From Music to Mentoring: How Partnership Helped One Finding Rhythms Participant Move Forward

At Finding Rhythms, we know that music can be a powerful starting point – a way to build confidence, express identity and reconnect with a sense of possibility. But lasting change often happens when that creative work is supported by the right relationships beyond the studio.

That’s why partnerships matter so much – and it’s why we’ve been partnering with Trailblazers Mentoring since 2024, to provide Finding Rhythms’ participants with the opportunity to access high quality mentoring, alongside their music and employability activity.

One exceptional example of where Trailblazers has made a real difference is through an intensive mentoring relationship that took place between December 2025 and July 2026.

The mentee had first connected with Finding Rhythms through our work with prison leavers in the community. A talented poet and spoken word artist, he was referred on to Trailblazers at a time when he was facing significant uncertainty and anxiety about his future.

An Unlikely Match

Trailblazers matched him with a mentor who had previously served as a Metropolitan Police officer. On paper, it was not an obvious pairing.

The mentee held a deeply negative view of the police, while his mentor came from a career spent within policing. The match was intentional: there was an opportunity for both men to challenge assumptions, build understanding and see each other beyond labels.

At first, both were unsure. But through regular sessions, that uncertainty gradually turned into trust.

What began as a relationship between two people who might once have seen the world very differently became one built on consistency, openness and mutual respect.

Practical Support That Made a Difference

The mentoring relationship was about far more than just talking. Trailblazers provided practical, consistent support as the mentee navigated some of the biggest decisions and challenges in his life.

His mentor helped him think through decisions more carefully, supported him to enrol on a bike mechanics course with XO Bikes, encouraged him towards greater independence and stood alongside him through court appearances, meetings with his solicitor and judge, and even a meeting with his local MP.

The mentee summed up the shift simply:

I now make better decisions – more thoughtful decisions, I do more for myself. I am more conscientious.

Choosing to Face Things Differently

One particularly poignant moment came when the mentee was due to attend court.

He had considered going on the run.

Instead, his mentor reached out and told him they would go together.

He showed up.

That moment became symbolic of a much bigger change: moving away from avoidance and towards facing difficult situations with support. Both of his court cases were ultimately thrown out, but the significance lay not only in the outcome – it was in the decision to stop running and begin confronting what was in front of him.

There were smaller signs of change too.

During a later encounter with police at a hospital, the mentee reflected that some of the officers were “nice guys” and that he had been able to laugh with them – a striking shift from the mistrust that had shaped his outlook at the start of the mentoring relationship.

Seeing the Person Beyond the ‘Case’

For the mentor, the relationship was transformative too.

One of his standout moments came when he watched his mentee perform at a Finding Rhythms showcase.

It was a reminder that the person he had been supporting was not simply a case, an offence or a set of circumstances, but an artist with talent, creativity and a story worth hearing.

The experience also changed how the mentor viewed people within the criminal justice system.

Being part of the mentee’s journey has taught me that everyone has a backstory. It isn’t as simple as good guys and bad guys – everyone has a story to tell.

That learning has gone on to shape his own future too. He has since been offered a role as an Offender Management Unit worker at HMP Thameside and credits his experience with Trailblazers with helping him develop a more nuanced understanding of the people he will now support professionally.

A Fresh Start

The mentee has also taken an important next step.

He has moved out of London into supported accommodation in another part of the UK, seeking a fresh start and greater independence – a move he says he would not have made without the support he received through Trailblazers.

For Finding Rhythms, stories like this demonstrate why partnership working is so important.

Music can help someone rediscover confidence, voice and identity. Mentoring can then help translate that into the difficult, practical decisions that shape everyday life.

Neither happens in isolation.

By working alongside organisations like Trailblazers, we can help ensure that participants are not only given a creative opportunity, but are also connected to the relationships, guidance and practical support that can help them keep moving forward.

Sometimes the most important change begins with someone believing there is more to you than your past – and then staying alongside you long enough for you to believe it too.