Consultancy

Sirona Care & Health wanted to offer more meaningful support to people newly diagnosed with, or struggling to manage, type 2 diabetes. Many were feeling overwhelmed, isolated, or unsure how to make lifestyle changes that would improve their health. They needed an approach that was practical, relational and grounded in lived experience.
From 2020 to 2023, we worked with Sirona to design and deliver a peer support programme that connected people with mentors who were further along in their diabetes journey. As one mentee put it, “I really appreciated being able to talk to somebody about the ups and downs of having diabetes.”

Working Together

We built a one to one mentoring service that offered people exploration, motivation and encouragement at a time when many were struggling to manage their condition. Over the three year period, we:

• Recruited and trained 18 peer mentors
• Received 84 referrals
• Supported 75 completed interventions

Mentors were trained in motivational interviewing, active listening, goal setting, boundaries, safeguarding and reflective practice. They were supported through regular supervision and monthly catch ups, creating a strong, confident volunteer team.

Alongside one to one mentoring, we also delivered:

• Group peer support sessions
• Online mentoring during COVID
• Support at diabetes structured education sessions
• Community clinic engagement to reach underserved groups
• Lived experience input into healthcare professional training

This combination of individual, group and community based support helped us reach people across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, including communities at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The Difference It Made

The programme had a significant impact on people’s confidence, wellbeing and ability to manage their condition. Mentees described feeling motivated, listened to and supported by someone who truly understood their experience. One person shared that their mentor helped them move “from being in a dark place to one of being able to make significant changes to my personal mental health state and physical well being.”

Key outcomes included:

• Patient Activation Measures increased from 42% to 84%
• Participants taking action and gaining control increased from 40% to 89%
• 73% reduction in people feeling disengaged or overwhelmed
• Significant improvements in confidence, mood, self esteem and connection to community
• Stronger understanding of support services and how to access them

For the full outcomes of this program see the full service evaluation here.

The programme helped people make sustainable lifestyle changes, improve their mental health, and build trust in their ability to manage diabetes. One mentee said, “It kept me motivated and has helped me get to my goal – in a healthy and sustainable way.”

Where They Are Now

The evaluation demonstrated the value of lived experience led support for long term conditions. Sirona are now working with locality partnerships across the region to identify priorities and strategies for improving diabetes outcomes, with peer support recognised as a key component.

The service funding came to an end in 2024 but the lessons of adapting our peer support model into other conditions continues to be heavily influenced by the learning of this program and its positive impact on participants.

Bristol After Stroke already had a strong peer support culture. People told us that “just meeting other people that have had a stroke is a powerful intervention”, and they’re right. Seeing someone further along in their recovery can shift everything: confidence, hope, connection.

But turning that natural peer connection into a safe, structured one‑to‑one mentoring service is a different challenge. Bristol After Stroke had tried informal buddying and phone calls, but “neither hit the mark.” They needed a model that felt held, professional, and genuinely sustainable.

Working Together

Bristol After Stroke partnered with us to build a full peer mentoring service using our Set Consultancy Model. We worked alongside their team – listening, co‑designing, and shaping something that felt true to their values and community.

In just four months, they had:

• A clear, practical service manual
• A trained coordinator
• A confident team of peer mentors
• A safe matching and supervision structure

Everything they needed to launch a mentoring service that felt real, safe, and rooted in lived experience.

The Difference It Made

Over two years, Bristol After Stroke supported 37 mentees, each with their own story, their own goals, and their own journey back into confidence and connection.

Peer mentoring helped people:

• Rebuild identity after stroke
• Reconnect with community and interests
• Try new things safely
• Reduce the risks of loneliness
• Feel valued and able to “give back”

It also strengthened Bristol After Stroke’s culture. As they put it, peer mentoring shows “that we value the experience of stroke affected people, and that this can be used in a really positive way to support others.”

Where They Are Now

Peer mentoring is now part of Bristol After Stroke’s core offer, backed by multiple funders and embedded across the organisation. It’s a service that feels human, relational, and genuinely transformative, and it started with giving people the structure and confidence to use their lived experience safely.

Step Together Volunteering wanted to create a peer mentoring programme for women with experience of offending — something safe, structured and rooted in lived experience. As a fellow charity with our own established peer mentoring model, they told us they chose to work with us because “you understood us.” They needed a partner who could bring practical experience, trauma informed thinking and a clear framework they could trust.

Working Together

We worked alongside Step Together to shape a programme that felt real, grounded and deliverable. Over several sessions, we co designed their Terms of Service — covering recruitment, training, boundaries, supervision and delivery — giving them a document they described as “extremely useful” for guiding their pilot.
We also delivered peer mentoring training for their staff and volunteers, creating shared language and confidence across the team. Alongside this, we provided external supervision for their new Peer Support Coordinator, giving them reflective space and lived experience informed support during the early stages of the programme.
Throughout the process, Step Together highlighted the value of lived experience in the work, saying that our approach “enriched the working relationship” and helped them feel understood and supported.

The Difference It Made
By the end of the consultancy, Step Together felt “more confident about delivering our pilot Women’s Peer Mentoring programme with ex offenders in Manchester.” They had:

• A clear, practical programme structure
• A trained and prepared team
• A supported coordinator
• A shared understanding of trauma informed peer mentoring
• A framework they could use to deliver safely and consistently

They described working with us as “an absolute delight” and confirmed they would “absolutely” recommend our support to other organisations developing peer mentoring.

Where They Are Now
Step Together launched their pilot programme, with plans to expand their peer support offer further — including hopes to collaborate again in Bristol as their work grows.

The University of Bristol wanted to create a mentoring service that offered safer, more connected support for trans and non binary students. They were already working to improve the TNB student experience through staff training and new guidance, but needed a mentoring model that felt structured, trauma informed and genuinely shaped by lived experience. As they told us, “the model put forward gave us a way of providing better support to a vulnerable student group.”

Working Together

We worked alongside the University’s Student Inclusion Team to design and pilot a mentoring service that felt real, practical and rooted in peer support values. Because they already had an internal peer support team, they were able to use us flexibly — bringing us in where lived experience expertise mattered most.
This included:

• Running focus groups with TNB students
• Designing and delivering mentor training
• Supporting advertising and recruitment
• Drafting the full mentor handbook
• Providing ongoing advice and guidance throughout the pilot

They described this flexibility as one of the biggest strengths of the consultancy, saying “we could utilise The peer Partnership where it was most beneficial to do so.”

The Difference It Made
With our support, the University was able to set up and launch the TNB mentoring service at short notice — and crucially, without needing to secure additional staffing budget. As they put it, “we’ve been able to set up and pilot the TNB mentoring service… without recruiting a dedicated staff member.”
The work resulted in:

• A clear, structured mentoring model
• A trained and confident mentor team
• A handbook that supports safe, consistent practice
• A pilot programme integrated into existing student support systems
• A stronger foundation for improving the TNB student experience

The team highlighted the value of lived experience leadership throughout the process, and confirmed they would “more than happy” recommend our support to other organisations developing peer mentoring.

Where They Are Now

The University of Bristol successfully launched and continues to run the Trans and Non-Binary Mentoring Service, offering these students a safer, more supported way to connect with peers who understand their experiences.