YMCA Tayside

We are starting a new mentoring project called Y Thrive and looking for volunteer mentors!

Role Description

We are looking for volunteers who are eager to make a difference in their own community by supporting young people to be their best through our new and exciting Y Thrive project. As a volunteer mentor you will regularly meet up with a young person offering a friendly ear, support and guidance and advice on making positive life choices and helping them navigate their mental health. The expectation for commitment would be meeting the young person once a week for 1 hour for an average of 44 weeks a year. Full training, support and on going supervision is offered by Rebecca McGrath (project coordinator).

Role description - As a mentor you will regularly meet up with the young person for an average of 44 weeks from per year from when you start (this is flexible around holidays etc). Sessions are usually once a week and last approximately 1 hour. The first few months focus on building a relationship by engaging in new and familiar activities with on-going support and support from your Project Coordinator. By engaging in conversations with your mentee you will support them to develop important life skills. You will play an important role in helping a young person achieve their full potential and build on their strengths. Following this you will begin working on self-management techniques (as explained at the end of this description). We also evaluate and monitor our services to ensure it is high quality and meets the needs of the young people and you will be invited to attend sessions where you can share your experiences to support our model of continuous improvement. There will also be mentor support nights where you can seek advice from other mentors and hear about their experience.

Skills/experience - You don’t need any formal qualifications to be a mentor. You will need to complete a PVG through Disclosure Scotland which will be arranged for you by your Project Coordinator. What’s important is that you’re a good listener and we encourage applications from people with lived experience of how mental health can impact a young person’s life. Our mentors are as diverse as the young people we work with and we welcome opportunities to celebrate our similarities and differences. We are looking for a range of ages and no prior experience working with young people is necessary. We are looking for enthusiastic and compassionate people who are eager to make a difference in a young person’s life, any life experience you bring can benefit a young person on their journey. You will be able to reflect on times where you have faced challenges in life, with which you gained essential learning and understanding. By supporting your mentee to identify small, achievable goals and work on self-management techniques, you will enable them to carry skills forward and thrive beyond the mentoring relationship.

Empathy -  Mentors will need to be able to show empathy to a young person and see things from the perspective of the young person; it’s also important to help them develop empathy for others.

Non-judgemental approach - An absolute vital quality of a good mentor is that they are able to adopt a non-judgemental approach to their conversations with young people. There will be times that mentors might disagree with choices and behaviours but the key to developing and maintaining a trusting relationship is avoiding sharing any judgements and/or criticism and instead encouraging the young people to reflect and explore alternative options, or sometimes just listening and understanding.

Self-Management Techniques - Self-management, as defined by The Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland, is a person centered approach where individuals living with long-term conditions are empowered to take ownership of managing their health and well-being. At the beginning of your induction you will be given training in a variety of topics to enable you to support young people in managing their mental health. No prior knowledge or experience of this is required and is in no way a barrier to mentoring. Everyone will receive ongoing support in learning these techniques and there will be chances to network with other mentors to learn from each other and explore ways to grow your skills and confidence. These sessions will also allow for support and community among mentors and you will check in with the project coordinator to discuss your wellbeing throughout.

If you are interested in becoming a mentor, would like an application form or would like more information and an informal chat please contact: becca@ymcatayside.com.