Raise are doing one thing really well - youth mentoring

Teen years can be a challenging time. 

Research shows that 1 in 10 young people are disengaged from school, 3 in 5 experience bullying and that suicide is the most common cause of death (ABS, 2020) among young people in Australia. 

Then there is the negative impacts of the global pandemic. It’s no wonder many young people feel uncertain about what life ahead might be like for them – and what challenges it might hold.

It makes sense that mental health and wellbeing can be under pressure.

Raise offers a way to support young people through difficulties and uncertainties. Through a youth mentoring program, they connect young people with a caring independent mentor to help navigate the challenges.

Founded in 2008, Raise is a national charity dedicated to helping young people. Raise works with hundreds of schools nationwide delivering best practice, evidence-based programs in secondary schools to provide a safe place to support young people. 

Positive, lasting change

Raise measures the positive impact of their mentor program.

Of the 2000 young people supported by mentoring in 2021, 7 in 10 reported dealing with issues like anxiety and stress; 2 in 5 being subject to bullying and more than a quarter had experienced suicidal thoughts or attempts. 

Raise worked to equip these young people to develop coping strategies and to build resilience. Importantly, it empowered them to ask for help. Ultimately the results was that there was an improved sense belonging in the school community and nurtured their hope in the future.

Safety is paramount and trust is everything

The program involves recruiting and training everyday people from the local community to become youth mentors. Then mentors were matched with a young person. While the training for the mentors supported their interactions, for the young people, knowing there as someone to talk to – who would show up just for them every week – spoke volumes.

For schools, it was an opportunity to support up to 15 young people and extend the work of their wellbeing teams through the chance to provide hundreds of additional hours of support each year and reaching more of those in need.

A community solution, with nationwide ambition

Through partnerships and working together across the community Raise’s ambition is to offer youth mentoring programs to every public secondary school in Australia and to reach as many young people as possible. 

To achieve this, Raise is keen to collaborate, innovate and find new funding partners, individuals, and families that will be the difference and help shape a brighter future for young Australians. 

Partnering with Raise means supporting a future generation, their schools, parents and all the other people that care for them and their futures.