I have seen first hand how important the mentoring programme is to the LGBT+ young people.  During the pandemic, we were able to mentor remotely.  This connection to a young person was invaluable as there were times where they could not meet with their friends.  Talking about how they feel and what they want to do in the future is so valuable to the mentee. Mentors can be a sounding board.  We can also be a support.  This may not always be available to an LGBT+ young person.
Mentor

I wanted to give back to the community because I know there are a lot of resources out there that I made use of. I think that mentoring gives me an insight into the future generations that are going to come after us. It’s a really positive interaction and I’d hope I have some guidance and experience I could bring to try and make sure they don’t go through similar things that I did.
Mentor

Mainly we just talk about day to day stuff as well as stuff that’s going on at home. So stuff outside of things to do with my gender. We also talk about mental health as that’s a big thing that I talk about having anxiety and stuff. The support my mentor gives me is so great. Whenever I’m overthinking stuff it’s nice to talk it out with someone. Having someone who is older and has been through similar situations has definitely helped because there’s a lot of sort of perspectives to it not just to do with LGBT+ stuff. It’s sort of helped with my independence. At college I kind of kept to myself as I socially transitioned but now having had a gap year and having a mentor gave me stability and routine with support to go out into the world and meet people. I’ve learned to not overthink as much which is a skill I will take with me to uni.
Mentee

Volunteering has been such an uplifting experience for me. The giving of your time to a very worthy organisation is a win-win. You will feel like you belong to a community while also building the community with the volunteering that you do.
Mentor

If you are thinking about getting a mentor don’t be afraid to ask for it! I didn’t want to bother other people and I thought that they wouldn’t understand the stuff I was experiencing so I kept quiet for ages but the best thing would be to access it as soon as you can as you just feel better in yourself.
Mentee

Having had a mentor it’s made me want to definitely be a mentor for someone else. The thought of how positively this impacted me, I would love to be able to give that to someone else and show them that you can be in a stronger position and eventually it is all okay. I think it would be something nice to do.
Mentee

You can’t help but reflect on things and your own life and stuff through these conversations as it’s a two way street. Having some of [my mentee’s] perceptions and insights into it have been invaluable to me. Knowing that the next generation are going to be like [my mentee] is so reassuring.
Mentor