Mentor 18-year-old refugee from Guatemala (Grand Rapids, NE)

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We are looking for a female volunteer to mentor an 18-year-old refugee boy from Guatemala. He has been living at one of Bethany's group homes since the end of December 2020, and he is a 10th grader at local public school (taking virtual classes). Per staff at his home, "He is a very intelligent individual with nearly perfect English. He loves art and anime and is very talented artistically. He is very smart and gets along well with most adults. He also gets along well with peers his age, but tends to keep more to himself. He is wary of men due to past trauma and his real hope is just to have a loving family. He struggles with depression and thoughts of self-harm; however, when he is consistently taking his medication, those thoughts are much easier to manage for him. He is very honest and doesn’t sugarcoat the truth. He appreciates people who do the same for him. He is funny and genuinely enjoyable to be around. He does struggle with substance abuse as a coping mechanism, but it has been declining recently. He loves going out to eat and also loves cold weather. He does much better in one-to-one settings versus large groups."

Background: This youth has a long history of abuse and neglect at the hands of his caregivers in his home country.