We have been providing a Mentoring service since 1997 and during that time we have experienced and been central to helping hundreds of young people turn their lives around through the support from their assigned volunteer mentors. The Mentoring service works with young people aged 8 to 18 years. Young people are referred from a variety of agencies within Bolton including Children’s Services. All of the youngsters who participate in the service are those classed as disaffected, disadvantaged, vulnerable and ‘at risk’ by the professionals referring them and all have issues relating to mental health and emotional well being as a direct result of their experiences. Many are truanting or excluded from school, have low self-confidence and esteem, which limits their aspirations and experiences. These youngsters find themselves on a downward cycle. The majority of them live in families where no one has been in employment for at least one generation and family break up is a common problem. Geographically the areas where the young people live have been identified as areas of multiple deprivation and poverty. These youngsters have no clear positive role model in their lives; their basic needs are unmet, leading to them experiencing a wide range of personal and social problems at a very young age leaving them vulnerable and isolated. For these youngsters the future could consist of drugs, crime and very few alternatives. The service intervenes before the young people reach crisis point by providing an adult volunteer mentor to befriend them. The important feature of this service is that the mentors are local people who are recruited and trained to work voluntarily on a one-to-one basis with the youngsters. The role of the mentor is quite simply to motivate and encourage their assigned mentee whilst building a relationship, aiming to increase confidence and self-esteem, enabling them to make more appropriate choices. The strength of the service, and indeed its uniqueness, is the guidance, support and relationship provided by committed volunteer mentors from the local community. This one-to-one relationship allows the young person to make informed decisions and set realistic achievable goals relating to their educational and personal development. Our experience has demonstrated that the participants respond positively to volunteer mentors and develop strong bonds with them. The voluntary ethos of the scheme has a definite advantage as the young people soon learn that their mentor spends time with them because they genuinely want to, not because they get paid to.