Our impact
intandem mentoring can be life changing for children and young people with experience of care, and a much-needed lifeline for their family. A mentor can help young people thrive in many aspects of their life from giving them someone they can trust and feel safe with, to helping them become more interested in learning or the confidence to make better life choices.
Since 2016, we have worked with charity partners in 20 local authorities in Scotland to deliver mentoring in the community.
We know what works
Mentors and intandem coordinators help in many ways - helping young people make better life choices, improve attendance at school, help manage their home life and advocate for them in a variety of situations. Our latest independent research shows:
said having a mentor has given them someone they can trust and feel safe with
said having a mentor has supported them to set clear goals, make plans or take decisions about their life
said that having a mentor has helped them become more interested in learning
said having a mentor has supported them to manage friendships and family relationships
Needed now more than ever
There has never been more need for the support intandem provides. All of us struggle in rough waters. Things like illness, poverty, or the death of a loved one can make it harder for parents and carers to stay afloat and provide the care children and young people need. However, young people and their families have faced unprecedented challenges in recent years following Covid and the cost of living crisis.
79% of the young people intandem supports live in postcodes of high levels of deprivation (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 1 and 2). We're working to make sure that families caught in rough waters get the support they need.
Together with the growing concern over the mental health of our young people and the latest education statistics for children with care experience, it's clear young people in Scotland need support to thrive.