Scenario: You login to your session with your mentee. He seems more distracted than usual. After talking about school for a bit, your mentee reveals that he can’t concentrate because he hasn’t been getting much sleep. He’s been sleeping on his friend’s couch for the past couple of weeks because his mom kicked him out of the house after finding out he’s gay.

Please take a moment to write out your thoughts about this situation, and what intervention is needed on behalf of the youth.  

After you have written down initial thoughts: How would you get more information about the situation without asking too many pointed questions? How would you support your mentee without any judgment? Is this a matter of your mentee's safety being at risk? Is this an issue of abuse or neglect? What can you ask about how your mentee feels about staying at their friend's house and if they feel safe there? What does their mom know about where they are staying. Has the parent cut off all communication or did they help to arrange a safe place for the mentee to stay? How old is your mentee, and are they developmentally able to stay with a friend? What resources can you connect your mentee to?