Offer To Mentor

 

Who we are

We are a small organisation working with adults who are vulnerable or at risk of offending.  We offer them focus, encouragement and support through regular meetings with volunteer mentors.

How it works

A person needing support is matched with a volunteer mentor. The mentor and mentee will agree on some specific goals that the service user would like to achieve. Meetings take place roughly once a week, in a convenient place for up to 16 weeks. Each week the mentor and service user agree on something to discuss or an activity that helps the service user work towards their goal. e.g. going to job centre, filling in a form.

That’s why we need you          

You will get to support someone to make a difference to their life, whether it be big or small, and help them to feel confident and in control. You will receive training before you start mentoring and you will have an experienced supervisor to guide and support you through the mentoring. You will only be asked to support people who you feel comfortable with. You will be given information about the mentee and you will be able to decide whether you would like to mentor that person.

How to apply

Fill in the form below or download, complete and send us this form: Volunteer Application Form.

Once the form has been sent to us, we will send you information about identity checks and invite you to a training session. We need identity information as all of our volunteer mentors will need to be checked through the disclosure and barring service (DBS). You will be invited to two training sessions and then an informal interview, which is just a catch up to find out more about you and preferences when it comes to matching you with a mentee. Then we will look for someone you might mentor. Answers to some common questions can be found below in our FAQ Section.

We ask our mentors to follow our policies and procedures. To find these, together with some advice about specific problems, like homelessness, please follow this link.

We will only use your information in order to arrange mentoring and we will ask your permission before sharing it with anyone else.  For more information on how your data is treated, please follow this link.

 

Privacy Notice

We ask for your information to meet our legitimate purpose of arranging mentoring partnerships. We keep the minimum necessary information for this purpose. We delete information two years after our last contact with you, except in certain circumstances.  If you decide not to mentor with Bridging the Gap, we will delete information six months after our last contact.

 

You have the right to see and to ask us to correct any information we hold about you.  You can withdraw your consent for us to hold information about you. If you wish to do this, please contact Robin Latimer ([email protected]) who is our data controller.

 

We keep data on Dropbox which is based in the United States.  We believe this provides adequate protection for your data. For more detail on how your information is treated, please ask to see our data protection policy. 

 

If you are unhappy with the way we have handled information about you, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioners Office.

 

______________________________________________

 

 

F.A.Q.’s

Why are there two training sessions?
We need two training sessions because there is more material than we think can be fitted into one session.
How long are the sessions?
The sessions are two hours long each.
Are there set dates for the training sessions?
We aim to run training sessions every three or four months.  There are no set dates.  Once you have filled in the application form,  you will be added to the list of people waiting for training and as soon as we have a definite date for training, we will let you know.
What if I can’t attend on the date of a training session?
If you cannot attend one training session, we will invite you to the next similar training session.  Unfortunately you may need to wait three or four months.  You need to attend both training sessions.
Can I use my DBS from another organisation?
We accept other DBS checks done within the last 6 months though we will also need to see one document with your photo to confirm your identity.  If you have signed on to the DBS update service, we will be able to use that to avoid the need for a DBS check.  We will need the number of your DBS certificate and your Date of Birth.
What happens after the 16 weeks of mentoring?
We ask you to commit to 16 weeks of mentoring because it is a reasonable time to achieve something and we do not want to ask you to commit for a longer time.  We will be very pleased if you would like to do a second 16 week mentoring partnership with a different service user.  We will also offer service users the opportunity to have a second mentoring partnership with someone else if they wish.
If I have a criminal record, will I be able to mentor?
If you have a criminal record, you may well be a better mentor because you will understand the problems service users are facing.  Minor offences are unlikely to cause a problem, but we need to know about them so that we can decide if there might be any difficulties.  You will still need to do a DBS check to confirm that you have told us all your offences.
If I have had drug, alcohol or mental health problems, will I be able to mentor?
Having experience of these problems may well make you a better mentor.  But we need to be sure that you have overcome your problems and are reasonably stable.  In the case of drug or alcohol problems, this probably means you will need to have been sober or stable for two years.  We may ask you to agree to us asking advice from professionals who have treated you.
Will it cost me anything?
We pay phone calls, travel  and expenses for mentors.  When you start mentoring you will be given a separate mobile phone for mentoring and an Oyster Card – which should only be used for travel relating to mentoring.  We will also pay for any refreshments and any other expenses directly related to mentoring – but you do need to provide receipts.  It is difficult administratively to pay travel expenses for the initial training – so we ask that you cover that cost yourself.
Will I be safe?
You will be safe.  We take the safety of mentors extremely seriously.  We get some background information on every service user and we will not ask you to mentor anyone who has a history of threatening or abusing  people.  You are expected to meet in a public place, so other people will be around.   If you feel at all unsafe during mentoring, then you should end the meeting and ask advice from your supervisor.
Can I choose who I mentor?
Yes, you can.  Mentoring will only work if you feel comfortable with the person you are mentoring.  When we find someone you might mentor we will first ask you whether you would like to mentor them.  When you first meet the person you are mentoring, you can also say you would like to mentor someone else.
I will be going away on holiday is this a problem?
You can choose when you mentor, so we should be able to avoid any dates when you  are away on holiday – provided it is for less than a month.   After you have finished the training, then please let us know when you are away, so that we do not ask you to mentor at those times.  If you have started mentoring before your holiday, then you need to tell the person you are mentoring and your supervisor well in advance of your holiday  (at least two weeks notice).

Support Me

We offer a free mentoring service in North London to help you get to where you want to be.

Find out more...

Refer Someone

Mentoring provides a service that is separate and additional to the benefits of professional support.

Find out more...

Offer To Mentor

You will get to support someone to make a difference to their life, whether it be big or small...

Find out more...

Donate

Please consider whether you could give a small amount to help us provide support...

Find out more...

Have a question?

Please do get in touch. We're here to help.
Get In Touch