‘It is not only possible for one human being to make a real and lasting difference to another, it is often the only thing that ever does’.

‘Side by Side’, Council on Social Action, 2008

In this continuation of our series of posts highlighting the resources available from the Mentoring & Befriending Foundation (MBF) we look at the Transforming Lives report from late 2009 which starts off with the quote above before moving on to review the evidence for the impact of mentoring & befriending projects across the country. There are many parrallells between mentoring and supported volunteering and this report could serve as a useful blueprint for identifying potential benefits of new supported volunteering initiatives that may be considering adding that extra link in the volunteering chain. A quick glance at the Executive Summary outlines the potential of mentoring & befriending to create positive impact:

• One-to-one mentoring is in line with the aims of Every Child Matters
• Mentors can be key to role model for vulnerable young people
• Peer support programmes are leading the way in working with offenders and ex-offenders
• Mentoring can help refugees contribute to their local community and access services
• The use of mentoring & befriending to promote active citizenship is supported by the Communities In Control whitepaper (2008)
• Mentoring & befriending can be cost-effective

The report suggests that mentoring & befriending share a common root by way of definition:

Both involve the development of a relationship in which one individual, who is not family or a close friend, voluntarily gives time to support and encourage another.

Starting with this simple baseline of volunteering it then goes on to explain that the difference between the two approaches is largely a matter of timeframe and the role of goal-setting. Mentoring will often take place over a shorter period of time and by default may be more formal in nature due to the importance of setting goals aimed at developing the mentee’s outlook in some fashion – such as identifying and enrolling in a course, apply for a certain number of employment/volunteering opportunities or undertaking some form of self-assessment in a given period of time. By contrast befriending will often operate around more broadly defined aspirations while focusing more on the journey and building a supportive relationship over a longer time frame.

The report touches on several different scenarios where mentoring & befriending can be demonstrated as having a positive impact. It is not a long read and well worth the time if your project is looking to for possible yardsticks for measuring their own performance or for inspiration on how to demonstate the the value of an existing project or new funding bid. For those who do not have the luxury of such time here is a quick list of highlights chapter by chapter:

Developing confidence and skills at school

Despite all the public perceptions around CRB/Vetting checks adults can successfully work with children in a school setting. In a Leeds based project “71% of students mentored by adult volunteers met or overachieved their FFT GCSE scores.”

Peer mentoring can work for everybody: not only do the mentees exhibit greater confidence or more positive behaviour but the broader community benefits as well in terms of exclusion levels and general ability to address issues such as bullying.

Engaging young people ‘at risk’

Mentoring lasts – the work of Chance UK with primary school children with behavioural difficulties is truly astounding:

• 98% of children referred show a reduction in their behavioural difficulty at the end of the mentoring year, with 51% no longer classed as having behavioural difficulties
• The majority of parents reported relationships with their children had improved as a result of the mentoring

but perhaps the most impressive figure is :

• Three to five years after the end of the mentoring, the children retained their improvements in personal and interpersonal behaviour, concentration and emotional control and in the pupils’ relationship with peers and adults 24

Reducing re-offending

Odd Equilibrium – Overall 65% percent of prisoners reoffend within two years; a recent Princes Trust survey tells us that 65% of offenders between 16-25 years of age feel that they would be less likely to offend if they had had a mentor.

Prisons are another environment ripe for peer mentoring as 71% of offenders would prefer to engage with someone who has a similar background AND what the MBF refer to as the ‘multiplier effect’ applies in that both mentor & mentee gain an oppportunity to develop through the experience.

Improving social integration

The figures produced by a survey of refugee mentees from TimeBank’s Time Together programme say it all:

• 96% felt they understood more English
• 85% of those who were seeking employment felt that they had made progress during their mentoring relationship
• 88% said they had more friends from different cultural backgrounds
• 96% felt they had a better understanding of UK culture and people’s behaviour
• 86% felt they knew more about how to access further education courses
• 96% felt they knew their town or city better
• 90% felt at home in the UK
• 87% felt more integrated into UK society than when they started the relationship

Combating isolation

This chapter addresses initiatives that serve “people with health and social care needs” which covers a wide range of life challenges and barriers to engagement to say the least. Indeed, the section touches on groups dealing with such varied issues as learning difficulties, old age and sight impairment. But by touching on the benefits for such a wide set of needs this chapter provides a useful quick overview of the fuzzier side of outcomes for befriending which fall in line with the goals of many supported volunteering initiatives – we won’t quote from this section here as we’d rather you read it yourself – it starts on page 36!

Promoting active citizenship

This chapter is a nod to the benefits experienced by the mentor & befrienders themselves. From an SV perspective this is most interesting where peer or near-peer mentoring takes place as the extra support given to allow someone to volunteer will most likely be focused on the mentor. This may even be a scenario where volunteering may not even be included as a possible goal for the mentee.

Conclusion

In conclusion Transforming Lives offer us a list of “features of good practice“:

• Mentoring and befriending relationships need to be well structured, with clear and attainable goals
• With few exceptions, relationships should take place over a lengthy period of time and involve frequent and regular contact
• Projects should be properly integrated into their organisational context and the role and services provided needs to be understood and valued by other relevant groups and support agencies
• For children at risk, there needs to be intensive supervision and support for each match, involving frequent contact with parents, referrers and other support agencies
• For those in custody, projects should form part of an integrated package of measures and work closely with statutory and other voluntary services. There should be a recognition that prisoners themselves can contribute to rehabilitation and resettlement processes
• For all projects, there should be sufficient numbers of committed, well trained mentors or befrienders, who understand their role and its boundaries