How you can guide the Illawarra's young women

The Youth Frontiers Mentoring Program needs more mentors to help young women and gender-diverse youth in Wollongong and Shellharbour.

The program, led by YWCA Australia, pairs women and gender-diverse mentors above 18 years of age with younger people in need of additional support.

Program coordinator Jennifer Rose says at least 40 places are yet to be filled, with about 30 mentors having signed on to participate in the program since its launch last August.

“At the heart of [the program] is to support young women and gender-diverse people in the Illawarra to achieve their goals.

“[We’ve] identified that there are young people in the Illawarra who need additional support, who need additional connection to community, and so the aim of this program is to try and give them that community support.

“We are really hoping to get a strong base of volunteers on board.”

The program’s young people, aged between 10 and 17, come from various backgrounds, some searching for community support following histories with the child protection and youth justice systems. During the initial linking process, mentees and mentors are paired based on personality, shared interests and proximity. With ages and personalities varying significantly, each young person requires unique support to achieve their goals.

“It's so varied because all our mentees are really different because we are working with a group age 10 to 17 [and] their goals are completely different,” Jennifer says.

“Some people really are just doing recreational activities, and the mentees are really looking for that one-on-one engagement with an adult where they can build communication skills and just have that really strong relationship.

“Some of our older participants are looking for support to do more advanced things, such as applying for certain courses or to complete a certificate in something, so they're wanting help with their study, or they might be wanting help to get a tax file number or a bank account – so the activities that the mentors do vary really, really greatly.”

Over a minimum 12-month period, mentors receive training and ongoing support as they provide at least 52 hours of friendship and guidance over the course of the program, with the flexibility to spread those hours where necessary. Jennifer says the Youth Frontiers Mentoring Program encourages people of all backgrounds to take part.

“We look for somebody who is over 18 years of age and who has a driver's licence and the ability to get a Working with Children Check, and as far as their personal qualities go, we take people from all different areas of the community," she says.

“We just want people who are passionate about helping young people, but we really do like to have diversity in our mentors because our mentees are all really, really different.

“We like to have academic people, we like to have sporty people, we like to have arty people – just any kind of person you can think of, I'm sure we've got a mentee in our program who would naturally fit nicely with them.”

Since its launch in August 2022, the Youth Frontiers Mentoring Program has received positive feedback from young people and their mentors, Jennifer says.

“We had a little workshop just last week where some of our younger participants came together to do some art activities… and they were happy to meet new people, make new friends and just practise some skills in building community and building friendships.

“Our mentors are reporting that they are getting a lot out of it as well. Quite a few of our mentors have come from the university or other study places and they are trying to get hands-on experience in the field that they're wanting to work in once they've completed their study.

“They’re getting to do all these things that they wouldn't normally do: things like going horse riding, going to Flip Out, going on some of the local bush walks and to the beach; and [the mentees are] just really enjoying having outings with the mentors.”

To put your name down for a mentoring role with the Youth Frontiers Mentoring Program or to refer a young person to the program, visit the website.