It’s About the Long Game

When Jackie Petter looks back on her early days of mentoring her Dreamer in the Mt Roskill Pilot, she remembers feeling unsure about whether she was making any difference. Her Dreamer was reserved and often very quiet, and Jackie sometimes wondered if their outings or conversations were having any impact at all. But she kept turning up, trusting in the hope that something good would come from it.

Sixteen years later, Jackie found herself rereading old emails between herself, I Have a Dream founder and Chairman Scott Gilmour, and former CEO Ant (Coach) Backhouse. She was unexpectedly moved. In those messages, she could see the gentle encouragement they offered, the way they celebrated her Dreamer’s improving grades, and the genuine care that surrounded both her and her Dreamer during a time when she often doubted herself.

Jackie first met Scott at their daughters’ Baradene school camp, and their conversation quickly turned to the I Have a Dream programme. It resonated deeply. She had always been interested in social issues and was very aware of the privilege she had grown up with.

“I’ve always had enough money, and I’ve always believed I could make it in the world. When I had children, I started thinking more deeply about why some people get through and do well in life and others really struggle. That questioning eventually led me to study psychology, and later to train as a psychotherapist.”

When Scott set up the I Have a Dream programme, Jackie began helping in the office and supporting wherever she could. When the mentor programme launched, she signed up because she could see its value.

Even though Jackie had four daughters of her own, she found that building a relationship with her Dreamer took real effort and time, especially because her Dreamer did not have a phone. Jackie eventually gave her an old one, but even then, keeping it topped up and working was a challenge.

“I don’t really think I knew what I was getting into. At first, I thought I would just catch up with my mentee every now and then. I don’t think I really understood that you have to be really consistent, reliable and committed.”

Their outings were simple: a walk, a coffee, or a trip to Savemart to look at clothes. It was something Jackie’s own children loved, but it was completely new for her Dreamer. Jackie kept reaching out even when replies were slow. Staying connected required patience and persistence. As she says, “You had to believe in the long game.”

Navigating the relationship with the whānau required care. Jackie never wanted to overstep, and she was conscious of the differences between their worlds. “It was quite a delicate little dance,” she says. “They never made me feel unwelcome. But I was aware of the disparity, someone coming to their home who is from a different world.” Ant played a crucial role in bridging that space. “He greased the wheels all the time and had the main relationship with the family.”

Over time, Jackie began to see small shifts. Her Dreamer started to come out of her shell, try new things, and explore parts of the city she had never seen. Jackie does not claim credit. “She was a teenager. She was changing all the time.” But she was there when it mattered, especially during a significant event at home when I Have a Dream and Jackie stepped in to support her through a difficult process.

Jackie’s husband, John Mangan, (rhird from right) at the Te Whai Hiringa launch

After leaving school, her Dreamer and her partner moved to Melbourne to build a new life. Today, she is a full‐time mum with a small business selling secondhand clothes online. Jackie smiles at the thought that their Savemart trips may have planted a seed.

They still stay in touch, and every now and then Jackie gets a message that brings everything full circle. “We talk about you and Coach a lot,” her Dreamer told her recently. “Especially when we are going through hard days raising our little one, or when things are hard.”

Mentoring was life‐changing for Jackie. It opened her eyes to realities she had never fully understood: the pressures of poverty, the legacy of colonisation, and the weight of being judged without resources. The experience reshaped her worldview, informed her work as a psychotherapist, and broadened her children’s understanding of privilege. “As a family, we got a lot out of it,” she says.

Her biggest highlight is seeing her Dreamer thriving in her own life now.

Jackie and her husband, John Mangan, continue to support I Have a Dream as donors contributing financially to the programme. Most recently, their business, Freshco, supports the new programme in Flaxmere at Te Whai Hiringa after seeing its impact up close. Jackie and John hope their support can help change someone else’s pathway and give more young people a sense of hope.

“I feel like this experience offered me an opportunity to do something worthwhile for the collective good.”