Mentor child
Creating a better future for children in vulnerable life situations through long-lasting relations
More than 50,000 children and young people in Denmark live in vulnerable situations. Many of them have an unstable network - or no network at all.
Mentor child establishes long-lasting relationships for these children by offering them an unpaid support family to open their home a few times a month and invite the child into the family's life and everyday life.
Research shows that support families can contribute to well-being, security, attachment and development. The ambition is that they become part of each other's lives. Even in the difficult transition from child to adult and beyond.
Insists that all children and young people have the right to loving and strong relationships
Through these supporting relations, children experience being part of a family's ordinary everyday life. An everyday where you do your homework, pack your lunch, participate in sports and at some point make decisions about education, moving away from home, how to look for work and other important and life-changing experiences in life.
They become part of a caring, close and committed community where they can thrive, develop personally and get the help and support they need throughout their childhood, adolescence and well into adulthood.
"We want to create a better future for the thousands of children and young people in Denmark who, throughout their childhood, lack close and strong relationships with meaningfull adults. Regardless of whether they are placed outside the home, are at risk of being placed in out-of-home care, have problems at home or for other reasons live with vulnerable relationships."
- Ditte Reedtz, Head of Policy, Foundations and Co-operation
Close co-operation with municipalities
In just a few years, the organisation has gone from working with a handful of municipalities to +35 municipalities across the country. The ambition is to expand the organisation's efforts to all municipalities in the country.
On 1 January 2024, the Children's Act also came into force, which included the right to a support family. A great victory for Mentor child. The work of implementing the law now lies ahead of them.