The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Lincolnshire Action Trust (LAT) is appealing for women to volunteer to help “females with convictions”.
The charity, which provides support and advice to people with convictions and their families, is in need of some more volunteer mentors – especially for its dedicated women’s service.
Set up in January 2017, the service helps LAT’s female clients and aims to reconnect them with the community in a bid to reduce reoffending rates.
The scheme has proved popular since it was launched, with 269 women from across Lincolnshire having accessed the service between March 2017 and April 2018.
Georgia Pengelly, Volunteer and Mentoring Co-ordinator at LAT, said there are currently seven women using the service in Spalding. “Not all clients need a mentor, but they can be referred for one if they wish to have one or a practitioner recommends that they have one.”
“Mentors can work with more than one client if they have the time and wish to do so, but usually they work with one at a time, until the mentoring relationship comes to a natural end/goals are achieved.”
LAT said it has a lot of referrals in the South Holland.
“Our current volunteer mentors do a fantastic job and really make a positive difference to people’s lives, which is why we’ve decided to expand our offering,” said Georgia.
The charity is seeking people over the age of 18 from a variety of backgrounds, who can dedicate around two hours of their time per week – an hour for their meeting and up to an hour to account for travelling time and writing a follow-up report.
Georgia explains: “To work specifically on the women’s service volunteers must be female, but we get plenty of referrals from other LAT projects where male mentors may be needed, so we don’t want to discourage men from applying.”
Typically, mentors will meet with their mentee to provide a listening ear and emotional support, which is often done during a catch-up over a coffee.
Some clients have specific goals in mind, such as securing employment, so mentors may also be required to offer more practical support.
“Full training is given, so it isn’t necessary to have any previous experience of mentoring,” says Georgia. “We would like to recruit a mixture of ages, as each age group can provide a wealth of experience in lots of different areas.”
To register an interest, email volunteering@latcharity.org.uk or call 01522 806611 and ask for Georgia or Aysha.
