Y's Girls

Y’s Girls mentoring project matches trained volunteer mentors with young women aged 9-14 to support them to be their best.

Over the initial 19-month pilot, Y’s Girls has matched 270 girls to adult mentors and was awarded Family & Youth Work Project of the Year at the Youth Matters Awards 2022.

Over a year, mentors and young people meet for two-hour sessions and work together to identify achievable goals that will empower the mentee and build their resilience, enabling them to lead fulfilling lives and improve their short and long-term mental health and wellbeing. The sessions offer an informal environment with the opportunity to discuss anything that might worry them, from family and personal relationships to lifestyle and education.

An external evaluation conducted by the Centre for Youth Impact found that Y’s Girls is an early and effective intervention that positively impacts six social and emotional learning skills that are indicative of better short and long-term mental health, that it is a young-person-centred and inclusive programme, with a clear relationship between quality and impact.