The Chiltern Lighthouse scout for volunteers

Basically, Chiltern Lighthouse works with relevant professionals to try to intercede and help young people who may be facing difficult times in their lives.
The current aspiration is to widen the 16 or so mentors on the books to facilitate, ultimately, the introduction of family mentors.
Trish Pearce, one of three original founders, along with John Ford, the former district councillor, and John Nash, explained: "People seem to like us because we are not, as it were, officialdom. But we try to work hard and to make a diference."
Mrs Pearce said the focus of the work was in Chiltern District and funding, which is ongoing, is largely obtained from The Buckinghamshire Foundation.
"I had a difficult home life but I was lucky enough to have good friends, " said Mrs Pearce, who explained that the mentoring was largely on a one-to-one basis and was often concentrated or built around a sports-related activity such as golf, football, or swimming.
Mrs Pearce stressed that stringent family protection policies are enforced and she said that the rationale behind the service was to constructively intervene in the lives of young people before they succumbed to the indignities of the criminal justice system.
Suitable young people were identified from referral letters largely from The Youth Offending Service, colleges, or schools, often with teenagers who have been excluded from school for a period.
A cautious approach determines whether there is or is not mutual suitability. If the young person decides to go ahead with the mentoring, there is full training and backup for the mentor and the young person.
To learn more contact: www.chilternlighthouse.org