Specialist Merseyside-based property lender Bridging Finance Solutions is offering its support to Wirral youth zone, The Hive
Merseyside property lender Bridging Finance Solutions (BFS) is offering its support to Wirral youth zone, The Hive.
BFS is funding The Hive’s mentoring programme which supports some of the most vulnerable and at-risk children across the Wirral. Due to funding cuts, the Hive is looking for external support to help fund some of its projects.
A year’s salary has now been earmarked for their mentor whose role sees them manage up to 45 mentees. Stuart Barnes, chief executive of The Hive, said: “Our mentoring project is a critical part of the support we provide.
“Our mentors offer support to young people aged between eight and 19 (up to 25 with additional needs and disabilities) who face a range of issues and challenging circumstances including family breakdown, exclusion from mainstream education or engagement in antisocial or criminal activity.
“The co-ordination and management of our team of volunteer mentors is incredibly labour intensive and challenging. Volunteer mentors undergo a rigorous screening and training programme before they are carefully matched with their mentee.
“They are then given a high level of support and guidance overseeing the mentor and young person relationship, offering additional guidance on issues that may need further external support.
“Without the mentor co-ordinator, we wouldn’t essentially be able to offer a mentor service which would have a huge impact on the increasing numbers of young people needing our help.”
Steve Barber, managing director of BFS added: “As a Wirral based business, for us it’s incredibly important to work with and support local charities. We visited the Hive and it had a huge impact on us all. From our discussions, we found that the ideal way to make a real difference would be to help retain the brilliant team that work there.”