Community mentors - About-Us - Upstream

Community mentors

Community Mentors are a key feature of the successful outreach approach initiated by Upstream, and about to be developed throughout Devon under the My Life My Choice programme. Upstream mentors are part-time, paid staff, often with creative or teaching skills, working in the community within clear management structures and governance. They are becoming an integral part of the health and social care structure.

They identify, encourage and support people who are more isolated or at risk of becoming isolated, or who are losing confidence, as well as people who have had serious health issues and are recovering from treatment and support from the multi-disciplinary team. They work with adults across generations and give support to carers and minority ethnic groups. They help to motivate and support people through community involvement; they signpost people to existing activities in the community where appropriate and they help to develop small creative and social groups that become independent, or rather ‘inter-dependent’, supported by and contributing to their own communities. The job description and skills of the mentors have evolved in response to Upstream’s ‘action research’ and consultation with professionals and participants which has been independently evaluated. The role of Community Mentors has been praised by health and social care authorities and by central government as an example of good practice, exploring a new way of working with vulnerable people in communities.

In one sense, mentors are ‘teaching’ people to ‘learn’ again. They have individual caseloads but work as a team. The respect and trust that grows between the participants and mentors is crucial to success. Mentors are not seen as ‘counsellors’, ‘befrienders’ or health and social care professionals. Their job is to enable people to become as independent as possible, supported by, and contributing to, their own communities, gaining an improved sense of well-being and quality of life in its widest sense. Regular peer development is an important aspect of the work alongside skills training from a clinical psychologist, health and social care professionals, and others.

Outcomes for participants from support from mentors:

• Gaining an improved sense of well-being and quality of life in its widest sense.
  
• Developing social relationships and involvement in a cycle of regular activity to better sustain their positive commitment.
• Moving beyond externally organised self-improvement toward a more flexible and largely self-organised approach, sharing knowledge and meaning through their own Healthy Living Community.
• Skills and confidence to take control of their own health choices and social support need; individuals and communities stimulated to become ‘free-standing’.

“Elderly people lose their confidence. You need a push, someone to encourage you. This is where Upstream are good because they go in gently. The mentors build up their confidence and that’s what they need. That’s so important because loneliness in old age is dreadful and it just gets worse and worse and worse.’ (GP)

One mentor, who himself retired and come to live in Devon away from his familiar roots and social supports, observed: “I don’t mind noticing a parallel between how I am feeling and what we are trying to develop in our participants – the investment of hope.”