31 Jul 2024
Pete decided to become a mentor on the charity’s befriending programme because he has lived experience of the challenges faced by autistic people. He wanted to help and guide others on how to live with autism following his own journey.
Pete has supported with numerous befriending activities including setting up many peer groups and has also mentored participants on a one-to-one basis to help them understand their autism. He has worked with people's interests to help them come out of their shells and uses his lived experience to help participants feel more comfortable about understanding and approaching their autism diagnosis.
His nomination read:
“Pete is a very kind caring person and the participants on our befriending project find him a very calm, reliable and friendly volunteer. Nothing is ever too much trouble for Pete and he often comes up with thoughtful suggestions and thinks outside of the box to help participants and to support the project.
“Pete has a genuine desire to help people to navigate their own lives and he does this in a very sensitive and intuitive way to understand what is needed. He is an integral part of the befriending team and thoroughly deserves to receive this award as Mentor of the Year for Hamelin.”