The Wilderness Foundation UK launched The TurnAround Project back in 2007 to meet the needs of disadvantaged and disaffected young people in our home community here in Essex.   From Day 1 we always felt that engaging community support was an essential founding stone for the future success of the young people we work with.   Our experience has shown that the most-damaged young people no-longer have a sense of place or belonging – and by working with a community volunteer who mentors them throughout the course of their programme, they are able to reintegrate with people who do genuinely care about their welfare.

This year we have taken our mentoring to a new level, by providing our volunteer mentors with recongised accrediation for the skills they have been practicing.   Over the course of three weekends the mentors came together as a group to renew, enhance and develop their mentoring toolkit and as they work with their allocated young person, they will accrue the hours needed to receive formal accreditation for their work.

TurnAround Project Co-ordinator Helen Payne said:

“I’m so proud to be a part of not only this programme, but also this community.   We’ve positively engaged with people young and old, from all walks of life, who really and genuinely care about the fate of what is happening to young people in the streets and houses around us.   All our mentors give their time freely to support the young person they are working with, through listening and understanding, by providing a positive role model and showing the TurnAround group that they can live a different and better life.  I’m delighted.”

You can find out more about the role of our TurnAround Mentors by reading Jake’s Case Study.