Mentoring can sound like a daunting task, being there for a young person as they struggle through their teenage years, but Uniting's Better Futures Program coordinator Sarah Rowe said if you are hesitating about becoming a mentor, now is a great time to put your hat into the ring with March Mentoring Month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
"There was a need here and we didn't have something for our cohort of young people," Ms Rowe said.
As a community connector, another role Ms Rowe performs, she was able to help set up a mentorship program that works with other services.
"I knew collaborating was the best way to go," she said.
OTHER NEWS:
The three mentorship avenues are Better Futures (foster, kinship or residential care experience), Mates Mentoring and L2P Learning Drive Mentor programs.
To boost these mentorship programs, Uniting Vic.Tas, Centre for Participation and Wimmera Southern Mallee LLEN are holding a March Mentoring Month.
Ms Rowe is not only co-ordinating mentorships for Better Futures but had spent three years as a youth mentor.
"When I first moved to Horsham I didn't know anybody. I've always been quite community minded and enjoyed volunteering with young people especially, so I thought it would be something really nice to get involved with," Ms Rowe said.
"I met my mentee Steph. Steph was only young when we first met, only 15 and very shy. She wasn't going to school at the time."
Ms Rowe and Steph bonded, Ms Rowe said Steph would come over for dinner and just last year in December came over to help put up the Christmas decorations.
"When we first started we did a lot of driving. It's a nice way to build rapport and a relationship. It allowed her to talk away and lots of listening on my behalf," she said.
Ms Rowe said being a mentor is very rewarding.
"I have this really beautiful friendship. I'm so proud of her, it's been so awesome to see her grow and become more confident and now she's going to university. I took her driving a couple of times and now she has her license.
"I would hear her going through challenges and then in a few weeks I'd hear about her having some wins, that was always lovely to hear.
"I became more confident in my ability to listen and support people.
"They just need you to listen."
Now is the time to become a mentor, Ms Rowe said all three programs have a list of young people who need mentors.
"If you think you don't have anything to offer, you absolutely do. Everybody has something to offer a young person," she said.
"We forget that when we were younger it was those older, positive role models in our life that were inspiring and motivating. They're the ones that helped us grow and be the person that we are today, you can now be that person for someone else."
READ MORE:
Mentors will be matched with mentees to ensure a good match and there is also training around trauma and working with young people.
"There is lots of support and training," Ms Rowe assured.
"You are there to be a friend and do fun stuff with them. It's about concentrating on having fun and forgetting all the hard stuff.
"If you are considering it, just do it. Young people are the future of our communities, and if we want strong, healthy, loving, kind communities then we need to be supporting our young people."
If you are interested in learning more about being a Youth Mentor, information sessions will be held at The Station (formerly Nexus) on Friday, March 26, 2021.
The first session will be from 12.30pm, the second from 5.30pm.
Numbers are limited so be sure to register at mentormonth.eventbrite.com.au or call Vanessa O'Loughlin on 0418 312 556 to learn more.
Did you know you can receive updates straight to your inbox? To make sure you're up-to-date with news from across the region, sign up below.