Nurturing the future: Happy Mentoring Month!
January is Mentoring Month, with International Mentoring Day on January 17th. What better time to celebrate the work of our fantastic volunteers, peer mentors, trainee counsellors, and their mentors?
Mentors are integral to every aspect of Kairos’ operations, from the peer mentors or “buddies” who support fellow residents in their earliest days at Linden Grove, to the staff members who support our trainee counsellors and volunteers.
Kairos is incredibly proud of the 21 volunteers and 6 trainee counsellors in our therapeutic and support services, as well as volunteers involved with Kairos Community Bees, who also hosted 4 work experience students in 2023. Notably, over half our staff members have been through Kairos’ rehab processes, many of whom started as volunteers. Several of our volunteers achieved Level 2 and 3 qualifications in Health and Social Care last year.
Director Mossie Lyons said: “Volunteering – and mentoring – has been absolutely vital and an essential part of Kairos right from its beginnings, and is still so today. We are delighted to celebrate all our volunteers, peer mentors, trainee counsellors and their mentors. The impact of your work echoes in the lives you touch.”
This framework benefits both mentees and mentors. Ian West, a Kairos Supervisor at Linden Grove who oversees the development of trainee counsellors, remarked that, “it is incredibly rewarding to witness the growth and development of these future professionals and to know we have played a part in shaping their therapeutic skills.”
Our deepest thanks to all those who invest their time and energy: for your passion, empathy and lived experience, and dedication. Your compassion and commitment is at the heart of our community and its ongoing strength.