What is your name?
Whitelion Leaving Care Mentoring Program – North West

How old are you?
I was born in September 2004, so I’ m 3 and a half years old.

Who funds you?
I’m funded by the Department of Human Services, Placement and Support.

What kind of mentoring program are you?
I’m a One-to-One Mentoring program, creating matches where a young person receives the one on one support of a mentor. I also create opportunities for group mentoring through holding group activities and camps where young people get to hang out with a lot of different mentors.

Who are your young people?
When nominated my young people are aged between 16 and 18yrs, and are involved with the Child Protection and Out of Home Care system. I have a mixture of males and females in my program, and can support young people from a range of cultural backgrounds.

What do you try to do for your young people?
I support young people who lack positive family connection and peer relationships, and are on the verge of losing the major support in their lives, the Child Protection System, when they turn 18. This can be really scary when the young people have limited people whom they can rely on, so I match them with a mentor who can support and guide them through this difficult time. I encourage my matches to do activities that will increase the young person’s independent living skills and positive sense of self.

Where do you operate?
I work with young people in the North West Metropolitan region of Melbourne. I also have sister programs in Gippsland, Barwon and Bendigo.

How many young people and mentors do you support right now?
I can support 23 matches, but currently support 7 matches and am in the process of matching another 10 young people.

What’s so exciting about you? 
I can provide a wide range of opportunities for young people, within my program but also within Whitelion as a whole organisation. This includes mentoring (both one to one and in groups and camps), leadership and creative opportunities and supported employment opportunities.

How are you different to other mentoring programs?
I can support young people once they have left the care of DHS up until the age of 21yrs, whereas a lot of other mentoring programs end at 18yrs. This is extremely important as the years after 18 are sometimes the most difficult for a young person who is leaving care.

Do you have any partners to help you out?
I am part of a consortium with The Salvation Army and Mackillop Family Services. This consortium provides me with support, feedback and advice on how my program is running and what changes could be made.

What have you learnt from your journey so far?
Using all of the programs available at Whitelion holistically to support a young person can make a huge difference. I have seen amazing changes in some young people who have moved ahead in leaps and bounds due to the support of their mentor, a supportive employer, and opportunities to challenge themselves to do things they never conceived of doing.

What has been your biggest challenge?
Finding the right mentor for a young person can be quite a trick and can take time and patience.

How have you dealt with this challenge?
Allowing opportunities for a young person to get to know a range of mentors and chose the one they feel they fit best with. Also allowing a period of “getting to know you” with the opportunity for the young person to openly say ‘no’ to the relationship.

What’s the best thing you’ve done so far?
I recently graduated a large group of matches into friendships all at the same time and held a dinner to celebrate. It was great to see the matches all celebrating themselves and talking about the journeys they had traveled. It was great to hear the young people reflect on the changes in their lives during the time they have been matched with a mentor and also hearing about future plans for the matches to remain in contact after they leave me.

What is the one piece of advice would you give to other programs?
Be very selective and picky when screening your mentors, and be clear from the beginning what your expectations of them are. Also be clear what their expectations from you are, and make sure both sets of expectations match!