A WEST Cork father and son are marking almost 20 years with Le Chéile Mentoring as the organisation calls on more men to volunteer with the youth justice charity.

When Mick McCabe, who lives just outside Skibbereen, signed up to become a volunteer mentor with Le Chéile almost 20 years ago, he was among the first group of volunteers to be trained in Cork.

Almost two decades later, he is still mentoring young people. And for the past eight years, his youngest son Paul, who owns and runs J Daly’s pub in Ballydehob, has been doing the same. Now the father and son are hoping more local men will consider giving a few hours of their time each week to support a young person.

Mick came across Le Chéile almost by chance while working in Ballincollig, when he heard about the new mentoring service through the local library.

“I was well into my forties when I started,” he said. “A lot of the people doing the training were studying social work or something like that and I did feel a bit out of place at first. I wasn’t doing it to put anything on
my CV.”

Nearly two decades on, he believes that feeling can stop good potential mentors from putting themselves forward. “I honestly think you don’t need any special skills. If you can listen to people and not be judgemental, that’s really what it’s about.”

For Mick, mentoring is rarely about grand gestures. “Most of them just wanted to have a cup of coffee and talk away. They’d tell you what they’d done at school, what matches they were following or what music they were listening to.

“They’re ordinary kids. They just need someone to listen to them and give them a bit of time.”

Years after Mick first became involved, Paul began asking his father about Le Chéile, and eventually decided to apply himself.

“I knew Paul would be good,” Mick said. “He’s very level-headed, but at the same time he’s always been very good at engaging with younger people.”

Paul was in his mid-twenties when he started mentoring and believes being relatively close in age to some of the young people helped him build relationships with them.

One young man Paul mentored was struggling with reading and did not have access to a computer at home.

Over a number of meetings, the pair sat together in an internet café working through the material he needed for his driving licence.

The licence mattered because the young man lived in a rural area and needed transport to improve his chances of finding work.

“That was a goal we worked on together,” Paul said. “It started to unlock another part of life for him that he might not have been able to get to otherwise.”

Le Chéile is now looking for more men across Cork county and city to follow their example.

Volunteers do not need professional experience in youth work or social care, and receive full training and ongoing support.

Mentors are usually asked to give between one and three hours a week to the young person they are matched with.

As Mick puts it: “Once you can listen to them, give them your time and get to know what they’re interested in, that’s the main thing.”

Le Chéile Mentoring is hosting online information sessions lunchtime October 7 and the evening of October 14.

For information visit lecheile.ie or contact national volunteer coordinator Sara McDonnell at [email protected].