This review examines research on credible messenger and lived experience mentoring programs for youth and young adults. Credible messenger programs are typically designed to provide support to young persons with involvement in the criminal legal system (e.g., on probation) or related groups, such as those who have sustained injuries due to violence. Mentors in these programs are persons with similar life experiences and backgrounds, including in many instances having a history of involvement in the criminal legal system themselves. Lived experience mentoring is a broader and more encompassing approach and thus can be considered inclusive of credible messenger mentoring (Blum, 2021). Its origins can be traced to long-standing, related practices in health care and human services, such as Alcoholics Anonymous and employing persons "in recovery" within addictions and mental health treatment. At the same time, credible messenger and other approaches aligned with lived experience mentoring have clearly been receiving growing interest in the past several years from practitioners, researchers, and funders.
Credible Messenger And Lived Experience Mentoring Programs, Evidence Review
NCJ Number
309880
Date Published
November 2024
Length
40 pages
Abstract
Date Published: November 1, 2024