Building Kinship Ties Mentorship Program

One consistent adult, still showing up.

Building Kinship Ties pairs Indigenous youth with a trained Indigenous mentor — someone who arrives when they said they would, week after week, whether the day is good or hard. That consistency is the program. Everything else grows out of it.

Mentorship happens where youth actually are: at the kitchen table, in the truck, at the climbing gym, on the land. A session might be homework and a burger. It might be a first time on a bike, a ride to an appointment nobody else could drive them to, or sitting in ceremony with an Elder. The activity changes. The relationship doesn't.

What mentorship looks like

Each matched youth receives up to 10 hours of one-to-one support each week. Mentors work alongside the young person on life skills, school and employment goals, cultural connection, wellness, and the ordinary business of growing up with someone in their corner.

Mentors also connect youth into the wider circle — Wâhkôhtowin in Motion land-based programming, community recreation, cultural events, and the supports a young person needs but might not know how to reach on their own.

Who this is for

Indigenous youth aged 12 to 24 in Regina and surrounding communities, referred through Ministry of Social Services caseworkers.

For social workers: contact us directly to discuss a match. We will walk through the process with you.

Our mentors

Twelve mentors carry this program. Eleven are Indigenous. They are trained, supported, and supervised — and they are chosen for the thing that can't be trained, which is the willingness to keep showing up for a young person who has learned not to expect it.

Every mentor is backed by a Director of Mentorship, regular check-ins, and clear protocols for the hard days. Serious disclosures are escalated the same day, every time.

What the record shows

44 youth served · 3,556 documented mentorship hours · 772 in-person sessions · 21,850 km driven to reach youth · in-person contact rate up from 49% to 74%

That last number is the one we watch. The share of contacts that turned into in-person visits climbed every quarter — from 49% in October to 74% in May — with the same youth and the same mentors. Young people open the door more often the longer they're matched. Trust is slow, and it's measurable.

Culture is the curriculum

One in four in-person sessions includes ceremony, land, or community. Elders and Knowledge Keepers are compensated for every teaching they share. Youth who connect through culture are among the program's most consistent participants — identity work isn't an add-on to the mentorship, it's a large part of what makes it hold.