New results from Raise Digital show how online mentoring helps teenagers build confidence, cope with challenges and feel less alone.
Parents and educators are increasingly asking the same questions: Are our teens ok? How do you help a young person who seems withdrawn, overwhelmed or reluctant to talk?
Adolescence can be a time of enormous change. Teenagers are navigating friendships, identity, school pressure and the influence of social media, all while developing the skills they need to manage emotions and relationships. For some young people, this can lead to anxiety, loneliness or a drop in confidence. For others, it simply means needing a safe space to talk things through.
One approach that is gaining attention for its impact on teen mental health and wellbeing is mentoring.
For the last 17 years, Raise has delivered mentoring programs through schools to help young people build confidence, resilience and a sense of belonging. These programs connect teenagers with trained volunteer mentors who provide consistent support and guidance during an important stage of life.
But not every young person can access mentoring through school. Some live in rural or regional communities, some are home-schooled, and others need support outside the classroom.
That’s why Raise created Raise Digital, an online mentoring program designed to reach teenagers wherever they are.
A trusted adult who listens
Raise Digital connects young people aged 13–16 with a trained mentor through a safe purpose built online platform. Each young person is matched with their own mentor and meets with them weekly, building a consistent relationship over time.
These one-to-one conversations give teenagers a space to talk openly about what’s happening in their lives, whether that’s friendship issues, school stress, confidence struggles, or navigating the ups and downs of high school.
For many families, one of the biggest challenges is when a teenager won’t talk about what’s going on. Mentoring doesn’t replace the role of parents or teachers, but it can give young people another trusted adult in their corner, someone who listens without judgement and helps them think through challenges.
Programs like this can play an important role in early intervention, helping teenagers build coping skills and confidence before small struggles become bigger problems.
What we learned from the Raise Digital pilot
In 2025, Raise moved from piloting Raise Digital into full delivery of the program, with the support of Google.org.
Raise Digital has already supported close to 300 young people. The results show that meaningful mentoring relationships can thrive online and make a real difference for teenagers.
92% of young people enjoyed the program
83% said they would recommend it to a friend
75% said things feel different for them because of mentoring
90% of those who came in with personal challenges said the program helped them cope
92% said mentoring helped them in at least one area of their life
92% rated their relationship with their mentor as excellent or very good
For many teenagers, simply having someone who checks in each week and genuinely listens can help them feel more supported and capable of handling challenges.
One Raise mentee described the experience this way:
“Raise is somewhere to feel safe, somewhere to feel happy, somewhere to talk, somewhere to be yourself. An amazing place, something you wish for.”
Why mentoring matters for teenagers
Research consistently shows that trusted relationships are one of the strongest protective factors for young people’s mental health.
Mentoring helps teenagers develop important life skills such as:
Building confidence
Learning how to ask for help
Developing resilience
Strengthening communication skills
Feeling a sense of belonging
These skills are especially important during adolescence, when young people are figuring out who they are and how they fit into the world.
Reaching more young people who need support
The success of Raise Digital means more young people can now access mentoring support, regardless of where they live or what school they attend or even if they are currently home schooled.
By 2030, Raise aims to support more than 5,000 young people every year, with around half accessing mentoring through Raise Digital.
Expanding access to mentoring means more teenagers can build confidence, strengthen resilience and feel supported during one of the most important stages of life.
Raise Digital was made possible thanks to the generous support of Google.org, along with funding partners Goodman Foundation and Paul Ramsay Foundation, who are helping ensure more young people can access a mentor when they need one.
If you know a young person who could benefit from Raise Digital mentoring or you have one hour a week to volunteer to be a Mentor, we’d love to hear from you. https://raise.org.au/digital/
