Mates Mentoring

Temcare’s MATES program provides various levels of support for adolescents aged between 10 and 15, including:

  • Mentoring.
  • Youth Worker involvement.

In terms of mentoring, Temcare connects an adult Christian volunteer mentor with a young person for regular organised activities and group social events. The volunteer brings his or her life experiences to the mentor/mentee relationship and seeks to assist the young person with; general life skills, forming positive social networks, exploring constructive lifestyle options, and making positive career choices.

All Temcare volunteer mentors are comprehensively assessed and are required to obtain a current ‘Working with Children Check’ and to submit to a ‘National Criminal History Check’.

The MATES program also offers individual support from a qualified Youth Worker for those adolescents who require a more specialised level of intervention.

Referrals for either or both levels of support can be made via the website referral process.

An annual camp is organised for all adolescents involved in the MATES programs. This event provides opportunities to further consolidate relationships and to explore matters of faith for those interested in doing so.

Temcare additionally has a partnership with Prison Fellowship Australia to provide the Temcare MATES program to adolescent children of prisoners.