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Welcome to Bridging the Gap Mentoring

Bridging the Gap Mentoring offers a trained volunteer to support and encourage you to achieve the goals you choose. 

You will meet regularly for several weeks. This could help with paperwork, housing, benefits, employment or social life. You meet your mentor at a time and place that suits you.  You may meet in a café or similar public place.  Or you can meet online if you have a computer or smartphone.

Who is the volunteer? 

The volunteer is a person who can support, guide and encourage you.  They may suggest helpful ideas.  A wide variety of people with different skills and experience volunteer with Bridging the Gap Mentoring.

All our volunteers are supported by a supervisor, who is an experienced professional who advises them.

What do I need to do?

Please think about the challenges you are facing and what changes would make your life better.  We are happy to talk with you more about this.

We will ask you to fill out a short form to help us understand more about you.  If you would prefer to talk through the referral form, just let us know.  You can ask a worker you know to contact us.  You can contact us yourself on 0800 488 0746 (free) .

What will Bridging the Gap Mentoring do?

We will ask for a small amount of information from a worker who knows you, such as a key worker, advice worker or similar.  We would like to work together with other services to support and encourage you.  We are not trying to replace or duplicate help you are getting already.  Meeting with a mentor regularly can help you to make the best use of other services and enable you to think about your choices.

You will be introduced to your mentor and their supervisor at an initial meeting. After this, you will arrange a regular time to meet with your mentor each week.

How long will it take?   It normally takes up to 4 weeks to arrange your first meeting with your mentor.  We will keep in touch with you while we find the best person to mentor you.  Usually, our outreach worker will phone you each week until we arrange a mentor. The mentoring may last for 16 weeks or for a shorter time if you feel you have achieved your goals.