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What's that got to do with housing?
Kensington Housing Trust is committed to addressing issues of antisocial behaviour, which go beyond housing stock. The idea behind our project is to match volunteers with young people who are at risk of getting into trouble with the police. The mentor helps the young person accomplish something with their life.

The word "mentor" comes from Ancient Greek and means a wise, loyal adviser, a counsellor, a teacher or coach.

But developing the project's policies, such as including child protection and confidentiality policies, is also an important part of the job, as is introducing service level agreements with other schemes that provide referrals.

Isn't it a bit depressing?
No, I laugh a lot. I love the response I get when I tell the kids: "I'm coming from your future." They know that no one can see into the future, but then realise what I'm saying. I've been there, I've lived it. I had friends who were in prison or died before they reached 20.

What happens in a typical day?
First, dealing with administrative things, such as checking phone calls/emails from young people, mentors and potential mentors, other local youth organisations, funders, and providing support for the steering committee, which oversees the project.

Then it's out of the office, visiting a range of local youth organisations, schools and talking to young people. This is the most satisfying part.

You can spend weeks trying to reach some young people and convince them that we do care and we can help. They listen to me talk about my own experiences, how mentors helped me and continue to do so.

When they develop that trust and come to realise they can take control of their lives, they are ready for the mentoring programme.

Good terms and conditions?
I earn about the same as a senior housing officer – around £25,000 – but the hours are very different. Many disenfranchised young people are nocturnal as there is no one watching out for them: youth officers and school teachers have all gone home and are planning for the next day. It's often in the late evenings that young people can be reached.

Sounds like a tough job.
ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ local networks and partnerships, and establishing trust, are the biggest challenges, although funding is always an issue, of course.

What do you need to succeed?
Strong mediation and conflict resolution skills are a must, as is sound knowledge of the politics of street organisations.

You'd also need life education experience and good admin and IT skills, especially Powerpoint presentations to groups with poor linguistic skills.

We look for a high level of commitment over six to 12 months of involvement. Mentors will see their charges for at least two hours each week. Anyone who feels unable to fulfil the commitment once they have been matched to a young person can have a devastating effect on someone who already feels let down by everyone else.

Developing appropriate training programmes and support for mentors is very important for us. The young people involved have a very broad range of needs. Mentors need training and support to be able to deal with these – and to be equipped to build "communication bridges" with young people.