Pillars Ka Pou Whakahou, a charity supporting the children and families of people in prison, is looking for more mentors for children impacted by parental incarceration.
Mentoring matters for children of prisoners, who often come from unstable pasts and uncertain futures. Pillars is committed to creating positive futures for children of prisoners and needs more volunteer mentors to help make a difference.
Children of people in prison are 9.5 times more likely to go to prison themselves without intervention. Pillars are committed to lowering this statistic, through their volunteer mentoring programme, paired with wrap-around social work support for families.
Pillars mentors not only change children’s lives, but they change their own. They act as an aunty, uncle, big brother, or big sister figure who are the joke tellers, adventurer and trusted supporters, that these children often do not have.
“Mentoring is the highlight of my week; I get so much out of it. Seeing my mentee grow has been amazing. Watching her develop her personality and expressing who she is. Being a stable person in a child’s life is so rewarding. – Pillars Mentor
Pillars mentors see their mentees once a fortnight for minimum of a year. Pillars also puts on multiple mentoring events throughout the year, where mentors can connect with each other, and children meet other young people just like them. Mentors also attend monthly supervisions, receiving support, education, and advice throughout their mentoring journey.
Pillars mentoring programme is in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) and Ōtautahi (Christchurch).
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