This last week at Shine mentoring in Dundee in the Barnardos team we have been able to make use of the other Barnardos services that operate in this area to benefit the mentees that we work with. Sharing an office with our Barnardos colleagues gives us a great insight into the work they do and being aware of their work has enabled us to refer many of our mentees onto other projects that we know will assist them.
I am currently working with a mentee who is doing really well, she has been in recovery for 6 months now and is at a stage where she wants to look for employment, due to her age and background I was able to speak to my colleagues at Barnardos Works and they have offered her a place on one of their employability fund programmes. She will be spending 2 days a week on a work placement and one day a week in a small group with other young people focusing on writing her c.v. receiving support for her placement and completing a qualification in “steps to work”. If this goes well she will be able to progress and hopefully into employment, she will be supported all the way and helped to reach this outcome. It’s great to be able to link in with them and help her reach a positive destination.
We also have a great partnership with another Barnardos project Tayside Domestic Abuse Initiative. Last week one of my mentees was involved in a domestic abuse situation I was able to refer her to the team in Dundee to receive some guidance, advice and to help her with safety planning.She is able to benefit from this specific support and have more than just Shine to help her deal with her ongoing issues. Many of the women we work with have benefited from this service and there is often an overlap with our service users.
There are many organisations in Dundee that we work jointly with and it’s great to be able to draw on support from other colleagues to provide as much support and encouragement to our mentees and they seek to move on in their lives.