RSN’s Wellness Skill Building program consists of up to 16 weeks of individual support for youth and emerging adults (ages 13-20) impacted by substance use, mental health challenges, and/or justice involvement. The program focuses on building skills in 8 dimensions of Wellness: Emotional, Environmental, Financial, Intellectual, Occupational, Physical, Social, and Spiritual as defined by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The program utilizes evidence-based peer support methods designed to create a safe and resilient space for young people to center their needs and build agency while increasing their engagement with self, school, and community.
The Wellness Skill-Building Program pairs participants with specially trained mentors and peer support workers who bring lived experience related to substance use, mental health, and/or justice involvement. Through individualized support, participants explore SAMHSA’s Eight Dimensions of Wellness, build practical wellness skills, identify personal strengths and goals, develop action plans, and work toward meaningful change. Throughout the mentoring relationship, mentors serve as trusted allies, role models, coaches, advocates, and resource navigators—providing encouragement, accountability, problem-solving support, and connection to community resources that help participants build resilience, increase self-efficacy, and achieve their personal goals.
For Wellness Skill building, please submit the referral form above.
What Wellbeing Looks Like
Participant A was referred to RSN following a relocation to the area. Given challenges they faced at their last school and some mental health concerns, their parents reached out to RSN with the hopes that mentoring could help circumvent a recurrence of similar challenges. Participant A engaged in mentoring services for 6 months and at the close of a successful mentoring experience A’s parents expressed the following: “…Kimberly’s mentorship has been a really important part of our transition into this community”.
Participant B was referred by the Orange County Youth Deflection Program Coordinator challenged with Substance Use, Mental Health Concerns, Family Conflict, and a History of Trauma. B was matched with a mentor who helped them successfully navigate their senior year and graduate. During the mentoring relationship, B worked on medication management, job applications, improving communication within relationships, and school readiness. Mom stated that she “really thinks the mentor is amazing and that she appreciates all the work that we do at RSN”.
Participant C has been engaged with an RSN mentor since November of 2023 and was referred by their juvenile court counselor. Risk factors were justice involvement, suspension from school and isolation. The mentor recognized early on that the mentee had no strong male role models. The mentor facilitated various activities to promote trust as well as a sense of community, eg. visit the barber shop, arcade, Cars & Coffee in Durham, and the local gym. The parents let us know that C really enjoyed mentoring and wanted to increase mentoring hours if possible.
Participant D was admitted into the program while struggling with depression, restlessness, and a lack of discipline. At the time of enrollment, they were not attending school but were seeking support to become more active and work toward their GED. The participant’s primary goals were to obtain their degree and prepare for military service. To support these objectives, their mentor met with them regularly for physical exercise and maintained high levels of accountability regarding fitness and long-term goals. Due to this intensive support, the participant completed the RSN Skill Building program a week early following their successful admittance into a pre-military program. Their mentor noted that over the course of the partnership, the participant became significantly more focused, disciplined, and intentional in their family relationships.
Participant E was referred to our program seeking support for their sobriety journey. Together, the participant and mentor established goals focused on re-engaging with previous hobbies, strengthening emotional regulation, and developing new life skills. By providing consistent emotional support and building deep trust, the mentor became the participant’s primary point of contact during particularly challenging moments. Furthermore, the mentor assisted the participant in connecting with a sober community and securing a recovery sponsor. The participant is successfully concluding their time in RSN’s mentoring program, equipped with the skills and social support necessary to navigate their ongoing recovery.
