One of the privilege's of being the Mayor of Wells is that I have the honour of choosing a charity to be the Mayors Charity for the year.

For this year I have chosen a Somerset charity PROMISEworks

PROMISEworks is a Somerset-based registered charity set up in 2017. It recruits, trains, and supports volunteers, to provide one-to-one mentoring to help improve the mental health, and well-being of some of Somerset’s most vulnerable young people, aged from 5 to 25. 

The charity receives referrals from schools, other professionals including the police, and voluntary groups. Children are referred for a variety of reasons:  mental and/or physical health problems; or where difficulties faced by parents are adversely affecting the children. 

Through a long-term, trusting relationship with an adult, a young person can develop resilience, self-esteem, and emotional well-being to help each of them “build a life that works". The PROMISE is for the mentor to remain alongside the young person for at least 2 years, becoming a source of support that has been missing in a turbulent life. The young people learn to trust their mentor, something many find difficult. 

Currently 120 young people have a PROMISEworks mentor. However, the Covid crisis has worsened outcomes for many vulnerable families, and the charity has had double the normal rate of referrals leaving them with a waiting list of around 250.  

They need more mentors.  An ideal mentor is someone who has time, who cares, who wants to communicate and have fun. You don’t need to have a tough childhood yourself to mentor, nor do you need to have had a perfect upbringing and been a top scholar. Mentors are normal people who bring their life experience to the role, offering a different and supportive perspective for the young person. The normal highs, and lows that most of us encounter during our lives are the shared experience amongst most of the volunteers. If you know of anyone who might be interested, please contact PROMISEworks via the website which also has more information including feedback from mentees and mentors.

Joanna Davey, who lives near Wells is a mentor and she would be happy to answer any questions.
You can contact her on 01749 670425 or joannadavey1988@gmail.com

Website: https://www.promiseworks.org.uk/

Call: +44 (0)300 3651 900

Email: info@PROMISEworks.org.uk

Address: PROMISEworks, PO Box 5475, Wells, BA5 9BY