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Mentorship

Every mentor who works with the Unlocking the Gates Services Society has lived experience of incarceration. This means that our mentors have a unique perspective on what a mentee is going through the day they are released. Mentors do not offer a set type of service to each mentee; instead, the mentor and mentee work to set tailored health goals and the steps to achieve them upon release. Mentors offer to listen, answer questions, serve as positive role models, connect mentees with community resources, help them navigate the healthcare system, share their own experience of being released and their journey on this side of the gates. We help mentees cope with daily struggles in a healthy way.

Experience

Mentorship

Every mentor who works with the Unlocking the Gates Services Society has lived experience of incarceration. This means that our mentors have a unique perspective on what a mentee is going through the day they are released. Mentors do not offer a set type of service to each mentee; instead, the mentor and mentee work to set tailored health goals and the steps to achieve them upon release. Mentors offer to listen, answer questions, serve as positive role models, connect mentees with community resources, help them navigate the healthcare system, share their own experience of being released and their journey on this side of the gates. We help mentees cope with daily struggles in a healthy way.

Mentors support their mentees by meeting with them during the first 72 hours upon release, accompanying them to appointments and helping them to meet their health goals. Some mentors and mentees meet for 1 day while others meet every day for the full 3 days. Others meet in the weeks, months, and years following release from corrections when the mentee feels they need extra support. The informal, yet warm and supportive, quality of the mentor/mentee relationship has been one of the program’s greatest strengths since early in its implementation; mentors and mentees build a trusting relationship that allows individuals to seek the unique support they need during what is often an overwhelming time in their lives.

Quotes from current UTG Peer Mentors

I feel people getting out [need] to have hope and faith to make changes and they need just need people who care in their life to support them to make that happen.
Cheri
If I had a peer health mentor pick me up the day I got out I would have had some support and might not have used drugs right away.
Justine
Twelve years. For some, that’s not a lot, for others that’s more than enough. Six times. That’s what it took for me to finally say enough is enough. In the last eleven years I have remained clean, started my own successful company, raised three young women, went to college, and now live in the country with my wife and three dogs...oh and I get the chance to help others who were in the same boat as I once was. Now this wasn’t easy, change never is, but it is possible. I am here to help you succeed. To help you see that all that hope you have for a better life is attainable. I will always remember what an old-timer once told me, “The worst day out there is still better than the best day in here”. No words have ever been truer and that’s what I try to remember any time a struggle comes in my life. It can be worse. Whatever you need to realize your dream of freedom, your hope of a better life, I am here to help.
Dustin
I do this work because I have both suffered and caused a lot of trauma in my life, I do this in hopes that someone else doesn't have to go through what I did. It is also my way of giving back for the harm I have done and giving me a reminder of a place that I never want to live in again.
Jade
I love working in peer outreach because it allows me to connect with people who are really struggling. My job allows me to make referrals to services and direct to resources, provide advocacy when needed, and often I’m just there to spend some time and offer support. I do this work because I believe that everyone needs someone in their corner regardless of their situation.
Sara
It's a great feeling to pick guys up the day they get released and support them in the community. It gives them an opportunity to get into housing and some of their immediate needs met and to connect with someone who is supportive and nonjudgmental.
Glenn
Being released from jail involves a lot of conflicting and often confusing emotions. I really appreciate being able to rejoice with people in their newfound freedom. As a peer outreach worker, I love listening to people's individual situations and offering my input on strategies for their success. Navigating life on the outside poses unique barriers and challenges for each person. At every first meeting, my main objective is to connect with people and let them know that they have a true ally who understands what they are experiencing and who will continue to support them as long as they feel it is beneficial for them.
Aly
I would like people to know first and foremost we are human. Yes, we have made some mistakes along the way. Choices that have to lead us down bad roads. However, with this being said at the core of who we are good, kind, and loving people. Turns out that after years of self-discovery the non-appropriate choices I made were based on addiction and rooted in trauma. This speaks volumes about how we are as a society. If we were able to give people who are struggling more care, concern, and understanding I am convinced we would have a better rapport with those who are still struggling with trust issues and abandonment. I think the underlying key is “Treat Those As you Wish To Be Treated” We are all looking for a place to belong and to be heard. Let us be that place for you.
Willy
I truly believe that my experience of reintegration into the community may have gone differently and more smoothly. It’s tough being released from a state of corrections. You are filled with fears and concerns about what the future holds. Lots of questions “where will I live”, “how do I get a doctor”, “who can I talk to about life as things arise” etc.… There is something very significant about having someone who understands what you’re going through. Someone who truly cares about meeting you where you’re at, no judgments just support. Someone to hear your thoughts, ideas, fears, hopes, and dreams. You somehow feel less alone. There is strength in having a person who can advocate for you and help with all the things that come along. I repetitively hear how grateful my clients are for us always being there to lend an ear, or help them fill out forms, getting them to appointments. They are so happy for all we do for them.
Tammy
H.O.P.E - Have only positive expectations. By having hope you set yourself up for realistic goals. Hope is the pathway to a great future. By building hope you build that foundation that is hard as a rock so nothing can destroy your dreams.
Shawna
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  • Maple Ridge, BC, Canada
  • unlockingthegates@gmail.com

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Monday to Friday 9AM-4PM: 1-604-518-3261
Afterhours: Monday to Friday 4pm-10pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am-8pm: 1-778-938-2584

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