We meet with Dionne Walton, Grandmentors Volunteer Manager to find out more about the innovative mentoring scheme which is making huge strides in Ipswich to support those on the edge of leaving care.
The first thing you’ll notice when speaking to Dionne Walton is her obvious passion and pride for the Grandmentoring scheme which she established in Ipswich last year.
Developed as a project by the national charity Volunteering Matters, the innovative “Grandmentors” project has proven to be a reliable way of providing support and guidance to young people who may have experienced challenging life circumstances.
Currently operating in Islington, Hounslow, Folkestone, Stockton and Wiltshire as well as Ipswich, the initiative works in conjunction with Leaving Care teams to match young people aged 16-24 (who are Not in Education, Employment or Training) with a dedicated volunteer mentor over the age of 50.
Lasting up to 12 months, the mentor is on hand to offer weekly sessions to build up the person’s confidence and skill set, helping to ease the transition into adulthood. Because of the inter-generational gap, the mentor can demonstrate positive, healthy relationships and become a role model for those who may have lacked support throughout their life.
Dionne’s enthusiasm for the role is contagious and since implementing making her first official ‘match’ at the end of 2017, she has since successfully partnered 19 young people with mentors and has a surplus of local people volunteering to get involved.
When talking about the Grandmentor’s scheme, Dionne is keen to emphasise that the project is run very differently across the country, where Local Authorities have invested in the project and developed it in accordance to their own locality’s needs and behaviours.
Over the past year, Dionne has worked in close partnership with Suffolk County Council to run the project and she believes that their full support is vital to the project’s success. Sitting alongside the council’s Leaving Care team, Dionne is able to get involved in cases and offer support and advice to fellow social work colleagues as well as invite them to attend low-key events which introduce young people to potential mentors.
Looking ahead, Dionne is keen to work with colleagues at Volunteering Matters to expand the project nationally. There are currently plans to roll out the initiative in other locations including Waltham Forest.
A benefit of this project is the relative ease in which it can be set up in new areas. Once the Local Authority has given its support, the project can be fully functional within just a few months.
The success of the scheme speaks for itself. Not only are care leavers actively engaging in the project but in Ipswich, Dionne is starting to see young people self-refer themselves by coming along to local events and asking to be matched with a potential mentor. Dionne suggests that this demonstrates that not only is the approach correct, but it also shows that the actual “product” is working effectively.
Within just six months of engaging with a weekly mentor, the scheme can celebrate the fact that 95% of care leavers were involved in education, employment or training. Compared to the national average of 49% of care leavers, it is clear that this is an effective project for those working with a difficult audience group.
Dionne concludes: “We are hugely ambitious and we’re continually working hard to make sure that the project is working as effectively as it can be. It’s important to us that our care leavers and volunteers are equally benefiting from this scheme so we’re always listening to feedback and looking to see where we can improve.