Mentor Volunteers for 11 - 17 year olds (Next Training April '26).

Good with young people? Empathise with the tricky situations young people often experience in today's society? Excellent communication skills? Perfect!

Hampshire County Council Children's Services team are looking for volunteers to train to become mentors, supporting young people aged 11 to 17. 

Young people often have a range of professionals working with them. However, it is recognised that having someone impartial to talk to and offer support can often make a difference to self-esteem and engagement.

Supported and supervised by a volunteer coordinator, volunteer mentors will be matched with young people and offer one to one support. This is likely to include: face to face meetings, supporting them to attend meetings, appointments and activities and telephone support. A crucial aspect will be the ability to build positive relationships which allow young people to feel listened to and supported and continue as long as needed.

Volunteers will:

• Work with the volunteer coordinator to agree a match to young people.
• Attend an initial meeting with the young person and support worker to agree the type and frequency of support to be offered and agree ongoing meetings and support.
• Discuss and agree information sharing with the young person and support worker.
• Meet with the young person and deliver the on-going support agreed.
• Support the activity programme attended by the young person through for example attending presentations, supporting attendance.
• Record and share information as agreed.

Face to Face meetings are likely to take place in a variety of local settings to be agreed between the young person, the volunteer and the volunteer coordinator and may include schools, youth clubs, cafes etc.

The amount of support each young person requires will vary depending upon their needs. Volunteers will need to be able to commit to a couple of hours a week for approximately 3-9 months.

We are particularly interested to hear from male volunteers interested in becoming mentors.

All volunteers receive full training – including one day of face-to-face induction training;  online safeguarding training and role-specific training - to enable them to fulfil their role. Our next induction training date is in Winchester on Monday 13th April followed by Mentoring training (date to be advised).

Watch a film about our volunteering service here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_wY0yZasIo 

Skills

Training and support will be provided therefore previous experience is not essential.

Training dates are scheduled throughout the year and tend to be quarterly.

We are seeking volunteers who feel able to:

Communicate and ensure people, with varied levels of ability, understand information.
Build and maintain positive relationships with young people.
Listen and remain calm and impartial when dealing with young people.
Record information.
Respect differing views of individuals and work in a non judgmental way.
Respect confidentiality and the agreed information sharing process.
Have the confidence to report concerns to their Volunteer Coordinator.
Be able to describe their role and maintain professional boundaries.

Access to your own transport is desirable.

Volunteers must be aged 18+.

Training dates for volunteers are released throughout the year and occur roughly quarterly.