Mentoring Interventions for Young People Ageing Out of Out-of-Home Care as a Mechanism for the Relational Redistribution of Capital

Young people seeking employment while ageing out out-of-home care (OoHC) face unique social and emotional needs, typically met by familiar bonds that influence their ability to navigate the job market. Aiming to address this need, in partnerships with a community service provider, we developed a project and proposed a framework for a mentor programme design that would help young people exiting OoHC with access to social supports. Utilizing data from focus groups with practitioners who work with young people in OoHC we examine how mentoring relationships can provide young people with identity, access and belonging. In this paper, we use Bourdieu's forms of capital as a framework to show how mentors can play a role in addressing the challenges faced by young people exiting OoHC. By applying Bourdieu's thinking tools, we conceptualize the challenges in terms of social, cultural and symbolic capital, shaped by their lived experiences within the OoHC system. We further explore the potential role of mentors as role models in addressing gaps in capital. Our analysis highlights how mentoring interventions can be reconceptualized as a relational redistribution of capital, rather than a supplementary support, promoting social inclusion and enhancing employment opportunities for young people exiting OoHC.