Family Help Mentor

Family Help Mentor Role Description 

About the Refugee and Migrant Centre 

• RMC vision: A society where newcomers feel welcome, valued and live dignified lives. 
• RMC mission: We will act with humanity and compassion – knowing that with the right support and a chance to rebuild their lives, people can go on to thrive and be equal citizens.  

To fulfil our mission and vision, RMC offers advice and guidance in the areas of housing and destitution, training, employment, health and immigration.  RMC provides a free drop-in service with face-to-face, holistic advice, support and guidance to clients. 

This role will be based at the Walsall Office of RMC and involve travel throughout the West Locality of Walsall.  

The aim of the pathfinder pilot is to support families in that locality who are subject to a Child Protection Plan and who will have lost trust in statuary provision.  

Pathfinder volunteers will be supported by the Project Lead who sits within the Resettlement and Integration Team at RMC. We will be looking to recruit two types of volunteers; mentors and advocates. Both have distinct remits within the programme, and we envisage that they will have limited overlap.  

Mentors will support families, parents, over a 12-week programme and look at specific aspects of family life with which to support. Advocates will support families before, during and after Child Protection meetings, ensuring the voices of parents and children are heard.  

An enhanced DBS check and two satisfactory references will be required for this role.  

The Family Help Mentors would:  

• Support families over a 12-week period.  
• Assess support needs and wants at the initial stage.  
• Facilitate the completion of a well-being measure at the beginning middle and end stages of the 12-week period.  
• Support parents at appointments.  
• Attend activities and community events.  
• Assist in accessing provision and services within the West Locality as identified by the parent(s).  
• Increase awareness of the role of statutory services.  
• Assessing why families have lost trust, and any specific barriers associated with accessing specific public sector agencies.  
• Helping families plan for time, effort, and commitment from all parties involved, agreeing milestones.  
• Support by referring and enabling access to counselling, mediation, or other support services.  

Activities and Specific measures:  

• Obtain regular feedback from families about their experiences with statutory services in one-to-one sessions and via the client panel.  
• Work with each family in a way that meets their needs via provision of interpreting services, easy read materials, meeting at a place where they feel comfortable, adjusting pace of support.  
• Interaction with Non-Uniformed Personnel: Conduct meetings at our offices or other neutral locations to create a more approachable environment.  
• Provide explanations of the role of statutory services and the rights of residents in families' native languages.  
• Stand alongside mentees, reminding them of their own strengths and resources, and encourage services, with the presence of parents, to recognise and listen to the voice of the child.  
• Having open and honest conversations about the consequences of not engaging with statutory services by discussing potential scenarios.  
• Ensure families are aware of all their options and have the knowledge required to make informed choices that are their own.  
• Encourage positive experiences through mentors who have similar interests to improve confidence and mitigate barriers to accessing services.  
• Attend meetings with schools and other services, with the family's permission, to balance the power dynamics young people and families experience through Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).  

Skills required 

We provide a comprehensive induction, on-going training and support to all our volunteers but there are some skills we require you to have before you begin with us, these include: 

• A friendly and approachable personality 
• Enthusiastic and passionate about working with families 
• Willingness to work as part of a team 
• An understanding and acceptance of equal opportunities 
• An awareness of safeguarding policy and practice, including knowledge of statutory services 
• A willingness to travel and carry out home visits as part of the role 
• Basic computer skills 
• A good level of English speaking, reading and writing with good verbal communication skills 
• Speaking a language or languages, in addition to English, is desirable, but not essential.   

Other information 

Disabled access: Yes 

Insurance: Yes 

Travel Expenses: Yes 

Induction: Yes 

Training: Yes 

Health and Safety Policy: Yes 

Equal Opportunities Policy: Yes 

Application process 

The application process will involve the completion of an application form, an informal face-to-face meeting, reference checks and a DBS.  

If you would like more information on the role, you can find out more and complete your application on our website.