Meet Sharon
Sharon is one of our dedicated Volunteer Mentors, who has been a mentor at Hope for the Young for four years.
Sharon has supported two young people from Sudan and Eritrea and currently is an incredible mentor to two sisters from Syria, alongside being an advocate and supporter of Hope for the Young’s work. She came across Hope for the Young when she was exploring voluntary positions that she could start in her retirement and wanted to work with young refugees specifically, as she’d seen a lot of negative narratives in the media and couldn’t imagine how it would feel to arrive in an unfamiliar country, with unfamiliar systems and often not even being able to speak the language.
Sharon has supported young people in lots of different ways, such as helping them to access medical services (like registering with a local doctor), finding a place at college and supporting with the enrolment process and helping young people grow in confidence with their ESOL studies.
“We have also had lots of laughter and fun along the way too, exploring London and local areas.”
Sharon shared that one of the highlights of her time being a mentor was seeing a young person succeed in a tribunal hearing when the process was very intensive – she was “thrilled to bits when the judgement was in the young person’s favour.”
She has found her time mentoring “really interesting and rewarding” seeing the young people that she has mentored “grow in confidence and learn how to become independent and access services themselves.”
We asked Sharon if she could give other Volunteer Mentors some top tips…
"To always look forward, not backwards, and do your best to empower them in their fresh start."
Want to support young refugees to settle into life in the UK and achieve their goals? Click the buttons below to become a mentor yourself or donate to help more young people receive mentoring support.