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While both enjoyed their experiences through the program, they both admitted to individual struggles that can make this program a challenge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had a really positive experience and had the opportunity to meet a wonderful person and her son who I\u2019ve enjoyed spending time with and feel close to,\u201d Joan said. \u201cIt is a challenge to get to know somebody who is a different age than you are, have had different experiences than you have, and it takes a lot of dedication on both people\u2019s parts, but it is well worth it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve obviously had a great experience but, in the beginning, I was recovering from an abusive marriage and had really no support at all,\u201d Missy said. \u201cI am very appreciative of Joan for being so patient with me during that time. Sometimes mentors and mentees both have really good intentions but then the other may not understand.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Besides the communication factor that may be a challenge for some mentors and mentees, Missy also thinks that mentors should go through a culture orientation as well as the other orientation processes to make sure mentors really understand their mentees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOverall, it\u2019s a great program, it really changes people\u2019s lives; we have family in Pittsburgh because of Hello Neighbor,\u201d Missy said. \u201cFor other people whose English isn\u2019t that good or who don\u2019t understand American culture, I could see how difficult it could be. I think if they [Hello Neighbor] could add culture orientation with little things like gift giving or what\u2019s viewed as disrespectful.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joan also agreed and felt that was a great suggestion to help the program continue to grow and move forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEven Americans like to schedule things and that\u2019s just not common in other places,\u201d Joan said. \u201cLittle things like that can aid to cultural awareness.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joan said she would mentor again if she had more time and could find the right person to do it with. Missy says she\u2019s never thought of becoming a mentor but thinks it could be a possibility in the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m very tied up, I\u2019m the only family for my kid in terms of providing or support, I don\u2019t want to take any time from him so I feel like I have to focus on him, but when he grow\u2019s up then I would love to mentor people, especially people who have younger kids trying to do things they just don\u2019t know,\u201d Missy said. \u201cIt\u2019s something I\u2019d really be interested in.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ultimately, both Missy and Joan have really valued their experiences in the Hello Neighbor mentor program and now say they\u2019ll be in each other\u2019s lives forever. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI told her she has to visit me in the nursing home,\u201d Joan jokes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Missy adds, \u201cI told her she couldn\u2019t break up with me; we will always be family.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hello Neighbor provides a wide variety of services for refugees to help them get back on their feet and settle in their new home. One of these services provided is a mentorship program that pairs local Pittsburgh families with a mentee. Through the program, the mentor and mentee pair spend time together, work through everyday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":646,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[15,29,28,13,7,16,30,14,6,22,20],"class_list":["post-410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-services","tag-hello-neighbor","tag-mentor","tag-mentorship","tag-people","tag-pittsburgh","tag-profile","tag-program","tag-refugee","tag-refugees","tag-services","tag-volunteer"],"yoast_head":"\n