Our Work
Laura’s Story
Hi, I’m Laura and I’m a volunteer mentor at The Door as part of the Gloucestershire Mentoring Programme (GMP). It’s a supportive service run by people who are passionate about connecting with young people who’ve have had exposure to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and trauma.
When I met my mentee, Millie, she’d just turned 11 and was quietly frustrated, confused by the world and her place within it. In the early days, we had gentle conversations around preparing for secondary school and what it meant to be growing up.
We’d meet once a week for a hot drink and chat for an hour or so. It was an opportunity to build a trusted connection, listening to Millie share with me what was going on in her life. She would tell me about the challenges of her siblings, parents and friends – nothing too complicated, just the usual teenager stuff. A few months into mentoring, Millie trusted me enough to share more of her story with me. Millie confided in me how her parents had split up when she was little and how her mum was struggling to manage addiction. I knew from the team at The Door that Millie was living with relatives after being removed from her mum due to neglect, but for Millie to share this with me was a massive step for her to take (and an amazing step in our mentoring relationship too.) Offering this safe space to encourage and support Millie has brought a real sense of hope for the future.
Millie’s story
Millie said “It’s difficult to talk about things with my family because they all have their own opinions about what we’ve been through. I feel safe with my mentor and I can trust Laura to help me see when I’m in the right or wrong. I’m a lot less angry now that I’ve got someone to talk to. When something’s bothering me Laura helps me sort it out. She’s helped me be a lot calmer now and I think I understand my relationships a lot better too. Especially with my mum. I’m so glad that The Door is here to help people like me.”
Updates from the GMP team
Here at GMP we have continued to gently tackle some of the trauma in Millie’s history with compassion and kindness, offering consistency, comfort and commitment to focus on what opportunities lie ahead. We’ve spent time exploring her feelings about her family, thinking about the kind of relationship she can build with her mum, and of course we’re still drinking plenty of hot drinks along the way. We are so pleased with how far she has already come and it’s an absolute privilege to be able to walk alongside her as she discovers the way she wants her life to be.
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