Celebrating Our Community Mentors: Side by Side Mentor Training Success

On Tuesday 25 November, Advocacy WA welcomed new and returning Community Mentors into our Bunbury office for Side by Side Mentor Training. The session brought together people from across the South West who share a passion for building stronger, more inclusive, and connected communities.

Our Community Mentor Program is built around a simple idea: when local people are supported to walk beside others in their own community, confidence grows, inclusion strengthens, and meaningful connections thrive. This training session reflected exactly that spirit.

What Our Community Mentors Do

Community Mentors are local volunteers who offer informal, peer-based support to people with disability across the region. Their role is not clinical or professional; instead, it focuses on encouragement, understanding, and creating welcoming spaces where people feel valued and included. Our mentors:

• Support people with disability to take part in community life
• Encourage confidence, independence, and self advocacy
• Promote access, inclusion, and rights based practice
• Walk beside people using a side by side approach that centres choice and dignity
• Help local groups, events, and activities become more welcoming
• Stay connected with Advocacy WA for guidance, resources, and safeguarding support

What the Training Covered

The Side by Side Mentor Training introduces volunteers to the foundations of safe, inclusive community mentoring. Using practical examples and guidance from the Community Mentor Guide, the group explored:

• Building respectful and trust based relationships
• Setting boundaries and communicating clearly
• Supporting learning through lived experience and shared activities
• Understanding rights, choice, and the dignity of risk
• Recognising cultural safety and valuing diverse identities
• Knowing when and how to refer someone to appropriate supports
• Safeguarding and escalation pathways for concerns

Participants engaged in discussions, scenario based learning, and reflective activities designed to build confidence and clarity in their role.

Why This Work Matters

Community Mentors play a vital role in strengthening local inclusion. By offering encouragement, sharing their time, and walking beside others, mentors help reduce isolation and create pathways into community life that feel safe and accessible. Their presence helps ensure that people with disability are not only included, but respected and heard.

This program is part of our Peer Support and Capacity Building Project, which focuses on helping local communities grow their own leaders, connectors, and supporters.

Interested in Becoming a Community Mentor?

We are always excited to welcome new mentors into the program. If you are someone who cares about inclusion, enjoys connecting with others, and wants to make a positive impact in your own community, we invite you to express your interest.

You do not need any qualifications, just a willingness to learn, listen, and support others in a respectful and empowering way. Induction, training, and ongoing support are provided by Advocacy WA.

Submit your Expression of Interest here:
https://forms.office.com/r/yNa3ZtatQP

Thank You to Our Mentors

To everyone who attended the training on 25 November, and to all mentors already active in the community, thank you. Your generosity, insight, and commitment are helping shape a South West where every person feels welcomed, valued, and able to participate fully in the life of their community.

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