The power of  mentoring to reduce youth violence 

A mentor can be one of the most positive role models in a young person’s life. By building a strong, trusting relationship with a suitable adult brings many emotional, social and developmental benefits – may of which directly reduce the risk of children’s involvement in violence 

How mentoring helps prevent youth violence 

Mentoring can significantly reduce youth violence in multiple ways: 

• Positive role models: Mentors can reduce negative behaviours such as violence, substance misuse etc as the young person can realise that this behaviour isn’t positive, nor healthy.  
• Emotional support:  supporting a young person’s mental wellbeing by having a trusted adult to talk to and by reducing the feeling of loneliness – limiting negative and risky behaviours that can lead to youth violence. 
• Skill development: According to the YEF Toolkit, mentoring improves self-regulation, communication, and problem-solving—key social-emotional skills linked to lower rates of violence and crime. 

What makes mentoring programmes effective? 

To maximise impact, mentoring programmes should include topics such as: 

• Healthy relationships: including friendships as well as romantic relationships 
• The impact of crime: to both the perpetrator and the victim 
• Drugs and alcohol: covering both drug use and drug dealing/running and informing young people of the risks of both and where they can access support from
• Community safety: explaining to the young person what is okay and what isn’t okay and what to do if they witness/ are involved with something that isn’t okay 

It’s important that mentoring programmes are specifically tailored to individual needs. For example, if a young person is involved in knife crime the programme needs to be tailored around: knife crime, crime, appropriate behaviours, appropriate friendships and healthy relationships and how to handle potentially volatile situations. It should also get down to the main issue – why they carried the knife in the first place.  

YEF’s Toolkit emphasises that structure matters – effective programmes often combine mentoring with specific skills training to foster sustainable social-emotional development.  

What makes a great mentor? 

It’s important to recruit people who have the correct skills and qualities to be a mentor. It is just as important, if not more important, that the mentor has the right qualities/knowledge and is the right fit for the young person.  

Here are a few I think are key: 

• Empathy: engaging with and understanding young people without judgement.  
• Understanding of lived experience:  to understand the struggles young people face and how that may make them feel. 
• Cultural and digital awareness: this is especially true when it comes to social media for teenagers and the importance of it in today’s world. No young person likes to hear “In my day there was none of this social media rubbish”. 
• Reliability and consistency: You have to be able to commit to the role of a mentor because if a young person can’t trust you, there’s no relationship there, especially for young people who struggle to trust. 
• Long term commitment:  Avoiding swapping mentors means all the progress a young person has made could effectively be gone. 
• Supportive: offering emotional stability and guidance, essential for those who’ve felt unsafe. 

Jessica’s mentoring experience 

I asked one of our Youth Advisory Board member’s Jessica to describes her mentoring experience: 

“My mentoring sessions were delivered on a one-to-one basis and took place in either an education or community setting. Our first few sessions were all about me and building a rapport. She asked about my likes, dislikes, passions and my current situation (at the time I was doing my A-level exams). 

Our families knew each other and were from the same country. Over the years, she has taken on a big sister role. Then she asked me more specific questions to my goal like – “what problem do you want to solve in this world?” One thing that stood out to me was how my mentor was able to deconstruct my mindset and help me rebuild it.  

She emphasised being intentional and we used a vision board to help me understand how to achieve my goals for the next 5 years. For example, with my university course, I learnt that how I view my assignments will determine my outcome, so I viewed them as a project that could change the industry. Over time I became more confident in myself and less anxious about my future. I understood that things aren’t always linear and felt empowered!” 

Mentoring empowers young people to realise that they can make a difference, no matter their age. I have had the opportunity to volunteer as a mentor with young people. I found the experience both deeply rewarding and eye opening. It was genuinely fulfilling to be part of something that allowed me to make a positive impact, even in small ways whether through listening, encouraging creativity, or simply showing up consistently for someone else.

I was struck by how much young people benefit from having someone just a little older to look up to or talk to, especially when they feel they aren’t being heard elsewhere.

Considerations for funders and decision makers

Mentoring works – especially for young people exhibiting risky and criminal behaviours. Programmes provide a Trusted adult who offers hope, structure and stability. Mentors aren’t just role models, they’re anchors.

Final thoughts

In conclusion, mentors play an important role because they work with young people to understand the struggles they have and support them to stabilise their life. While they may not be able to undo the past, their encouragement and belief in a young person’s potential can be incredibly powerful in helping that young person move forward. Sometimes, just knowing that someone cares is enough.