Mentoring: Tracy's story
"I became involved with Scope mentoring after speaking with Dr Kent, my consultant at Pinderfields. I had never worked or had a voluntary opportunity and as my children were getting older I wanted to do something positive to help others.
"At first I was scared because of my speech difficulties, but I have now overcome this and have the confidence to speak about the service in public.
"I have been part of the service for over four years and have supported five people to achieve their goals so far. Mentoring has helped me to look at myself and my own situation. It has taught me how to do things differently and I can pass these ideas on.
"Being part of the service has really increased my confidence and helped me re-evaluate my life. I also volunteer for the service in other ways and am editor of the quarterly newsletter. I have passed lots of computer courses but have never found the opportunity to put my skills into practice. I used to think it was such a lot of hard work gone to waste.
"I feel I have had little help throughout my adult life, but I have always been determined. I learned to drive (my independence) and got my own flat when I was 20. I have lost count of the times people said, 'Oh, you can’t do that’ and I wish there would have been something like this service around when I was starting out. I wouldn’t have felt so alone and isolated and would have found achieving my goals much easier.
"I would recommend mentoring to anyone. It is rewarding, benefits yourself and supports other disabled people to feel less isolated and achieve their dreams."
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