How does mentoring benefit formerly homeless people?
Becoming homeless and coming out of homelessness are two major transitions. Homelessness is often more complex that just a lack of housing. Having the non judgemental support and care of a mentor can help someone begin to deal with some of the issues that may have led to their homelessness. The mentor may sign-post a mentee to different services, they may be a listening ear and an encourager.
In year one we had 22 mentoring and befriending relationships. Seventeen were successful and five didn’t work out. Our main finding from the evaluation was that the project had the greatest improvement on mentees’:
- meaningful use of time
- emotional and mental health
- social network and relationships
Mentoring and Befriending Case Studies
Obituary to Michael who was a befriendee on the M&M Project
Michael was one of the first befriendees referred to the M&M Project. Sadly Michael passed away in May 2011, aged just 63. Michael had been homeless for some time, following the death of his wife and the loss of his job as a steel worker in the 1980s. He had been sleeping rough in the London Bridge area when, in winter 2010, he was taken in by the Robes Night Shelter and rehoused into sheltered housing.
Alizon was Michael’s befriender. They met weekly for 6 months and they continued to meet up as friends. Alizon shares some memories of Michael below:
Michael’s roots were in the North - he always called me 'lovee' over the phone - and he carefully planned his visits 'back home'. He was kind and quietly spoken and rather shy. However as I got to know him he came out of his shell. He became interested in the Christian faith, leading him to getting baptised, and he soon started volunteering for soup runs and other church activities, including children's work. He showed an understanding for other people's problems and would visit if he knew someone was feeling low.
During our befriending meetings, he could always be relied upon and would arrive early at our weekly meetings. He thoroughly enjoyed all the activities - history, comedy, art exhibitions, and cinema.
Michael faced many hardships in his life and it gives us comfort to know that he spent the last year and months of his life with a home, with happiness and fulfilment. Michael will be sorely missed.
You can watch a clip of Michael and Alizon talking about their experiences of befriending here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu1NiafFCK8
