The Heart of Bespoke
A mentoring team built on lived experience, trust and steady care.
How it Started
One young person who needed something different.
Bespoke Mentoring began with one young person who needed something different. At the time, Chris Powell, our Founder and Managing Director, had stepped away from teaching after his own difficult period with burnout and declining mental health. He wasn’t sure what came next, until he met his first mentee. On paper, his situation appeared too complex for the usual routes. In reality, he was desperate for someone to show up for him and be there when it mattered. Chris did exactly that. He sat with him, listened, gave him space to be himself and walked alongside him at a pace he could manage.
That single relationship planted the seed for Bespoke Mentoring. Word spread. One young person became two, then three. Soon a small team formed around Chris, each with their own lived experience, each carrying their own story of rebuilding, and each bringing the kind of understanding you cannot learn from a textbook. Bespoke Mentoring grew because the need was real. Young people needed adults who would listen, families needed support they could rely on, and schools needed a partner who would keep going when things got tough. As soon as people felt that, they shared it. Trust travels fast.
What We Stand For
Relationships come before everything else.
When a young person feels safe, understood and believed in, they start to feel ready for the next step. That step might be re-engaging with school, finding the confidence to leave the house again or rebuilding the self-belief that life has taken from them.
Safe
When a young person feels safe, everything else becomes possible. That safety is built slowly, through presence and consistency.
Understood
Our mentors bring honesty and patience. Young people don't need perfect adults. They need real ones.
Believed in
When someone genuinely believes in you, hope starts to feel less abstract. That belief is where progress begins.
The Bespoke Way
Nothing we do is off-the-shelf.
Every young person we support is different. Their pace is different. Their anxieties are different. Their strengths are different. So we start slowly and listen carefully. We visit homes, talk with families and build plans that shape themselves around the young person.
Sessions can look like:
A conversation through a bedroom door
A walk around the block
Sitting side-by-side in the car
Gym sessions, Cooking, Darts, Music, Art
Finding friendships again
Feeling safe enough to be in a classroom
Behind every mentee is a whole team: a main mentor, a wider circle of support and a safeguarding structure that never drops the ball. Progress is measured in small steps, not pressure. We celebrate every win, however small, because small wins stack into big change.
The Role of Lived Experience
Our team is carefully built, not from CVs alone but from real stories.
We match mentors based on personality, shared understanding and what a young person responds to best. A teenager rebuilding trust might thrive with a calm, motherly presence. A young person struggling with identity may open up to someone who’s walked a similar path. Someone passionate about music, art or fitness is paired with a mentor who can nurture that spark.
This approach isn’t a strategy, it’s human nature. When a young person sees someone who has overcome challenges of their own, hope feels possible again.
A Growing Family
Bespoke has grown from three people to a large outreach team supporting children and young adults across Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Monmouthshire, with the ability to support further afield when needed. Even with growth, we’ve never lost our warmth. Our staff retention is high because people feel valued, trusted and supported. New colleagues begin by mentoring, no matter their role, because understanding the work starts with understanding the child.
Our Purpose
We are here for young people who need a setting that fits who they are and what they are going through.
If you are thinking about a young person who needs calm, steady support, our team is here to talk. We will listen, share what we can offer and help you decide the right next step. Many of our partnerships begin over a warm, informal chat.
