The MECA Youth Mentoring Program Evaluation Report

The MECA Mentoring Program has been running for many years in the Mount Druitt area for young people at local schools. This program received government funding in 2021-2024 to boost its capacity and demonstrate its impacts. The mentoring program is led by MECA in partnerships with Global Skills, TAFE, Headspace, Western Sydney Local Health District, Western Sydney University, and several other community groups and service providers. Program facilitators (MECA staff, mentors, and guest speakers) deliver sessions in schools and take students for excursions to aspire young people and improve their exposure to careers, their employability, and social connections. The evaluation as conducted by Western Sydney University in 2023-2024 using surveys and interviews with the young people who participated in the program, their parents, program facilitators, and community leaders. The MECA mentoring program design is suitable for the needs in the community and is well-accepted by the young people. The program is run within schools during school hours with strong support from teachers and principals. The young people reported that the program was useful for them, and they were satisfied with the overall program, mentors, and guest speakers. Parents also expressed their satisfaction with their children's involvement in the program. Apart from the young people at schools, the mentors in the program (who are mainly young people and often come from the Mount Druitt area) also reported benefits of the program in their personal development. Having mentors who are slightly older but still close to the age of the participants created positive interactions, especially since some mentors share similar backgrounds with the program participants. The young people expressed positive appreciation for the space for fun, learning and safety provided by the MECA mentoring program at schools. We have demonstrated the importance, suitability and positive impacts of the MECA Mentoring Program. The multi-service collaboration under MECA leadership needs to continue and be expanded. Engagement with more schools in the region, and stronger engagement with parents, are likely to improve the positive impacts of the program. The MECA Mentoring Program might work in other similar community settings with deep and continuing consultations with the local communities.