IPA Provider Heidi Goerner Paints a Picture of Mentoring 

Heidi Goerner has been a mentor with ICAN’s Independent Practice Association (IPA) since 2022, working under Revere Youth Services with longtime IPA provider Brian Revere. She was an English teacher in homeschool co-op groups for many years and has taught every grade from pre-k through high school. She created her own grammar curriculum and tutors students in English still today. She has six children of her own and four grandchildren, and currently is working with six girls through the IPA.

Heidi was kind enough to share some tips, stories and motivations with us for National Mentoring Month. We hope this inspires others to realize the rewards of mentoring and even to consider joining our IPA network to help change the lives of children and families. Here is what she had to share!

The Importance of Mentoring Young Girls

I work with 9 to 13-year-old girls as a Community Psychiatric Support and Treatment (CPST) or Psychosocial Rehabilitator (PSR). Why girls? I have three girls myself, and I remember how difficult the middle school years are. It’s an important age to gain confidence and learn to be happy with who you are. Plus, I’m still a kid, too! I love the energy and curiosity of young people, being outdoors and paying attention to nature, creating art, playing games, teaching crochet, swimming  – all of my favorite things are able come together through mentoring!

I choose to work with girls who have been through emotional trauma to help them work through it, as I had to do myself. Together we learn how to navigate settings where they’re uncomfortable. I help them understand that new people and new situations aren’t scary and that people WANT to help them. I guide them in how to get along in society with confidence and get to the point where THEY can give back in some way, many times through community service.

Amazing Places and Experiences Throughout the Mohawk Valley for Mentees

My top places to take the girls are any free local events for the opportunity to observe and interact with people of all ages. 

We see where their food comes from by picking apples and blueberries at Northstar Orchards or strawberries at Candella’s Farm. In spring we tour greenhouses and I teach them all about plants, and let them choose flowers and herbs to make a planter to care for on their porch all summer. Pumpkin Junction is a-maze-ing during the fall season. We take hikes at Root Glen, Sherillbrook and the 840 trail. We check out every playground and splash pad, the free Utica public pools, and wade in the creek. We go to the Utica Children’s Museum events for ICAN, Zootaculars, Energy Zone, Munson, and events at Mohawk Valley Community College.

I love food! I take them to try new cuisines at What the Truck, church bazaars, farmer’s markets and to visit the local Southeast Asian grocery stores to see unfamiliar foods up close – even live eels! Exposure to the diverse cultures that make up the Mohawk Valley is very important for gaining familiarity and understanding of other students and neighbors they interact with in their day-to-day lives.

When I get a new client, I ask if they have a library card. I sign them up for any craft and cooking classes at the local library, go to free snack days, find free books for themselves or as gifts to give to their siblings, learn new board games together or just find a quiet table to draw their feelings, read books on emotions together, or work on crafts I bring from paper snowflakes to paints and clay for coping and creativity while we talk through issues. 

Mentee Moments to Remember

There are many moments with mentees I think back on fondly, but these two are very special to me. 

An incident of reconciliation stands out in my mind. A month into the school year, a 10-year-old girl got in trouble for rudeness in class. The mood was tense when I picked her up, and mom instructed that her child was not to do anything fun with me. “Eartha” was a storm cloud of mopiness, and wouldn’t talk to me. I drove straight to the park and got out my card-making supplies. I gave us each blank one, and encouraged her to make a beautiful card for her teacher. Her mood lifted as she focused on this positive and creative task. I said she could write a note inside of whatever she felt like, even if it was just ‘Have a nice day’,  or she could write an apology. She surprised me and wrote a mini book, saying she was sorry, acknowledging what she did wrong, adding that she would do better and loves school! On her own, she decided to make an apology card for mom, too. When we got back to the house, I slipped the card I had made to her mom and suggested she write a note of encouragement to put in Eartha’s backpack for school tomorrow. When I met with her the next week, Eartha beamed and said her teacher loved the card, and had made her a homemade one in return that said ‘I’m glad you’re my student’! 

One 13-year-old girl I worked with really wanted a desk in her room so she could do art for stress relief and creativity. I found a cheap used desk and surprised her with it for her birthday, setting up a drop cloth, paint and brushes on her porch so we could paint it the color of her choice. All the neighborhood kids came to watch, and she was excited to have a place to keep her art supplies and unwind that she had made like new herself.

Gratitude All Around

Being a mentor is so rewarding when families who have been through trauma trust you and work so hard to better their lives. I try to model gratefulness and say thank you at the end of sessions to the girls for opening up to me, or for a positive behavior. When they say something appreciative to me or others in the community at the events we attend unprompted, it is such a gift, and I lavish them with praise for expressing gratitude! 

The Rewards of Working with the IPA

I really enjoy the per diem schedule that is available through IPA work – you can work with one kid, or a bunch. You can literally be out doing something fun every day AND be making a difference in a young person’s life. It’s a no brainer for me! I tell my friends who are nearing the end of their careers, or who have time in their schedules after their kids are grown, “THIS is what you do now! Let’s encourage the next generation and be there for these young people in our community!”