Life-Changing Mentoring for Young People in Care

Break supports children and young people in care across East Anglia, giving them the love and stability they need to reach their full potential. We provide homes, fostering families, disability services and emotional support, as well as practical life skills through work experience, apprenticeships, and our popular mentoring programme.

And our support continues beyond age 18, offering lifelong care whenever and whereever they need it — just as any good family would. 

We know this approach is working. The young people supported by us have significantly better life outcomes than the national average.

Why is mentoring important?

Many of our young people have had an incredibly difficult start in life, with little consistent family support. They can often find it challenging to manage emotions, form relationships and trust others.  

We believe they deserve good people in their life. That’s why our volunteer mentors play such a cruicial role for our young people. 

Mentors offer vital encouragement, stability, and guidance to help them overcome these obstacles. It means they always have someone there for them. 

You may have had an informal mentor in your own youth without realising it. A teacher who always made you feel heard. A sports coach who motivated you to the next goal. Or maybe a relative who made time to help you out.  

Our young people need this to. We currently have a waiting list of young people eager to be matched with a mentor, but we need more funding to meet this demand. 

Your help means we can expand our life-changing mentoring program. Your donation will make sure every young person can have someone there they can rely on. 

And thanks to Mortgage Advice Bureau all donations will be matched, trippling the impact of your contribution and helping your support go even further! 

Donate today and more young people build brighter futures.

What happens in a mentoring session? 

No mentor relationship is the same. Here are some of our stories and a look at the important work our mentors do: 

• Tom got his first job with his mentor’s help, learning to manage work challenges without family support. He doesn't have family to ask for advice but having a mentor meant he had someone there to talk to about his worries and concerns.
• Ben asked his mentor to help him join a local tennis club, giving him the confidence to walk in the door and now they train together.
• Abbey was struggling to find purpose in her life. Her mentor is helping her by encouraging to try new things and having a consistent schedule for when they meet. Abbey now feels safe with her mentor and is enjoying new experiences to help her find her passions. 
• Caroline and her mentor both have young children, and Caroline will call when she needs help with something, wants parenting advice or just wants to have a chat. 

Find out more about our mentoring service: https://www.break-charity.org/charity/our-work/volunteer-mentoring/

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