A PROGRAM is looking for mentors to help women and non-binary people in Ballarat who are currently interacting with the legal system.<\/p>\n
Known as Women and Mentoring or WAM, the program trains and resources supporters so they can provide help to mentees.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe matches can go anywhere from six months to two years and usually they meet on a weekly basis and what they do together will depend on the person\u2019s goals,\u201d said Ballarat coordinator Emily Murphy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt could be to go to court, navigating Centrelink, going for coffee, things like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe look for people with a variety of life experiences and who have empathy and understanding and people who won\u2019t be judgemental.\u201d<\/p>\n
The program has been shown to make a positive difference by assisting with confidence, finding coping mechanisms, and responding to legal matters with most participants avoiding a prison sentence and not reoffending.<\/p>\n
Mentee, Sharelle Dixon, said the support from her mentor allowed her to finally move forwards.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s lots of women out there like myself who don\u2019t know what to do or they\u2019ve got anxiety, depression and they just aren\u2019t able to do things on their own,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey need that bit of a push from a mentor to guide them to move forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cI missed my correction orders and tended to go backwards and don\u2019t have the family support or friends\u2019 support.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I am better than I have been before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Dixon said she\u2019s been able to achieve many of her goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am pleased that I am getting there, I had to do two courses to get my licence and I passed so that was an achievement for me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother achievement was going to the dentist and getting my teeth pulled out and dentures later on, so my mentor made sure I went to the appointments, and I went to court.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patricia Powell has been working a a Mentor said working with the program has been a satisfying experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard about it from some friends and I thought that sounds like something I would like to do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have learnt a lot about what\u2019s out there in the community for people in need, which I never knew before, and a lot about myself has changed like realising how much people do need help because of the background they\u2019ve had.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Powell said she loved seeing the person she\u2019s supporting find happiness.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest thing of all I think was helping my mentee gain confidence and believe in herself,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019d had an extremely difficult life and had no confidence and didn\u2019t really know how to mix with regular society.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe realises now she was taken advantage of all her life and now she\u2019s come through a lot of that and realising what life can be like.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe difference is unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n