsive avenues for emotional wellness. One of DEEL’s Opportunity & Access partners doubled down on their commitment to provide safe, in-person mentorship services to keep Black high school boys in the Rainier Valley socially connected and engaged in school.
[Read more…]