Youth Endowment Fund Grant Helps Keep Young People Away From Violence and Exploitation through Restorative Mentoring.

Today, UpskillU announces it has received a significant grant from the Youth Endowment Fund to help young people at risk of criminal exploitation and violence with the support of Mentors.

Upskill will be expanding its already successful EXODUS mentoring programme in Northamptonshire, London Borough of Haringey and Oakhill STC (Milton Keynes). The fund will enable nearly 1,000 young people to participate in YEF’s Trusted Adults GR4 funded programme. UpskillU will be working with key statutory agencies across the partner services to ensure to right young people benefit from this opportunity.

Mentors are trained in restorative practice, alongside trauma informed and strengthbased approaches and come with lived experience and knowledge of many the challenges and issues facing the young people they will be supporting.

The mentoring provides 12 months of 1-1 support at the end of which the young person is introduced to their very own COSA or Circle of Support and Accountability which incorporates a group of five volunteers from the local community trained to work restoratively in supporting the young people beyond the intervention.

Recognising that modern youth culture is built around a digital generation who have grown using technology and spending significant time communicating online, EXODUS offers a blended delivery combining both face-to-face and virtual sessions. Within these sessions, mentors are able to build trust and create a safe space for young people to explore potentially traumatic experiences, develop their critical decision making, empowering them to make positive life choices.

This significant funding not only allows UpskillU to expand its services within the community but alongside its evaluation partner CORAM really examine and evidence the impact of its work as a model of best practice.