The SMART Mentoring programme is an aftercare provision, which offers training and work experience to people who want to become mentors, in the drugs and alcohol service field. It is a unique programme open to all individuals, including ex-drug using offenders who have achieved a minimum of one year's abstinence.

A mentor is defined as a trusted advisor, guide or friend. A usually more experienced person, the mentor is paired off with a newcomer in order to share good examples, knowledge and advice.

Funded by the Drug and Alcohol Group (DAAG) in Milton Keynes and Drug and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT) in Oxfordshire, the key aims of the programme are to:

• recruit volunteers and provide them with training and work experience so that they can become mentors
• open up routes into education and employment
• provide training and skills development in the drugs and alcohol field

Mentors are recruited after they have completed the SMART 10-week Portal programme (a one-day a week course), although there is some flexibility around this.

Individuals undergo a careful selection process, and complete an extensive training programme to prepare for mentoring.

A mentor's responsibilities include: supporting SMART workers, meeting aftercare clients, providing one-to-one support, assisting clients in accessing local services, administrative duties and helping students on the Portal programme. Some SMART mentors are also given the opportunity to volunteer, in a supporting role, at other drug or multi-service agencies.  

Volunteer mentors are in a position to raise the self-belief and confidence of service users, and provide social and practical support to individuals striving to overcome drug related problems. In turn mentors develop a range of work-related skills, which will add to their CV credentials and employment ambitions.