North East
Mentoring & Befriending in Your Region
Mentoring and Befriending activity in the North East is growing rapidly. The Foundation aims to reach all communities throughout our region, by working with charities, voluntary, private and public sector bodies.
At present we are working with over 400 mentoring and befriending projects/organisations in the region. At the end of June 2008, 219 of these had taken part in our registration and consultation process. 36% of the projects consulted with were befriending, 41% mentoring and 23% peer mentoring (both pre and post 16). Most of these projects were in the non profit sector, with the majority being run by voluntary organisations and charities. The most popular client groups that these projects work with are people with disabilities, victims of bullying/crime and offenders.
The North East has many examples of good practice in Mentoring and Befriending, including:
- GOALS is a project run by the charity DISC, in Durham. It applied for and achieved the Approved Provider Standard in May 2007.
The support group, which stands for Go Out and Live, was set up in 1994 to integrate people with learning difficulties into mainstream lives.
GOALS tries to help break down barriers between its users and the rest of society. It aims to help bridge the gap by offering a befriending service, where members of the public can offer friendship to help enhance their users’ lives.
Befrienders will meet up with people with learning disabilities twice a month. Staff tailor the support they offer as each person is different — some people need one-to-one care and others get involved in group activities, matching people up with volunteers who have similar interests.
GOALS also offers a community day care service and friendship projects for 11 to 16 year-olds in mainstream and special schools and three weekends a year, members go away on a trip. They cater for around 90 people in County Durham.
GOALS hopes that by bringing together the group and the community they can help change people’s perceptions of those with learning difficulties.
- Hartlepool based RESPECT (Reaching Every Social and Personal Effect Concerning Teenagers), set up in 2004, provides a mentoring and befriending service with professional counselling support for young people aged 11-19. Many have experienced bullying, racism, isolation, difficult relationships with family and friends, and problems with anger management. They may also self-harm and misuse substances.
The project aims to offer a nurturing, welcoming environment where young people feel cared for, listened to and respected. It operates a four tier support service - including counselling and referral to external services - enabling young people to access the appropriate level of support.
Referrals for mentees are made from a variety of sources including local youth centres, schools, children’s services and Connexions. Young people can also self refer or be referred by parents or other relatives.
A typical package of support might involve a counsellor providing intense support, a named mentor providing social and personal development opportunities and the group support of peers through the befriending service under the supervision of the mentor.
Through the support of the mentors, young people develop coping strategies to help them stay safe from bullying and adopt healthier lifestyles.
The project achieved Approved Provider Standard in early 2006.
At present we are working with over 400 mentoring and befriending projects/organisations in the region. At the end of June 2008, 219 of these had taken part in our registration and consultation process. 36% of the projects consulted with were befriending, 41% mentoring and 23% peer mentoring (both pre and post 16). Most of these projects were in the non profit sector, with the majority being run by voluntary organisations and charities. The most popular client groups that these projects work with are people with disabilities, victims of bullying/crime and offenders.
The North East has many examples of good practice in Mentoring and Befriending, including:
- GOALS is a project run by the charity DISC, in Durham. It applied for and achieved the Approved Provider Standard in May 2007.
The support group, which stands for Go Out and Live, was set up in 1994 to integrate people with learning difficulties into mainstream lives.
GOALS tries to help break down barriers between its users and the rest of society. It aims to help bridge the gap by offering a befriending service, where members of the public can offer friendship to help enhance their users’ lives.
Befrienders will meet up with people with learning disabilities twice a month. Staff tailor the support they offer as each person is different — some people need one-to-one care and others get involved in group activities, matching people up with volunteers who have similar interests.
GOALS also offers a community day care service and friendship projects for 11 to 16 year-olds in mainstream and special schools and three weekends a year, members go away on a trip. They cater for around 90 people in County Durham.
GOALS hopes that by bringing together the group and the community they can help change people’s perceptions of those with learning difficulties.
- Hartlepool based RESPECT (Reaching Every Social and Personal Effect Concerning Teenagers), set up in 2004, provides a mentoring and befriending service with professional counselling support for young people aged 11-19. Many have experienced bullying, racism, isolation, difficult relationships with family and friends, and problems with anger management. They may also self-harm and misuse substances.
The project aims to offer a nurturing, welcoming environment where young people feel cared for, listened to and respected. It operates a four tier support service - including counselling and referral to external services - enabling young people to access the appropriate level of support.
Referrals for mentees are made from a variety of sources including local youth centres, schools, children’s services and Connexions. Young people can also self refer or be referred by parents or other relatives.
A typical package of support might involve a counsellor providing intense support, a named mentor providing social and personal development opportunities and the group support of peers through the befriending service under the supervision of the mentor.
Through the support of the mentors, young people develop coping strategies to help them stay safe from bullying and adopt healthier lifestyles.
The project achieved Approved Provider Standard in early 2006.
We have representatives in all of the nine government regions throughout England, making a direct impact upon the communities that you live in. They can help you with a number of things, for example; setting up a project, developing an existing programme or achieving Approved Provider Standard (APS).
Contact your Regional Co-ordinator
