THE DIFFERENCE 12-MONTHS CAN MAKE
Mentors are
“friends with purpose” who support families in the area by setting and helping them to achieve life goals. Our mentors are members of St Mary’s and Sale West churches who are trained to use their own life skills, knowledge and experience coupled with a family’s strengths to help the family to flourish.
Families on the programme experience various issues, including:
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Debt – bailiffs, housing at risk, struggling to feed the family (using Foodbank)
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Isolation – little or no support from family and friends
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Lack of employment/training
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Challenges in relation to parenting
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Lack of confidence and low self-esteem
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Health and wellbeing
The family mentoring programme lasts for about 12 months. We took our first family in May 2018 and two families have now completed. This is what our two families thought about the programme:
Family 1:
"I feel like [the mentors] have supported and listened to me without judgement. We have achieved some goals together and my confidence has grown in my abilities. Through [the mentors] I have been introduced to some voluntary work which I enjoy and will continue. Through this, I have met lots of different people and learned new skills.
I feel that [the mentors] have helped me to have more confidence as a mother. I was struggling to understand [the children’s] level of independence and needs and to have the confidence to know what I was doing with my children was okay. [The mentors] listened and helped me to see that the way I am parenting is positive and good. They helped me to put in place new strategies to encourage [my children's] independence and life skills, such as travelling to and from school, helping to encourage them to get their own breakfast, lunches and prepare food."
Family 2:
“It had a positive impact in my life. [The mentors] helped me see that I had a future, helped me reconnect with family members and made me see that life can be fun. Having regular contact with people helped me realise the benefit of communication. With my new found confidence I was able to find employment.”
COACH stands for “Creating Opportunities and Casting Hope”. That’s what we seek to do: create hope in what seems like hopeless situations. Mentors become part of people’s lives. They meet people where they are. They are positive and optimistic. They don’t judge. They love people.
We are Christ’s ‘love on legs’!
If you are aware of any families in the area who may benefit from support, please contact Carol Dodgson:
caroldodgsonsalewest@gmail.com
