What this section should help with:
- Preparing to help a young person to work through HOPEFUL
- Understanding what will happen in the HOPEFUL modules
It’s helped to have someone like my mentor, who has gotten to know you, to have someone believe in your potential for change.
Preparation for starting HOPEFUL
We appreciate that being a HOPEFUL mentor does represent a commitment of time and effort – and we understand that your time is not limitless. We recommend doing the steps below in preparation for your HOPEFUL mentoring sessions. However, if you cannot make the time to do all or even any of these steps, don’t worry at all. We have designed the modules to be as easily understandable as possible. You should be able to support the young person you are mentoring to work through HOPEFUL without having done any preparation.
Nonetheless, if you can make some time to prepare for HOPEFUL meetings, we suggest doing the following steps (as many as you have time for). We have listed them in order, starting with what we think will be most helpful.
- Read the preparatory material for the module you will work on (see following pages)
- Re-read the principles of HOPEFUL mentoring summary (part two in this manual)
- Read the module contents page (see young person’s workbook)
- Watch the module introductory video (see link below)
- Read the module conclusions page (see young person’s workbook)
You can briefly look over the individual activity worksheets in each module if you would like to do so. However, all the activities have in-built instructions and should be self-explanatory without needing any preparation. It will be helpful to look with the young person over the activities within a new module when you start it. This will help them to consider which activities they might like to do – and using which options for completing them.
You don’t have to be an expert. I think the key is making sure that it is delivered authentically. Young people are very good at spotting a fake. If you have a conversation about something like hope and it’s clear you’re thinking of something completely different, then young people spot that. Do it in a way that is youth-friendly, that is authentic, that they’re able to give of themselves.