The Island's plan of action

The Island • July 27, 2020

Due to the ongoing pandemic, we're offering more support to The Island families who are struggling to remain positive during this unsettling time. Below you will find a list of ways in which we are supporting our Island families. If you wish to donate towards our work then please click here .

 

What are we doing to support The Island families?

We are currently supporting the existing cohort of young people in various ways. This includes all young people who have been through the assessment process and remain on our waiting list, in groups or accessing one-to-one mentoring. This is open to 165 families and young people in the City of York and we are doing this through:

 

Regular food hampers

All of The Island families are contacted on a fortnightly basis to see how they are doing and if they require a hamper of hope to be delivered. This service will continue over the summer holidays to the most vulnerable of The Island families.


Activity and resource packs

All of The Island families are contacted regularly to see how their children are doing and to see if an activity and resource pack is needed to keep them busy during this unsettling time.


Support, guidance and signposting

We are currently operating a 24/7 phone line where our Island families can get in touch for some additional support if they require it.


The Island quiz night

We are offering a weekly quiz night through Zoom for Island families to get involved in. The quiz nights are a great way for them to further develop their relationships with their families as well as get the opportunity to meet other families virtually.


Weekly newsletter

Each week, we send out a newsletter to all of The Island families which provides them with a wide range of information, guidance, support and home activities that they can do at home.


Virtual and penpal mentoring

Our temporary virtual and penpal mentoring service has been a huge success and has enabled our mentors to stay in touch with their mentees during this difficult time.


Regular family check-ins 

We are committed to ensuring that our Island families remain happy and resilience during this unsettling time. We remain in regular contact with all of our families via phone/video calls and text which have provided parents and carers with much-needed advice to ensure the whole family remains positive during COVID-19.

What's next and important dates?

 

As a small independent charity, we are currently working on our plans for safe working practice and undertaking extensive consultation with our volunteers.

 

Our plans going forward include:

 

Bubble summer holiday groups

 

We will be offering some group sessions this August in line with the current guidelines. We will take a maximum of 6 young people per group and this will only be open to existing Island families only. Places will be allocated by The Island staff team supported by correspondence and feedback from the families.


Ongoing virtual training for new volunteer mentors

We envisage that there will be a high demand for our services once the referral process reopens. With this in mind, we are currently recruiting and training new volunteer mentors so that we can reduce our waiting list numbers significantly. Anyone wishing to volunteer with us should

click here to download an application form .


Re-engagement of existing one-to-one mentoring relationships

We hope by mid-August to reintroduce existing mentoring relationships, however, this is currently being monitored daily to ensure things can move forward safely.


Contact with pending referrals

 By September, we hope to start accessing and pairing up mentors with their mentees.


Reopening of new referrals

We are hoping to reopen our mentoring services to new referrals by mid-September, however, this will be completely dependent on how the situation is going with the ongoing pandemic.


New assessments, matching and home visits to commence taking place

 We hope by October we will be able to start assessing children and matching them up with a suitable mentor.


Group based mentoring

We are unable to give a date on when our group based mentoring sessions will resume. We will continue to follow government guideline and will reopen all of our services once it is safe to do so.


All of the above is subject to the continued progression and lifting of restrictions concerning COVID-19. If at any point The Island does not feel it is safe or practical to implement any of the above they will review service delivery as required in the best interests of all parties and their safety and wellbeing.

 

If you have any questions about any of the above then please click here to get in touch . Alternatively, if you would like to donate towards our work then please click here .

 

An interview with a Volunteer Mentor

By Emma Bewlay • September 28, 2023
What interested you about becoming an Island Volunteer Mentor? I was interested in volunteering and personal development to enhance my career prospects. I was at a stage where I was confused as to where I wanted to go next but I knew I was good with people, and I knew that my personality would suit working one to one with a young person. I knew that I could pass on good advice and life experience. How long did you mentor for The Island? I mentored for around 15 months. Every week for around 2 hours on a Thursday night. Sometimes we would miss a session due to various factors, but these sessions were caught up on. What did you enjoy most about the Mentoring? I enjoyed being able to experience many different activities with my young person and being able to see their confidence grow. I enjoyed catching up and hearing stories from the week and focusing my attention on that session. Different social settings allowed me to guide my young person and relay stories from my experience which I knew would be helpful. This was enjoyable as I knew I was passing on vital helpful advice for adulthood. Why do you think Mentoring is important for young people? I think in today's world with social media and the stresses on life can be overwhelming for everyone. For a young person to be guided by a mentor, they can step away from that world for a short while and express themselves or let off steam in an environment where they can be nurtured and not judged. With the guidance of a mentor, the young person can take the advice into everyday life which will hopefully help them in difficult and stressful situations. The young person can build up a relationship with the mentor and know that they have trust in them to be able to openly talk about their feelings away from a family, friend it school setting. Please let us know how you have found the support from the island and which aspects you have found the most valuable? I found the support very good and easy to access. I knew that if I needed any support or advice, I could email or call my supervisor. I found the group sessions with other mentors helpful as we could come together and talk about our experience and use any advice in future sessions. Hearing stories from other mentoring experiences was highly valued. Has the Island supported you with any future plans personally or professionally? If so, could you share this with us? The island has kept in touch with me regarding several career opportunities throughout the mentoring process that I have considered. I know that I could sit with the island and discuss any plans if I needed to. Most of all, they have helped my confidence and gave me a platform to express myself and follow my goals which has put me in good stead for next move in my career as a health trainer. The skills and experience I have gained from my mentoring will be transferred over to this next role. At the Island, we are constantly looking for people who have the ability to listen, and who feel that they can develop a positive rapport with children and young people in an honest, challenging and non-judgemental way. All prospective volunteer mentors receive training, support and supervision. This covers such areas as communication, child protection, equal opportunities and often, in the process mentors learn more about themselves, too. To find out more about our volunteer opportunities please click here www.theislandyork.org
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