WAY Mentors
“It’s great to see the positive influence it has on the mentee. Even the small changes make a big difference to their lives." - WAY Mentor
You may have heard of mentoring. But what is the WAY Mentors project?
WAY Mentors aims to support young people aged 10-25 who face disadvantage to make lasting change in their lives by journeying alongside them long-term towards positive outcomes set with the young person.
Ok but, how does the mentoring work?
Local Young People
We aim to support young people who are most in need of the support and who are often hardest to reach.
We meet each young person within their community, taking the time to get to know their interests and aspirations as well as needs and challenges they face.
Mentored by local volunteers
We match the young person to a mentor suited to them based on lived experiences and shared interests.
The mentor meets 1-2-1 with their mentee weekly over a period of 12 months, taking the time to build a trusted relationship with their mentee as they take positive steps forward.
Supported by the community
Once a positive outcome is attained and sustained, the mentor focusses on enabling the young person to access support in the wider community.
This is led by the young person and may include support groups, activities/clubs, interest groups, volunteering and additional projects at WAY.
Why volunteer mentors?
- Long-term: Effective mentoring requires long-term relational support. Volunteers are able to journey alongside young people for 12+ months ensuring that positive change is sustained.
- Tailored: Having a diverse pool of mentors enables us to match young people to mentor best suited to them based on shared interest and lived experience.
- Quality: Our volunteer mentors are highly skilled and experienced within their profession which enables us to match young people based on their professional aspirations.
- Quantity: Mobilising volunteer mentors enables us to support more young people per staff member than if each staff member had a case load of their own.
Thinking of becoming a volunteer mentor?
Could you give just one hour a week for 12 months to journey alongside a young person through the WAY Mentors project?Being a consistent and reliable person in a young person’s life can change the direction of their future. This could be your way of making a tangible and lasting change in your community