Organisation Name: TimeBank Contact name Carla Jacobs Job title: Senior Project Manager email: carla@timebank.org.uk telephone contact: 020 7785 6377 www.backtolife.org.uk
Back to Life
Background to the
project and TimeBank
Back to Life is a programme
co-ordinated by TimeBank which aims to tackle the social isolation faced by
young adults with mental health issues. The project takes a new approach by
using near-to-peer volunteer mentors to support these young adults engage with
their local community, access services and rebuild their confidence. The
project is funded by the South London and Maudsley (SLaM) Charitable Trust to
work in the Southwark, Lambeth, Croydon and Lewisham areas of London.
Client profile and referral Back to Life supports vulnerable young adults aged 18-35 who have mental health issues who access services in the Southwark, Lambeth, Croydon and Lewisham areas. Young adults in this group are at high risk of dropping out of education or work and becoming involved with crime. They are also in a particularly high risk group for suicide.
Mental health support services in Southwark, Lambeth, Croydon and Lewisham can refer to the project and can be done via the confidential client record form.
Outline of mentors and their role
The mentoring offered by the project is tailored to the individual needs of the young adults being mentored (the mentees). The philosophy of the project is that no two people are the same and so the mentoring will reflect the mentee's needs and what they wish to achieve.
Initially, mentors will befriend the mentee and develop a trusting and understanding relationship. They will then help the mentee to develop and work towards the goals that will help to tackle their social isolation. This can include supporting access to social activities, learning to develop new relationships or signposting to other support services.
Mentoring will take place for between six and twelve months with a minimum contact of five hours per month. The level of support is agreed between the mentor and mentee and may change over time. When meetings take place will depend on the individuals and may be during the daytime, after work hours or at weekends.
The mentor and mentee matches are as near-to-peer as possible; mentors are same sex as the clients and aged 18-35. Mentors will vary in ethnicity, occupation and interests and will be matched as closely as possible to the interests of the young adults referred to the project. Mentors will come from all walks of life and some will have personal experience of mental health issues. However, all mentors share the common focus of supporting the young adults to participate more fully in society and fulfil their potential.
The Department of Health strategic vision for volunteering in health and social care which was published Spring 2010 highlights Back to Life as a programme which excellently demonstrates innovative volunteering making a real impact on people's lives.
What have been the benefits for individual service users (and others) accessing your project?
Outcomes for clients accessing the project
Meeting someone outside of the medical setting, who's not paid to be there, can make a real difference. One of the mentees to have benefitted from a volunteer mentor said:
"Having a mentor through Back to Life is the perfect supplement to everything I get from my nurse and therapy."
Mentees receive regular contact from a non-clinical, supportive mentor who helps to:
- reduce feelings of isolation
- raise the mentee's confidence and self-esteem
- increase mentee's access to social networks
- increase engagement in activities including education, training, and employment, volunteering or social activities.
Are you considering any future developments in response to the ‘Personalisation' agenda?
This is a voluntary scheme, individuals choose to participate and are able to shape the structure and content of the mentoring to suit their individual needs. As such, we feel that this project already has a very close fit with the personalisation agenda.