Volunteer Mentors Research Articles

The effect of volunteer management mentoring program on mentors’ entrepreneurship tendency and leadership self-efficacy

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of participating in the Volunteer Management Mentoring Program on entrepreneurship tendency and leadership self-efficacy. The Volunteer Management Mentoring Program was created by UNICEF and conducted within the scope of the Social Sensitivity course taught at Kilis 7 Aralik University, Turkey. This research was designed as a semi-experimental study with pretest-posttest experiment and control groups. Entrepreneurship Scale and Leadership Self-Efficacy Scale were applied to the students in the experimental and control groups as pretest and posttest. While the students in the experimental group participated in the Volunteer Management Mentoring Program in the process; the students in the control group did not participate in any program. The study group was determined using the criterion sampling method and consisted of 26 university students studying at Kilis 7 Aralik University in the 2019-2020 academic year. 13 students were in the experimental group and 13 in the control group. Personal Information Form, Entrepreneurship Scale for University Students, and Leadership Self-Efficacy Scale were used as data collection tools. The data were analyzed using SPSS package program. Two-factor repeated-measures ANOVA technique was used in the analysis. The findings showed that mentor university students who participated in the Volunteer Management Mentoring Program increased their scores for the entrepreneurship scale after the program was completed. According to another finding, participation in the Volunteer Mentoring Management Program had no significant effect on the leadership self-efficacy scores of mentor students.

International Distance Nurse Mentoring Program: A Pilot Project.

Professional and personal development has always been important in the field of palliative care nursing. Now as patients are increasingly culturally diverse, the ability to understand and connect across cultures is also vital. In light of this, a homecare hospice in Singapore collaborated with a nurse consultant based in the United States to pilot a 10-month cross-cultural bidirectional, distance mentoring project. The overarching goal was to explore the profession and personal benefits for nurses and to provide further information for similar international efforts. Before starting the 10-month project, the consultant met and accompanied the Singapore nurses on home visits to better understand the setting and needs. Each of the 6 Singapore home hospice teams (5 adult and 1 pediatric) was matched with a US volunteer mentor, who was an experienced home hospice nurse. The goal for each team and their mentor was to connect by video monthly to share helpful resources, discuss cases for mutual benefit, or develop a quality improvement project. Lessons learned will contribute to the field of international mentoring and collaboration.

Programme and school predictors of mentoring relationship quality and the role of mentors' satisfaction in volunteer retention

AbstractThe quality of the mentor–mentee relationship is considered the key mechanism of change in mentoring programmes, and volunteer mentor retention is crucial to improving delivery and outcomes. Combining theoretical frameworks on mentoring programmes and volunteerism, this study aimed to examine: (a) programme and school predictors of mentoring relationship closeness and (b) the relations between mentor‐reported relationship closeness, satisfaction with the relationship as a measure of subjective evaluations of their work and expressed intention to continue mentoring in the future. Volunteer mentors (N = 103, mean age = 65 years, 75% female) from a school‐based mentoring programme in Italy completed a survey. Results of path analyses revealed that relationship closeness was associated in a positive manner with perceptions of the adequacy of the mentoring session setting, and programme support, but not teacher support. In addition, mentors' satisfaction partially mediated the connection between relationship closeness and intention to remain in the programme. Implications for practice are discussed. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

Fostering youth civic engagement through effective mentorship: Understanding the college student volunteer mentors who succeed.

College student volunteers play a critical role in many school-based educational programs and can foster valuable near-peer relationships with adolescents, yet how to best select these volunteers has been understudied. We studied college student volunteer mentors for Generation Citizen, a non-profit that provides school-based action civics education programming, and their adolescent students. We identify three common characteristics possessed by the strongest college mentors. Participants were nine college volunteer mentors (67% female; 78% White); these mentors worked in pairs (and one trio) in four different classrooms. Using an action research approach, we conducted semistructured interviews, surveys, and classroom observations to generate quantitative and qualitative data. Effective mentors were: person-oriented, emphasizing the mentor-student connection; aligned with the organization's mission; and constantly honing their craft of mentorship. We recommend college volunteer programs select applicants for positions based on these key indicators to foster mission-driven and motivating educational programming.

Web-Based Training for School-Based Mentors of Military-Connected Youth: A Multi-Phase Development Study.

This paper describes a multi-phase effort to develop a web-based training for adults serving as mentors in school-based programs for youth with a parent in the military. In Phase 1, we conducted focus groups with military parents to: gauge their receptivity to this type of supportive intervention, identify program features that would make the option of mentoring for their children more or less appealing, and identify specific training needs for adult volunteers preparing for the role of mentor to youth in this population. In Phase 2, we used an iterative process to develop the training protocol, including cycling through multiple drafts, creating a web-based platform, reviewing and incorporating feedback from various stakeholders, and then pilot testing the training with two groups of mentor volunteers as part of a school-based mentoring program for military-connected students. We report on what we learned from the military parent focus groups, including parent skepticism about the need for such a program, concerns about potential stigma, and the need for mentors to have some understanding of military culture. We describe how we used that information to develop a practical and accessible training module for volunteer mentors, especially those without a military background, who could be matched with military-connected youth.

The Effectiveness of a Community-Based Mentoring Program for Children Aged 5\u201311\xa0Years: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial

The study, a two-arm, randomized controlled, parallel group, superiority trial, aimed to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of a 12-month one-to-one volunteer mentoring program designed to improve behavioral and emotional outcomes in children aged 5 to 11 years who have teacher- and parent/carer-reported behavioral difficulties. Participants were 246 children (123 intervention, 123 control; mean age 8.4 years; 87% boys) in five sites in London, UK, scoring in the “abnormal” range on the teacher-rated Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) Total Difficulties measure and in the “borderline” or abnormal range on the parent-rated SDQ Total Difficulties measure. Randomization on a 1:1 ratio took place using a computer-generated sequence and stratifying by site. Data collectors and statisticians were blind to participant allocation status. Outcome measures focused on parent- and teacher-rated child behavior and emotions, and child-rated self-perception and hope. Intention-to-treat analysis on all 246 randomized participants (using imputed data where necessary) showed that at post-intervention (16 months after randomization), there were no statistically significant effects on the primary outcome—parent-rated SDQ Total Difficulties (adjusted standardized mean difference = − 0.12; 95% CI: −0.38 to 0.13; p = 0.33)—or any secondary outcomes. Results from complier average causal effect (CACE) analysis using the primary outcome indicated the intervention was not effective for children who received the recommended duration of mentoring. Exploratory analyses found no sub-group effects on the primary outcome. The article concludes that the mentoring program had no effect on children’s behavior or emotional well-being, and that program content needs revising to satisfactorily address key risk and protective factors.

It’s About Time: Staff Support Contacts and Mentor Volunteer Experiences

Formal youth mentoring programs typically rely on volunteers to serve as mentors to young people, with training and guidance from agency staff. A fundamental program practice is to provide ongoing support and supervision to volunteer mentors by engaging in regular contact to monitor the progress of the mentoring relationship and offer guidance and encouragement. Using data from mentors (n = 504) in multiple mentoring programs (n = 55), the current study investigated how the amount of time devoted to these match support contacts was associated with mentor perceptions regarding the nature of their volunteer experience, specifically: the quality of supervision received, the mentoring agency’s organizational culture with respect to engaging volunteers, and satisfaction with their volunteer service experience. Mentors who had no staff support contacts gave the lowest ratings for quality of supervision, organizational culture, and service experience. Further, mentors who typically had the shortest support contacts (1 to 5 minutes) reported lower quality supervision, organizational culture, and service experience compared to mentors with longer support contacts. In most cases, the associations between staff support contact length and mentor-reported outcomes remained significant after controlling for the helpfulness of the support contacts and the frequency of using advice suggested during the contacts. These findings provide evidence that match support contacts are an important practice for youth mentoring programs and suggest that programs should encourage staff to spend time engaging in meaningful conversations beyond quick check-ins. Future research should examine how the content of support contacts influences volunteer mentoring experiences.

From mentors to leaders: leader development outcomes for mentors

PurposeThe present study examines leader development as one of the potential outcomes for mentors and investigates whether the provision of mentoring contributes to developing mentors' leader identity and leader self-efficacy.Design/methodology/approachRelying on a quasi-experimental design, data were collected at four points in time over eight months from a mentor (n = 46) and an equivalent nonmentor group (n = 25). Participants in the mentor group were volunteer mentors from a doctoral mentoring program that was implemented at a large Canadian university.FindingsParticipants in the mentor group experienced a more positive change in leader identity and leader self-efficacy, compared to the participants in the nonmentor group. Further analysis of the participants in the mentor group suggests that the extent to which mentors provide career and psychosocial support explains the growth rate in the development outcomes.Practical implicationsBy documenting benefits of mentoring for mentors, program administrators may be able to recruit mentors who are more engaged in the process. In addition, they can encourage their members to volunteer as mentors to gain leader development outcomes.Originality/valueThis longitudinal study connects the areas of mentoring and leadership development. While the majority of mentoring studies focus exclusively on mentoring outcomes for protégés, the present study shows that mentoring can benefit mentors as well.

Why mentor? A validation study of the volunteer functions inventory for use in youth mentoring.

This study explores the functional motivations of volunteers in youth mentoring programs and tests the validity of the Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) for this population. Participants included 473 volunteer mentors matched within a one-to-one mentoring program. The study utilizes a mixed-methods approach to validate the VFI, which was administered before thematch. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were employed to test for content validity and determine fit. These were complemented by an emergent theme analysis from a semi-structured interview, which included questions assessing mentor motivations. Findings suggest a five-factor structure model best captures functional motivations. In addition, results from the qualitative analysis suggest there may be previously unexplored domains to consider for contemporary volunteer populations. These include community/civic responsibility, organizational structure and reputation, and self-concept. Future research should seek to refine scales that are uniquely predictive of mentor motivations to expand practical applications for use.

Highlights of the 2019 Annual Meeting Graduate Student Committee Events

The Graduate Student Committee is proud to report on the successful, student-led events from the 2019 Annual Meeting that took place in November in San Antonio. Each day of the meeting, students had opportunities to enhance their leadership skills, network with colleagues, and learn about career paths from professionals in different fields. These events were well attended and received positive feedback from the attendees. Events in San Antonio kicked off with the Graduate Student Leadership Conference on Saturday. This two-day event provided graduate students the tools to improve their leadership skills through interactive sessions run by professionals in leadership ethics, etiquette, professional planning, and leadership styles. A highlight of the conference was the DiSC personality assessment. This behavior assessment tool helped students determine their personality traits and how they can be used for conflict management and effective leadership. The conference ended with a shared lunch between conference attendees and Society leaders, allowing students to ask practical leadership questions. The Student Networking Session was a success with more than 110 participants. Approximately 30 of the participants were mentors representing academic research, extension, industry, and government. There were two invited speakers at the session, Dr. Marion Limberger (Corteva Agriscience) and Dr. Martha Mamo (University of Nebraska–Lincoln) who gave short presentations on networking skills and professional communication. The Graduate Student Committee would like to thank Corteva Agriscience, Dr. Limberger, Dr. Mamo, and all of the ASA, CSSA, and SSSA volunteer mentors who made this a valuable experience for graduate students. Graduate students who participated in the Graduate Student Leadership Conference at the 2019 Annual Meeting. The Career Paths Session consisted of five panels of professionals with different areas of expertise. Approximately 100 students, post-docs, and early career members rotated through the panels to talk with experts in academic teaching and extension, research in government labs and academia, and careers with nonprofits, consulting, and advocacy. The informal panels allowed participants to ask panelists about their career path, leading to meaningful conversation and discussion. More than 25 professionals volunteered their time to be panelists for this session, and the Graduate Student Committee is thankful that Society members are always willing to donate time and expertise for graduate student events. The committee will begin searching for volunteers for 2020 Annual Meeting events in August 2020. In the meantime, if members would like to engage with graduate student events, they can contact the Graduate Student Committee or the staff liaison Katie Reiels (kreiels@sciencesocieties.org) as the Annual Meeting approaches. Many graduate students who attended the Leadership Conference and the Student Networking Session on Sunday gathered with other graduate students at the Graduate Student Social at Café Ole on Sunday evening. The social was a great opportunity for ASA, CSSA, and SSSA graduate students to meet other students over drinks and appetizers in a relaxed setting. One of the most successful events from San Antonio was the Trivia Night Social that took place on Tuesday prior to the Food Evolution movie screening. About 80 people gathered to test their knowledge on agronomy, crops, soils, and environmental science in the bar-style trivia. The Graduate Student Committee looks forward to organizing this event again for Phoenix Annual Meeting in 2020! Our time in San Antonio closed with the monthly ACS Graduate Student Committee meeting. Committee members gathered to reflect on the 2019 Annual Meeting and the collective effort that made it a success. The committee recognized outgoing 2019 ACS Graduate Student Committee Chair Ekrem Ozlu for his leadership that helped make the events in San Antonio a major success. Moving forward, the committee is going to build on the successes of the 2019 Annual Meeting and begin planning its initiatives and goals for 2020 and the events for the Annual Meeting in Phoenix in 2020.

Building Bridges with Big Brothers Big Sisters: Service-learning Links Between Professional and Civic Engagement Education at a Predominantly Black Institution

During spring and fall semesters of 2017, Clayton State University students in corporate communication minor courses collaborated with film production majors to raise awareness for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Atlanta. Through this three-way collaboration, students helped to build tactical communication with the objective of increasing interest among potential volunteers for the organization’s mentoring program. The deliverables included three videos that Big Brothers Big Sisters used in its drive to increase the number of volunteer mentors in the communities for both the organization and Clayton State. This paper examines the importance of community-engaged service-learning for a student population at a minority-serving predominantly Black institution in Morrow, Georgia, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As part of Clayton State’s broader community engagement initiative, this collaboration is being evaluated using a case study design. Consequently, we examine the interdisciplinary roots of the initiative while positioning professional and civic education as simultaneously achievable. Ultimately the research positions Clayton State as a centrifuge for collaborative experience, which serves this dual purpose.

PSA Testing? Over-Treatment? Active Surveillance? Biopsy value? No PSA for Elderly?

Prostate Cancer Patient Since 1992, Advocate, Activist, Volunteer Mentor since 1996 to men diagnosed with Prostate Cancer and their Caregivers locally and on-line Worldwide. Please recognize that I am not a Medical Doctor. Rather, I do consider myself a medical detective. I have been an avid student researching and studying prostate cancer as a survivor and continuing patient since 1992. I have dedicated my retirement years to continued deep research and study in order to serve as an advocate for prostate cancer awareness, and, from an activist patient’s viewpoint, as a mentor to voluntarily help patients, caregivers, and others interested develop an understanding of this insidious men’s disease, its treatment options, and the treatment of the side effects that often accompany treatment. There is absolutely no charge for my mentoring – I provide this free service as one who has been there and hoping to make their journey one with better understanding and knowledge than was available to me when I was diagnosed so many years ago. Importantly, readers of medical information I may provide are provided this “disclaimer” to make certain they understand that the comments or recommendations I make are not intended to be the procedure to blindly follow; rather, they are to be reviewed as MY OPINION, then used for further personal research, study, and subsequent discussion with the medical professional/ physician providing their prostate cancer care.

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Oregon Master Beekeeper Program

The Oregon Master Beekeeper Program has been educating beekeepers since 2012. We surveyed program participants to evaluate the effectiveness of the training on beekeeping knowledge, confidence, and community involvement. The survey results showed positive changes in beekeepers, especially due to hands-on training by volunteer mentors, an integral component of the program. We also found areas for program improvement, such as providing more local contact with volunteers and addressing mentor-mentee scheduling issues. The insights gleaned from our survey could be used by those involved with other master beekeeper programs or similar Extension programs to strengthen educational offerings.

Implementing volunteer peer mentoring as a supplement to professional efforts in primary rehabilitation of persons with spinal cord injury

Study designA feasibility study, supplemented by a noncontrolled pretest/posttest.ObjectivesTo examine if a nationwide volunteer peer-mentoring program for in-patients with acute/subacute spinal cord injury is feasible and achievable.SettingThe Spinal Cord Injury Center of Western Denmark and Clinic for Spinal Cord Injuries, Rigshospitalet, Denmark.MethodsVolunteer mentor groups were formed similarly in two highly specialized SCI centers covering Denmark. Hospital staff was responsible for referral to the mentoring project and for the interdisciplinary evaluation of patient eligibility. At each of the two centers, a person living with the consequences of SCI coordinated the intervention in collaboration with healthcare personnel. Designated project personnel introduced eligible participants to the project. Staff at the SCI centers arranged to fit in the supplementary mentoring with ongoing treatment. A self-report questionnaire was completed prior to and after peer intervention. Outcome: patient reports regarding mentoring sessions, change in quality of life (QoL), depression items from the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), pain frequency and intensity (11-point Numerical Rating Scale).ResultsA nationwide mentor corps was established. Fifty-two eligible in-patients completed the study. Significant improvement in QoL was found after mentoring. Frequency and intensity of pain did not change, although five out of nine depression items improved significantly. A majority (94%) of the participants recommended others to meet with a peer mentor.ConclusionsEstablishing a nationwide volunteer mentor system at a highly specialized neuro-rehabilitation units for SCI in-patients is both feasible and acceptable.

Help volunteers support families

Volunteer mentor programmes for those on child protection or child in need plans can help local authorities to prevent statutory intervention and be the bridge to the wider community families need

Brokering Tareas: Mexican Immigrant Families Translanguaging Homework Literacies by Steven Alvarez

Reviewed by: Brokering Tareas: Mexican Immigrant Families Translanguaging Homework Literacies by Steven Alvarez Adele Leon Brokering Tareas: Mexican Immigrant Families Translanguaging Homework Literacies Steven Alvarez State U of New York P, 2017. 182 pp. Brokering Tareas: Mexican Immigrant Families Translanguaging Homework Literacies Steven Alvarez State U of New York P, 2017. 182 pp. When I teach students the genre of the literacy narrative, my favorite part—no matter what—is that moment when I can see it click for students that they possess their own unique forms of literacy. In that moment the special way they talk to their siblings, their parents, or their favorite auntie becomes more meaningful to them, and they get to write about it. I have been thinking about and teaching literacy as a method of communication that is dictated by the members of one's community, but Steven Alvarez's Brokering Tareas: Mexican Immigrant Families Translanguaging Homework Literacies delves into the deep-rooted creation and expression of literacies through a translingual ethnography of the Mexican American Network of Students (MANOS). Before it consolidated with the New York City Mexican Youth Educational Foundation (NYCMY) and eventually closed, MANOS was a grassroots after-school program created to offer Mexican migrant and immigrant families in New York City access to homework help through volunteer mentors and a close-knit community wherein families could come together in a safe environment as a home-away-from-home. Throughout his time both mentoring and researching at MANOS, Alvarez became a part of the Foraker Street community—a big brother to the mentees, a confidant and advocate to parents, and a role model to the mentors. Readers of Brokering Tareas will learn how translanguaging events, superación, and the immigrant bargain function for Mexican American students in U.S. education systems and at home. To gain a more concrete understanding of the lived experiences of child literacy brokers, it is important to recognize that the immigrant bargain is rooted in fluid power dynamics that are constantly negotiated between members of migrant families. One part of the immigrant bargain that contributes to the complicated identity constructs within migrant families is the concept of superación and how it changes generationally. Migrant parents' academic expectations for their immigrant children, and those children's negotiations of their own identities complicate each family's immigrant bargains. Within the context of MANOS and his [End Page 141] study, Alvarez defines the immigrant bargain as "a negotiation of bilingual learning, power, and identity" that all MANOS members go through (xxiii). Furthermore, the immigrant bargain is negotiated through feelings of guilt associated with how migrant and immigrant individuals' identities are created. Superación is the narrative of motivation, and it is enacted in many ways, some of which might seem illogical to the observer who has not become familiar with or respectful of the immigrant bargain. Alvarez explains superación as "literally, to surpass one's current state," and in its verb form translates into English as "a motivational work ethic narrative recognizable among immigrant families" (xvi). Thus, we can conceptualize superación as a culturally-specific sense of motivation to succeed beyond one's present state. Additionally, a translanguaging event is "a dynamic bridge-building action and practice—it is agency and bilingual repertoires enacted" (45). Translanguaging events occur when a bilingual immigrant, usually a child literacy broker, uses knowledge of Spanish and English to interpret and share information. Blending both Spanish and English to introduce these concepts, Brokering Tareas creates an immediate emotional investment, for the reader, in the nine MANOS families at the heart of Alvarez's ethnography. This move illustrates what Carmen Kynard attributes to race-radical literacies, when she explains that such intellectual work "nest[s] with an assumption that you are working toward liberation such that your sole audience isn't whiteness, white teachers, white standards, white economies, but marginalized communities" (523). Alvarez did not write this book for the academy, he wrote it for people whose actions speak with the community so their words don't have to. For the people who seek new methods of community building and intellectual growth, this book offers honest insight. The book also could not have...

Predictors of Student Engagement in Learning Communities

Introduction:Little is known about what factors predict student engagement in learning communities (LCs). At our institution, we recently converted from an informal, unfunded program with volunteer mentors and no participation requirement to a formal, funded program with a structured curriculum, dedicated mentors, and required attendance. We sought to identify factors that predict student engagement in this new program.Methods:Medical students from all 4 years were invited to complete a survey that included self-rating of their level of engagement with their LC. We hypothesized that student engagement would be (1) higher in the new, formal program compared with the informal program; (2) lower among older students; and (3) higher among students who value collective activities for stress management.Results:In total, 75% of students completed the survey. Students who participated in the formal LC program reported significantly higher engagement than those who experienced the informal version. Older, out-of-state, and underrepresented in medicine (URiM) students reported lower levels of engagement compared with younger, in-state, and non-URiM students, but gender and campus assignment were not associated with level of engagement. Students who valued participation in extracurricular activities, service work, and time with friends or family all had higher levels of engagement in LCs compared with those who valued more solitary activities.Discussion:The formal, structured LC program was associated with higher levels of engagement than the informal program, and engagement was maintained throughout the 4-year curriculum. Subgroups of students reported lower engagement in LCs, and future research is needed to better understand and address this variability in engagement. This study is limited by the fact that students are only surveyed once annually, at a single institution, and our measure of engagement is brief and dependent on student self-report. In addition, it is not possible to discern from this study which components of the formal LC program were most strongly associated with high engagement.

Taking the stone from my heart: An exploration of the benefits of a mentoring programme (PROMISE) for children at risk of significant harm.

This article reports on a multi-methods longitudinal evaluation of the PROMISE mentoring scheme which was developed in Somerset UK to offer a continuing relationship for vulnerable young people with a volunteer mentor. The overall findings indicate that mentoring was experienced very positively and contributed to both fostering a sense of trust and to reducing the insecure attachments of the young people. The findings are considered within a relational and attachment framework to offer a model of how mentoring achieves positive change. Implications for development of the service and encouragement for others to develop similar services are discussed.

Birds of a feather: Is matching based on shared interests and characteristics associated with longer youth mentoring relationships?

Youth mentoring practitioners and researchers have shown a growing interest in determining the ways in which mentor-youth matching practices might influence the duration and effectiveness of mentoring relationships. The current project tested whether mentor-youth similarities at baseline, in terms of demographic variables and interests in certain activities (e.g., sports, art), predicted a longer duration of mentoring relationships. Analyses used baseline and follow-up data from over 9,000 youth who participated in community-based mentoring programs in the northeastern United States, as well as their volunteer mentors. Racial and ethnic similarity between mentor and youth was predictive of longer match duration. Moreover, a shared dislike of activities was associated with longer matches than either shared interests or discordant interests in activities. Findings have important implications for determining the ways in which mentor-youth matching practices influence the length and effectiveness of mentoring relationships.

Enhancing Healthier Birth Outcomes by Creating Supportive Spaces for Pregnant African American Women Living in Milwaukee.

Objectives Nationwide, African American women report higher stress levels and less access to pre- and postnatal resources. Wisconsin mirrors national infant mortality trends that show a persistent four-decade gap in infant survival between African American and White populations. The objective of the Milwaukee Birthing Project (MBP) was to implement a community-based health promotion intervention to improve birth outcomes for pregnant, low-income African American women, evaluate its effectiveness, and document its usefulness to inform development of future interventions. The project involved a mentoring and supportive relationship between 28 volunteer mentors (Sister Friends) and 20 pregnant women (Little Sisters). Methods The project implementation and evaluation were informed by the lifecourse perspective and a postcolonial feminist framework. Thematic analysis was used to analyze ethnographic data from monthly meetings and interviews with pregnant Little Sisters and Sister Friends. Results Our findings showed patterns both in community spaces and spaces created during the MBP. Program spaces contrasted with everyday life spaces and allowed women to experience community support. Based on our analysis, we classify these spaces as: (1) community spaces lacking support, (2) safe spaces of belonging and understanding, (3) spaces that foster meaningful interaction, and (4) safe, supportive spaces for other women in the future. Conclusions for Practice Future interventions should consider intentionally developing safe spaces to attain health goals. From a postcolonial feminist perspective, the voices of women who are at greatest risk for experiencing poor birth outcomes are crucial to the development of effective policies.