The DREAM Program's Two-Tiered, Cross-Age, Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Project

The Mentoring Opportunities for Youth Initiative, Category 5 (Statewide and Regional Mentoring Initiative for Youth Impacted by Opioids and Drug Addiction) supports a broad-based approach to building mentoring program capacity in targeted regions throughout the country to help youth impacted by opioids and drug addiction. This program is authorized and funded pursuant to Pub. L. No. 116-93, 133 Stat. 2317, 2410.

The DREAM Program, Inc. is an innovative two-tiered, cross-age, peer-to-peer model that opens up new pools of mentors and reaches the most vulnerable youth in rural Vermont. The project's target population is rural youth (ages 6–17) in high-poverty, underserved neighborhoods with Adverse Childhood Experiences. The project will provide an evidence-informed combination of one-on-one and group mentoring services to youth with substance abuse and bullying issues. The project will follow the evidence-informed standards from The National Mentoring Partnership. All sites will meet the nationally recognized best practices in each of the six areas of core practice standards listed in the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring. The project will serve 200 youth and their families across 18 neighborhoods. The DREAM Program will provide supportive social environments that will reduce the likelihood of youth engaging in high-risk behaviors, including substance misuse. CA/NCF