Principles-Based Practice
The Art of Community Mentoring – Values/Principles-Based Facilitation
Duration: Dependent on topics chosen
This workshop is to help mentors (who support others to achieve their goals), carers, support workers, and facilitators who work in community organisations to become more confident, competent and flexible in a dynamic environment.
It was designed to build capability and capacity in those who support disabled people/taangata whaikaha, but can be customised to your organisation’s needs.
We share learnings around how to best serve the people you work with and the community.
It is a practical, hands-on, fun and engaging way of getting new insights into your practice and learning new ways to be a mentor.
These workshops can be delivered to community organisations in our Hamilton office, or at a venue of your choice in New Zealand. No previous experience is necessary.
Every person has goals and aspirations and should be in control of their own life. Some people need support to live their chosen best life. We look at how a person can contribute their skills and abilities to their communities, including the supports they need and the relationships they need to build.
We urge you to adopt a practice which encourages the people you work with to determine their life paths, and to live as independently as possible. We teach person-driven (not service-driven) practice which optimises individuals’ choice and control of their lives.
We cover understanding the role of the mentor and the mentoring process, and we introduce some mentoring tools.
We focus on self-awareness, self-determination for the people we mentor, and strengthening community.
Staff Self-Awareness
Understanding ourselves (our values, beliefs and behaviours, for example) and how we impact others and the world around us, as well as developing reflexive and reflective skills, are essential attributes for mentors.
Self-Determination
We empower the people we mentor by recognising the authority and control they have over their own lives, and using Enabling Good Lives and Lightest Touch principles which are at the heart of self-determination.
Strengthening Community
We find people’s interests and strengths, then we use community mapping and networking to find existing activities or organisations for them to participate in – which also provide opportunities to contribute to their communities.
Topics that can be covered include:
• Understanding the balance of care and the dignity of risk
• The Lightest Touch Flowchart©
• The Goldilocks principle
• Community Mentoring Framework© – facilitation cycle and processes
• Enabling Good Lives Principles and activities to embed practice
• Growing Effective Relationships – relationship mapping tools
• Asset-Based Community Development – community mapping tools
• Building Community Supports – natural supports and volunteers
• Values of Inclusion
• Reflective practice – for continuous improvement and development
This training is aligned with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Enabling Good Lives, New Zealand Disability Strategy, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi guiding documents.
