Ventoring project

I was really interested to meet Paul and to hear about the support Working with Men is providing to marginalised and excluded boys and young men. It was a pleasure to meet A, J and J and to understand first hand the positive impacts that organisations like Working with Men are having on people’s lives’. (Nick Hurd MP)

The Ventoring Project
WWM have developed a comprehensive work programme addressing the needs of young men and fathers aged 13 to 25 in Westminster, Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and Wandsworth. We will work with at-risk young men targeting the vulnerable, disenfranchised and marginalised.

WWM’s approach to engaging with young men deemed hard to reach is ‘Ventoring’, a new concept, developed by WWM which is based on the words “Vent” and “Mentor” and it focuses on the perceived “venting” period involved in establishing mentoring work. Practitioners found that if the underlying factors of non-engagement were not addressed and integrated into the one to one process, the change was not sustainable for the young person.

We deliver outreach to engage with NEET, (Not in Education, Employment or Training) young men and fathers and those at risk who are sometimes out on the streets engaged in anti-social behaviour and/or at risk of/or engaging in criminal activity.

We work on a 1:1 and group basis with these young men (and young fathers) on the streets and in their homes and by appointment to help them look at their lives, their behaviour and develop career and other goals for their future.

Ventoring is an activity/ support programme developed particularly for entrenched young people to gain an understanding of the relationship between the individual and the services available to them based on their own experiences. This allows an appraisal of their current aspirations and circumstances followed by goal focused support and structured needs-appropriate mentoring within a clearly defined timeframe.