Netherton Feelgood Factory - peer mentors

“I have the opportunity to help others, obtain a reference for college, university or employment and, last but not least, enjoyment!”

The ‘Your Health’ project is based at the Netherton Feelgood Factory Healthy Living Centre in Merseyside.  The project supports young people aged 16-25 across a broad range of health-related issues including sexual health, mental health, well-being, healthy eating, stopping smoking, weight management and breast feeding.

The 50 volunteer peer mentors that Your Health train each year are central to raising awareness of these issues in the wider community.  The Your Health project is funded by V and supported by Sefton Primary Care Trust and is currently working towards the Approved Provider Standard.

Project co-ordinator Lynn Anderton acknowledges that it was important to build peer mentoring into the work of Your Health from the start.

Lynn says: “Young people are often given health information by adults but listening to other young people is often what makes a real difference”.  It is this approach that allows the peer mentors at Your Health to use their skills and training to develop a range of peer education approaches to raising awareness of health issues amongst other young people.

Peer mentors receive 20 hours of training which is accredited through the Open College Network.  This includes:

• understanding the role of a mentor
• developing good communication and active listening skills
• building and managing an effective mentoring relationship
• understanding the ways to support a person through mentoring
• evaluating their own strengths and development needs for the mentoring  role

Your Health also trains peer mentors who are not in education, employment or training and approximately 75% of young people leaving the project are going straight on to further education or employment.

Natasha  is a young mum who has received peer mentoring training through Your Health.  She volunteered as a peer mentor to provide other young mums with one-to-one and group support towards breast feeding.  The young mums Natasha supported were able to benefit from information given by a fellow young mum who wanted to share her knowledge and experiences of breastfeeding.

Peer mentors have also developed ‘young people led’ initiatives including a sexual health newsletter which was distributed across Merseyside, and other peer mentors have become Weight Management Leaders with Sefton NHS.

'Your Health' peer mentoring project
Project co-ordinator: Lynn Anderton
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