 Mentor Program "The training sessions were so uplifting. Here we were, this classy group of women, all positive, alive, energetic." --Sue, ABCD Mentor Description of Program More than 180 people, including several men, have been trained as ABCD Mentors since the program began. Each Mentor must complete 12 hours of training, which ABCD offers twice a year. Mentors are trained in groups of approximately 20 by professionals in the fields of medicine, law and psychotherapy. An additional single training session is held once a year to update Mentors.Training Process / Mentor Commitment What is my commitment as a Mentor?In addition to completing 12 hours of training, a Mentor may be asked to work with more than one participant at a time; the Mentor agrees to maintain contact with each participant throughout treatment or approximately six months. Volunteer Mentors are expected to contact participants by phone and be available to participants by phone within reasonable limits. Personal visits or continuing the relationship beyond six months is the Mentor’s choice. How are Mentors matched with participants? ABCD uses its own confidential database to match people on the basis of demographic characteristics including, but not limited to, age, marital and occupational status and ages of children - as well as such clinical characteristics as type and stage of disease and type of treatment. When will participants contact ABCD for Mentoring? ABCD hopes to reach people soon after they are diagnosed with breast cancer because we recognize that the time between diagnosis and surgery is generally the most confusing and frightening. However, it may be at any point during the breast cancer journey that someone realizes he or she needs some extra support and information, and ABCD will provide a Mentor at any time during treatment. What if I just don't "connect" very well with a participant? If either a Mentor or Participant feels the relationship is not working well, either may contact ABCD to end it. If a participant chooses to continue with another Mentor, ABCD will make another match. ABCD follows up with all participants within 2 weeks of making a match to ensure the relationship is successful. What if I'm asked a question I can't answer? ABCD helps Mentors find answers to questions about local and national resources and utilizes its Medical and Community Advisory Board for additional information. Sometimes, Mentors even act as resources for each other. What if a participant wants medical information or recommendations? ABCD Mentors never give medical advice or information, nor do they recommend physicians, hospitals or treatment methods. Participants are informed of this during initial interviews. However, Mentors do encourage women to learn about their rights and the options they have in dealing with the disease. ABCD works in cooperation with many hospitals and medical providers. Application Form Click here to get the ABCD Mentor Volunteer Application form.If you do not have adobe acrobat, please go to the this link. Adobe Acrobat Reader Mentor Training Calendar Mentor training classes are scheduled throughout the year and include, from time to time, culturally focused training, which highlights breast cancer related issues specific to particular communities. Culturally focused training has included African American and Native American curricula. Hispanic/Latina curriculum is being developed during 2008. These classes complement ABCD’s outreach to medically underserved communities during 2008, outreach which has been made possible, in part, with support from the Milwaukee Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.®
If you wish to learn more about the training opportunities below, please contact us at 414-918-9222 or 800-977-4121. You can reach us by email at abcdinc@abcdmentor.org. Additional training dates for early 2009 will be determined soon. 2008 Mentor Training calendar includes:
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