Matthew is an unemployed 17 year old who is not involved in any form of education and training; He recently left home and know lives with his girl friends family. Mathew experience difficulties through the separation of his mother and from his father when he was 8 years old and later had difficulties with a step-father.

At primary school (5-11) Matthew was a slow reader and also experienced bullying. This led to becoming a truant from school and led onto his involvement in shoplifting and burglary;

On transfer to secondary school the frequency of truancy increased and he became involved in a culture of drug taking and glue sniffing; He left school with no qualifications and later dropped out of a course in painting and decorating.

Matthews self-image and self-esteem gradually disappeared during this time and he became increasingly isolated; A voluntary sector mentor working out of a local community centre eventually referred him to a Connextions Personal Adviser. Assisted by the local community centre Matthew became a Help the Aged volunteer painting and decorating homes in the locality. The voluntary sector provided a mentor and arranged supervision so the tasks became a part of the developmental process

Matthews self-confidence developed gradually and he became respected by those he helped; As the relationship with the personal adviser progressed the adviser arranged a training placement in painting and decorating addressed drug awareness issues through a drugs worker and helped Matthew towards independence.

The following is an extract taken from a reader prepared by the Connextions service for people training to be personal advisers to young people. The reader provides information to help personal advisers gain the cooperation of the local community in order to engage young people in realistic activities in the community. The aim to help them develop selfesteem and motivate them to train for future work. The action is aimed to support young people who were disaffected at school and are unemployed and provide transition period through working in the communityConnexions and the community

One of the eight key principles of the Connexions Service is: Community involvement and neighbourhood renewal through involvement of community mentors and through Personal Advisers brokering access to local welfare, health, arts, sports and guidance networks. (DtEE, 2000)

Participation in education and training initiatives can have a positive knock-on effect for a local community. It can contribute to neighbourhood renewal, boost the local economy and increase the morale of its citizens. The success of any community based initiative is grounded in the ability to motivate and enable the whole community, including young people themselves, to play a role in educating and developing its young people. V oluntary organisations and community groups can provide appropriate support to community members, training them to act as mentors. Other services encourage young people to become involved in their communities through project based work, for instance through Millennium V olunteers. Involving young people in this way has the added benefits of bringing them closer to the adult community..