“My mentors changed the course of my life,” says 21 year-old Ellah Johnston. “Knowing that I have them – whenever I fell back down, they were who I contacted to get back on track." Ellah is speaking about her mentorship through Veteran Mentors - a youth development program designed for troubled teens.
In this Helping Hands panel discussion, Ellah is joined by Veteran Mentors co-founder and director, Matthew French, and psychologist, Collett Smart, to discuss how mentorship is changing the lives of thousands of families across Australia.
Ellah’s experience had such a positive impact on her, she has become a Junior Mentor and now attends camps to "give back" and play her part in turning around the lives of teenagers who struggle with broken family relationships, low self-esteem, and the consequences of bad habits.
Veteran Mentors is the inspiration of co-founders, Matthew French, Troy Methorst and Glenn Filtness. All three are veterans, and upon leaving the military, they had a desire to continue to serve their country and work with young people.
When Matthew left the military, he experienced a loss of purpose. When his daughter was born, his motivation to help young people to learn to love themselves intensified, and Veteran Mentors was born.
Their military training is at the centre of Veteran Mentors, and is the platform for the work. All of the Mentors are ex-servicemen and women who have experienced the same training as the Matthew, Troy and Glenn, the camaraderie and mateship that is unique to military personnel, and who value the importance of discipline and structure to daily routines.
When talking about the Veteran Mentors camps, Matthew explains there are phases that attendees experience.
“Through the breakdown phase … negative learned behaviours get wiped away," explains Matthew, "but then it switches gear. The second part of the program is the build-up phase … we start to introduce things such as meditation, controlled breathing, (and) forward visualisation.”
Collett says the Veteran Mentors military-style strategy works because young people need boundaries and structure to thrive. They help a young person feel safe, loved and that they belong. When someone expects something of them, it communicates care and a belief that they have value and worth.
“Mentors are there to cheer a young person on. They’re there to care for them, let them know that they are unique, that they are precious. But then, they also are there to challenge, and I think that’s the beautiful balance we often see in mentors.”
“From Day 1, we get a child that’s full of anxiety, depression, scared of the unknown, (who) doesn’t have any mental resilience," says Matthew. "When they go through the whole nine days, what the parent sees when they arrive at the March Out Parade is a child standing ten-foot tall, feeling bullet-proof.”
A significant part of the work of Veteran Mentors is the parents workshop, which runs in conjunction with their camps. At these workshops, parents learn the skills and strategies they need to reconnect with their children, and to create the type of environments that will allow young people to thrive at home.
“After we remove the cotton wool society has wrapped around them (young people), we put them in difficult situations and give them the tools to overcome those situations, the confidence that builds and the connection at the reunion (the March Out Parade) is emotional. It’s one of the most beautiful sights on this planet.”
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