As the shortage of special education teachers has led to increasing numbers of teacher candidates enrolled in alternative certification programs, there is a need to provide systematic mentoring and coaching. The relationship between support providers and novice teachers enrolled in an alternative certification program in a diverse, urban university was explored in this study. Sources of data included logs documenting weekly contact between support providers and intern teachers, surveys of support providers, and focus groups with both support providers and interns to determine the types of support received by novice special educators seeking alternative certification. Results showed that interweaving emotional and teaching support and strategies form the cornerstone of the support provider-intern relationship.