Our approach
Five areas of work. Some are running now; some are plans. We say which is which on every one.
01
Who it is for. Any young person we support, and eventually anyone in our community who wants a mentor.
What support can look like. Regular check-ins, honest conversation, help thinking through a decision, and an introduction where we have one to offer.
What we believe. A grant is a moment. A mentor is a relationship. The second one is what changes the odds.
Status: running informally with our first cohort. We are building a proper matching and check-in structure.
02
Who it is for. Young people who want to continue an academic route — secondary, tertiary, or a professional qualification such as nursing.
What support can look like. Help with fees or materials, guidance through applications, and mentorship from someone who has been through it.
What we believe. Academic routes are one excellent option among several. We fund them without treating them as the default.
Status: one nursing-education pathway supported in our first cohort.
03
Who it is for. Young people who want to build a career through a craft — sewing, fashion, beauty, creative and technical trades.
What support can look like. Training fees at established providers, basic equipment, and the connection to a working professional in that trade.
What we believe. We do not build schools. We buy seats at good ones, and we stay involved after enrolment.
Status: two vocational pathways supported in our first cohort.
04
Who it is for. Young people who want to build something of their own rather than wait for an opening that may not come.
What support can look like. Start-up support, business mentoring, and help thinking through the unglamorous parts — pricing, customers, record-keeping.
What we believe. If the opportunity a young person needs does not exist yet, helping them create it is a legitimate use of a grant.
Status: one entrepreneurship pathway supported in our first cohort.
05
Who it is for. Everyone in the Father in a Friend community, current participants and alumni alike.
What support can look like. An online community, peer connection, and future workshops on confidence, identity, resilience and healthy relationships.
What we believe. Nobody should have to make the biggest decisions of their life alone.
Status: online community started. Workshops are planned, not yet running. We do not provide clinical mental-health treatment; where someone needs it, we help find a referral.
The through-line
“What do you actually want to do, and what is standing in the way of it?”
Everything else — the fee, the equipment, the mentor, the introduction — follows from the answer to that question rather than from a program we designed in advance.
Get involved
Your support can help expand vocational training, educational opportunities, entrepreneurship support, mentorship, and future community programming.
