Last year, Michelle Chatham was working with the NCS team and this year she’s embarking on the mentoring team helping mentors and mentees alike.

3 February 2016

So I started with the mentoring team in January, starting a new job within the same company you work for is definitely easier, because you don’t have to worry about meeting a whole load of brand new people because you’ve already met them, so one of the most nerve-wracking parts is already over.

Since starting in the team, Ione has been amazing in showing me what to do and training me in how to support the mentors. Some days it feels like I am a yoyo, running from Young Gloucestershire over to The Link to meet a mentor, a mentee or both. We’ve been busy recruiting both young people and mentors over the last month, we’ve had one mentoring training session, with another one planned in for tonight and some volunteers still on the waiting list.

We’ve matched several new young people with mentors this month and I’ve taken on a caseload to support, this involves keeping in touch with both the mentor and the mentee to make sure that everything is going well for them, checking the mentoring logs and supporting them to ensure that they have their next meetings arranged.

We also support the first three meetings of any new relationship by being present at the meetings, checking with both the young person and the adult that they’re happy with the match and ensuring that the young person has any other support that they might need. I am looking forward to seeing how some of the mentoring relationships develop into the future and hope to see some amazing progress.

As part of my role, I am also working in Berkeley and Blockley Youth Centre, now as the lead worker, this has been great fun, they are both small rural youth clubs, but the young people who attend them are amazing and really well engaged, so it’s lots of fun working with them. It was sad to say goodbye to Sophie already who has been with me at the youth clubs and has a good relationship with the young people. So far we’ve had indoor hockey, a pizza making session, a movie night, a drunk awareness session and a games night. They’re planning to do some fundraising in the near future, have a great Blockley Bake off, pancake making, team challenges, Valentines Day crafts evening, sports sessions and an Easter party at Blockley – the young people want to plan and run the event, showing that they are really involved in their community.

If anyone reading this would like to be a mentor or have a mentor, then please do get in touch with me on 01452 501008 or michelle.chatham@youngglos.org.uk.