Your Own Place

supporting people moving to independence to prevent homelessness

Mentoring Support

The best chance of support and encouragement in a changing world

Having a virtual mentor

It’s easy to refer and help someone become more independent

NEW UPDATE DECEMBER 20: we have loved running mentoring with you over the years, but now, sadly as the funding finally runs out this month, we have the made the decision to bring this project to a close in 2021.

The last date for making a referral is 20th January 2021.  We will continue to support this project and all the mentors and mentees from our own funds until those relationships end. This includes all existing and new mentoring relationships.

We’ve still some wonderful mentors available to be matched.  So keep referring until 20th January!

There’s very little referral paperwork, they get a confidential relationship and encouragement to achieve great things. They may be preparing for independence or already living independently

Make a referral:

  • For mentoring support use this referral link here.
  • For HMP Warren Hill referrals (all ages) please use this link.

Mentoring highlights:

  • mentees are people who are moving towards or already living independently and may lack support, have left or be leaving care or supported accommodation or prison
  • mentoring is flexible and fits round the mentee
  • mentors are virtual and can communicate in lots of different ways
  • it’s really easy to get involved and there’s almost no paperwork
  • the mentee decides what they want to talk about
  • mentoring is not judgemental and is relaxed about what the mentee wants to get out of it
  • referrers get updates, videos, case-studies and know the impact mentoring makes on their young person
  • mentoring is relevant for people moving to independence and wanting to chat about this big moment in their lives

1.  What is mentoring?

  • Mentors are people over 21 that have been trained.  They are an impartial and independent person that a mentee can turn to for help, informal support, guidance, goal setting or just someone to have a coffee with and chat about next steps as they move to independence.
  • You can find some FAQs for referrers here.
  • And there are some FAQs for mentees here too.

2.  Why would a person want a mentor?

  • Moving to independence is a really big step for anyone.  Even more so if you’ve been in care, don’t have lots of support or are struggling on a low income in your tenancy.
  • A mentor can help to bridge the gap and be someone to chat to confidentially about goals, aspirations and difficulties along the way.  Mentors can be a vital and virtual life-line!

3.  What do Volunteer Mentors actually  do?

  • After successfully completing the two-day training course, being DBS checked and interviewed, mentors are carefully and virtually matched to their mentees and make safe arrangements to meet
  • They may be in contact weekly and no less than fortnightly. The early days are critical to building a relationship and making it work
  • The relationship for now is a virtual one from the start
  • Everyone signs a Code of Conduct and completes a questionnaire to understand more about the support the mentee wants and needs
  • The mentee is in charge of the relationship and decides what they want help with

4.  How does it end?

  • We will undertake an end questionnaire with the mentee and usually a final case-study interview
  • This helps us to understand how the mentee has been supported, the difference it’s made as well as reassure the mentee that they are not being abandoned
  • We want to leave them knowing that our door remains open as well as knowledgeable about other avenues of support

Contact Tom for more information.

tom@yourownplace.org.uk

mob: 07596 534239