If you’re working with young people in a specific community—chronic illness, disability, LGBTQIA+, foster care, cultural identity—you’ve probably noticed something:
Generic leadership training doesn’t quite fit.
Sure, young people learn communication skills and teamwork. But do they learn how to hold space for someone else’s lived experience without trying to fix it? How to normalise struggle in a culture that demands perfection? When peer support ends and professional intervention begins?
Probably not.
Here’s what we’ve learned after training hundreds of youth mentors across 30+ countries: The most effective peer mentoring programs aren’t adapted from generic curriculum—they’re co-designed with the communities they serve.
Let me show you what that looks like in practice.
The Problem with One-Size-Fits-All
When organisations approach us about youth mentor training, they usually fall into one of two categories:
Category 1: “We want leadership development for our young people.”
They’re thinking about skills—public speaking, goal-setting, teamwork. These programs exist everywhere, and they’re fine for what they are.
Category 2: “We want to develop peer mentoring skills for our volunteers and/or young adults that actually gets what our community experiences.”
They understand their young people need more than generic skills. They need:
- Someone who understands their specific lived experience
- Permission to struggle without it meaning they’re failing
- Community with others who actually get it
- Skills to support their peers effectively and safely
If you’re in Category 2, co-design is how you get there.
Case Study: What Co-Design Looks Like
When Diabetes Australia approached us, they had a clear vision: create a peer mentoring program for young people with Type 1 Diabetes that could scale sustainably for years to come.
Not generic leadership training. Real peer support training grounded in lived experience.
Here’s what happened:
We Started with Community Needs
Before writing curriculum, we asked: What do young people with T1D actually need from peer mentoring?
The answer wasn’t “learn to manage diabetes better” (they have clinical teams for that). It was:
- Feel less alone
- Hear from someone who gets the relentless nature of it
- Permission to struggle without judgment
- Community with peers who understand
We Adapted, Not Applied
We took our award-winning Youth Mentor Training and customised it:
- Kept core competencies (active listening, boundaries, knowing when to escalate)
- Added community-specific scenarios, in collaboration and discussion with the participants (e.g. supporting someone through diabetes burnout)
- Incorporated relevant research (diabetes distress, peer support efficacy)
- Created space for story-sharing that honoured complexity
We Built for Sustainability
The goal wasn’t just trained mentors—it was capacity building. So we designed for graduates to become future co-facilitators, with the intention of also developing a peer mentoring program for the graduates to step into.
The results?
- 25% increase in mentoring confidence
- 100% mastery in core safety competencies (scope of practice, escalation protocols, active listening)
- 75% of graduates want to co-facilitate future training cohorts
- 9.5/10 likelihood to recommend
But here’s what matters most:
Listen to what graduates said they wanted to share with younger peers:
“The one thing I wish I’d known earlier is that having T1D doesn’t mean you’re failing when things go wrong. Highs, lows, burnout, frustration — none of that means you’re bad at diabetes or bad at life. It just means you’re human, managing something relentless. I want them to know they’re allowed to ask for help, take breaks mentally, and define success on their own terms — not by perfect numbers.”
This is what peer mentoring should be: Not teaching management skills (clinical teams do that), but creating space for self-compassion, normalising struggle, and building community.
Graduates developed sophisticated workshops grounded in research on diabetes distress and peer support—not because we told them to, but because the co-design process positioned them as experts in their own lived experience. They said that it:
“Let me grow as a diabetic and also taught me to embrace it all.”
“I feel more confident and empowered to harness my experience and adversity as a result of T1D for good in the support and mentoring of others.”
This is transformation, not just training.
What Makes This Model Replicable
This wasn’t a one-off program—it’s a model that works for any community where lived experience and peer support matter.
Here’s what makes it transferable:
1. Start with Community Needs, Not Curriculum
Don’t ask “how do we adapt our training for X community?” Ask “what does X community actually need from peer mentoring?” Then build from there.
2. Honour Lived Experience as Expertise
Participants aren’t empty vessels receiving knowledge—they’re experts. The training gives them frameworks and skills to leverage that expertise safely and effectively.
3. Build Sustainability from the Beginning
Design for peer-led co-facilitation. Create pathways for graduates to become trainers and peer mentors. This scales your program while increasing authenticity.
4. Focus on the Right Outcomes
Don’t measure how many people know facts. Measure:
- Confidence in mentoring ability
- Mastery of core competencies (boundaries, listening, escalation)
- Readiness to actually mentor
- Connection to community
- Interest in ongoing involvement
5. Create Space for Transformation
Give participants time to integrate learning, practice skills on live calls together, develop their own programs, and build community with peers. This isn’t a weekend workshop—it’s a journey.
Who Else Could Benefit?
While this case study focuses on diabetes, the model applies to any community:
Chronic illness: Cystic fibrosis, epilepsy, IBD, mental health conditions
Disability communities: Physical, sensory, neurodivergent LGBTQIA+ youth
Cultural or faith-based communities
Foster care and adoption networks
Any population where peer support and lived experience matter
The principles stay the same:
- Co-design with the community you’re serving
- Adapt curriculum while maintaining core competencies
- Build for sustainability through peer-led delivery
- Focus on outcomes that matter
- Honour lived experience as expertise
Questions to Ask If You’re Considering Developing a Peer Mentor Training
Before you invest, clarify what you actually need:
1. Generic leadership or community-specific peer mentoring?
If you want communication skills and teamwork, generic programs work fine. If you want peer support that addresses the specific lived experience of your community, you need something different.
2. One-time training or sustainable model?
Are you thinking about long-term capacity building? Peer-led delivery (where graduates become future trainers) creates sustainability and authenticity.
3. Are you willing to co-design?
The most effective programs honor community expertise about their own needs. This requires flexibility, listening, and genuine partnership—not just delivering pre-packaged curriculum.
4. What outcomes actually matter to you?
Completion rates? Or confidence, competency, connection, and readiness to mentor?
5. Do you want mentors or future facilitators?
If you’re building for scale, your training should create not just mentors but people who can train the next cohort.
The Bottom Line
Generic leadership training teaches skills.
Co-designed peer mentor training creates sustainable communities of support.
When you build with lived experience at the centre, you get:
? Mentors who actually understand what your young people are experiencing
? Sustainability through peer-led co-facilitation
? Programs that address real needs (not what you think they need)
? Measurable outcomes that matter
? Graduates who want to stay involved and expand the work
This is what’s possible when you move beyond one-size-fits-all to community-specific, co-designed peer support.
Ready to Explore This for Your Community?
If you’re working with young people in a specific community and you’re interested in creating peer mentoring that’s:
? Co-designed with your community
? Built for sustainability and scale
? Grounded in both lived experience and evidence-based practice
? Focused on outcomes that actually matter
Let’s talk about what this could look like for your organisation.
Our Youth Mentor Training has been recognised as Best Program of the Year at the BYCA International Coaching Awards and has trained hundreds of mentors across 30+ countries. We specialise in adapting our curriculum for specific communities while maintaining the core competencies that make peer mentoring safe and effective.
Contact: info@shinefromwithin.com.au
Because the young people in your community deserve peer support that actually gets it—and you deserve a model that’s built to last.
About the Author: Amanda Rootsey is a Hay House author, award-winning youth mentor trainer, and founder of Shine From Within, a B-Corp certified organisation specialising in youth mentor training and development. With 20 years of experience, she works with organisations globally to create sustainable, community-specific peer mentoring programs.
