Clear answers before you consider the role.

Pilot applicants must be at least 25 and have directly relevant lived experience as an adoptee, former foster youth, or person raised under guardianship. They must also be able to meet the commitment, screening, training, and safety requirements.

The pilot uses 25 as a consistent readiness threshold while the program establishes its supervision and safeguarding systems. Age alone does not establish readiness.

No. Former foster youth and people raised under legal guardianship may also be considered when their lived experience is relevant to the people Somebody Like Me serves.

Yes. Former foster youth are part of the intended mentor community.

Yes. People raised under guardianship may be considered when they meet the other pilot requirements.

No. A bachelor’s or master’s degree is not required. Lived experience, self-awareness, judgment, boundaries, listening, reliability, and coachability matter here.

Not necessarily. Relevant experience may help, but applicants will be evaluated through written responses, interviews, role plays, training, and supervised practice.

Create a mentor training account and complete The Somebody Standard course. The platform saves your progress, scores each check, and automatically advances the training gate when you pass. Identity, background screening, practice, and payout onboarding remain separate requirements.

Mentors set their own published rates. For each completed booking, the mentor dashboard shows the session amount, the $1.00 Somebody Like Me booking fee, the actual Stripe processing fee, any refund or dispute adjustment, and the mentor’s net earnings before payout.

The platform fee is $1.00 for each completed booking. Actual Stripe processing fees are shown separately. The mentor dashboard will display the gross session amount, both fees, any refund or dispute adjustment, and the resulting net earnings. This is not a percentage commission.

The current pilot plan includes approximately 18 hours of formal training, three supervised practice conversations, and a final readiness review. Scheduling details are pending.

No. Qualified applicants complete The Somebody Standard course and readiness process at no charge. We do not ask you to pay before we know you have passed.

No. Verification is earned by completing the required training, identity check, background screening, practice, and readiness evaluation. A screening fee only covers the third-party report; it cannot purchase or influence approval.

After you pass the course and readiness evaluation, you complete embedded government-ID verification and the approved background check. The exact third-party screening fee is shown before you authorize and pay for the report. If those requirements are cleared, you may complete payout onboarding and activate your profile. The planned founding activation fee is $99 and is separate from screening.

You pay nothing. Depending on the readiness decision, you may receive a focused preparation plan and an opportunity to return. Serious safety, honesty, retaliation, discrimination, or boundary concerns may prevent future advancement.

Yes. The pilot is designed around one-on-one virtual sessions using company-approved tools.

Applicants identify the ages, identities, experiences, and topics they can responsibly support. Final matching also considers program needs and demonstrated readiness.

Yes. Responsible matching includes recognizing limits. Mentors should raise concerns and may request a different match without disclosing unnecessary personal information.

Some mentors may. Every active mentor must complete the approved identity and background screening process. Mentors serving minors must also complete the applicable consent, safeguarding, communication, and reporting requirements.

Yes. Every mentor must authorize and complete the approved background check after passing the course and readiness evaluation and before activation. A report is one safety input—not a guarantee—and results are reviewed under written, legally reviewed criteria rather than an improvised or discriminatory rule.

Yes. The mentor dashboard will embed a secure government-ID verification flow. The approved provider—not Somebody Like Me—will collect the ID image and verification data. The marketplace stores only the provider reference and verification status.

Only after you pass the course and readiness evaluation. The exact provider fee, stand-alone disclosure, authorization, and applicable rights will be shown before the check is ordered. Paying the fee does not guarantee approval, and nobody pays it merely to take the course.

It is a set of observed practice conversations with adult trainees, trained actors, or consenting adults—not unsupervised sessions with minors. It lets evaluators see listening, boundaries, judgment, and coachability in action.

After passing training and practice, an approved mentor begins a 90-day period with added reflection, feedback, and review. Provisional status is not automatic activation.

The planned support includes a small training cohort, supervised practice, profile onboarding, monthly mentor circles, direct feedback, quarterly review, and limited consultation from an appropriately qualified professional once active.

Mentors are expected to notice activation, keep the session centered on the mentee, seek support promptly, and step back or request reassignment when needed.

The decision may be Advance, Prepare and Reapply, or Not a Fit. When appropriate, Prepare and Reapply includes specific growth areas and a possible return path.

Sometimes. A reapplication path depends on the reason for the decision. Serious safety, honesty, retaliation, discrimination, or boundary concerns may prevent future advancement.

No. Mentorship is not therapy, clinical counseling, diagnosis, crisis intervention, case management, legal advice, or medical care.

Yes. Mentor training enrollment is open. Create your account and begin The Somebody Standard course. Passing the course does not activate a public profile; the remaining identity, background screening, practice, and payout requirements must still clear.