The M&M Project
Mentoring and befriending can be a big challenge and needs a lot of patience and commitment. As a volunteer you will be supporting someone who has experienced homeless and helping them as they move towards their goals.
The M&M Project is Housing Justice’s mentoring and befriending project for people who have been homeless. The project is designed to fit in with your busy schedule as a volunteer and as a client. Give a few hours in your lunch break, in the evening after work, or at the weekend and you could transform someone's life. It's all about understanding the needs of those you volunteer with and making sure everything you do is geared towards meeting those needs.
We work with volunteers from churches but also embrace partnerships with people of all faiths (and none) who share our values of social justice and compassion. Our ‘unique selling point’ is that we seek to train and recruit volunteers from local churches and local church night shelters to mentor and befriend people who have experienced homelessness in their locality.
Volunteer on one of our mentoring and befriending schemes and we'll assess you, train you, make sure you're matched with the right person and support you every step of the way. See below for more information on the project.
How do I volunteer?
UNFORTUNATELY DUE TO FUNDING DIFFICULTIES WE ARE NOT TAKING ON ANY NEW VOLUNTEERS. WE WILL UPDATE THIS SECTION SHOULD THIS SITUATION CHANGE.
You can read the volunteer role description here.
The process for volunteering is as follows:
1) We ask that all potential volunteers come on a one day training course before applying for the role. This gives you an opportunity to decide if the role is for you.
2) After attending the training you can fill in an application form. You can download an application form here.
3) You will be CRB and referenced checked and invited for an interview.
We will be arranging another training soon - if you would like to attend please contact Shona Macpherson the Mentoring and Befriending Coordinator.
Resources
If you are interested in setting up your own mentoring project in your night shelter you can download our free Mentoring and Befriending in Shelters Toolkit here. You can also contact Shona for support and advice.
You can read our year one project evaluation as a Word document or PowerPoint presentation.
Who do we work with?
This is the second year of the project and we are piloting the effectiveness of mentoring and befriending with Christian homeless service providers such as day centres and housing projects. We are now taking referrals from four different agencies and we are being intentional about recruiting volunteers from churches in the localities of these agencies.
The agencies we are piloting the project with are:
- The Marylebone Project – they provide a day centre and accommodation for women and are based in Westminster http://www.churcharmy.org.uk/Marylebone
- The Catholic Worker (Giuseppe Conlan House) – they provide hospitality to men with are seeking refuge and are based in Haringey http://www.londoncatholicworker.org/projects.html
- Hope WorldWide Two Step – they support formerly homeless people who have access to benefits to find accommodation http://www.hopeworldwide.org.uk/
- The Manna Centre – they are a day centre providing advice and hot meals to homeless people in the London Bridge area http://www.mannasociety.org.uk/
We may be able to take other referrals. If you are interested in making a referral please contact Shona Macpherson or call 0207 9206449.
Mentoring and befriending forum
Housing Justice have hosted two mentoring and befriending forums for organisations working with homeless people who are running mentoring projects or are planning to do so. Please contact us for information about the next forum meeting.
