The Proud Mentor’s programme is available for any young person aged 13+ and provides regular one-to-one support from a trained LGBT+ adult. Our cohort of volunteer LGBT+ Adult Mentors are drawn from a range of occupations and receive comprehensive in-house training and supervision. They can provide regular weekly bespoke one-to-one sessions for young people around goal setting, signposting, self-care and mutual care. Youth workers can refer a young person to be connected with a mentor by completing the form below; please be sure to discuss this with the young person beforehand and complete the form together so that they are aware of the referral and the next steps of the pairing process.

What happens next:

Once the form has been submitted it will go to the Mentor Lead who will ensure the referral is at the appropriate level for a mentor. If so, the Mentor Lead will confirm with the youth worker and provide an anticipated timeframe for the pairing. If not, the Mentor Lead will contact the youth worker to discuss alternative support for the young person.

The Mentor Lead will then be in touch with the young person to gather more information about who they would like to be paired with (include identity characteristics and shared interests, etc.), although please be clear with the young person from the start that we will do our best to accommodate this but there is no guarantee.

The Mentor Lead will then pair the young person with a mentor and arrange an initial meeting in which a member of The Proud Trust staff will attend to facilitate introductions.

Mentoring sessions will then be arranged between the mentor and the young person going forward. Mentors will record their interactions via the mentor portal on the The Proud Trust website; these records will be migrated to the young person’s profile on the MI.

Once the young person and the mentor agree to end the mentoring relationship, they will inform the Mentor Lead who will also update the youth worker for reference.

If you think a young person could benefit from the Proud Mentor programme, please complete the following referral form.