A TEENAGER whose life has been transformed after receiving help from the town’s youth mentoring project is encouraging more people to become mentors.

Swindon Mentoring and Self Help – SMASH – is recruiting adult volunteers to spend a couple of hours a week helping vulnerable 13 to 19 year-olds to increase their potential.

Ollie Webb, 15, of Park North, has been mentored by 29-year-old Craig Waldron since February.

Dorcan Academy pupil Ollie, who wants to become a graphic designer, said: “Before I came to SMASH I wasn’t getting on with my dad and we used to have a lot of arguments.

“I wasn’t getting enough sleep and I was really tired. I used to have a lot of outbursts.

“I was recommended to SMASH and I met Craig a short time later. At first it was weird meeting a random guy but we clicked and it was really awesome.

“The first time we went out we went for something to eat.

“Craig understood what I was going through and told me about his own experiences. I could tell him anything and I still do.

“He speaks to me as a friend or a younger brother. We have a lot of trust.

“My behaviour has improved and I am a generally happier person. SMASH has changed my life.”

Through no fault of their own the prospective mentees are not getting the support and encouragement they need to get the best out of their education and life in general.

Craig, who is a veterinary surgeon at Drove Veterinary Hospital, in Taw Hill, said: “I became a mentor because I felt from my own experience it is important you have someone supportive in your life.

“You can achieve anything you want to if you get the right support.

“It is really rewarding and enjoyable. You see the progress that is being made both with their family and in their general demeanour and confidence.

Each adult volunteer will become a mentor to a young person in the Swindon area. There are more than 20 young people on the waiting list.

SMASH project manager Rob Chappell said: “When they arrive they tell me what they can’t do. We help them discover what they can do.

“Our mentors are extraordinary, ordinary people who want to make a difference.”

To find out more about email admin@smashyouthproject.co.uk or phone 01793 729748.