I have been a trustee at ASSIST for the past 20 months and am currently a member of the Accommodation Subgroup as well as of the HR Subgroup.
I applied to be a trustee with ASSIST, having been aware of the organisation and the high regard with which it is held in the city, for several years. My own values reflect those of ASSIST, and I have always been particularly passionate about the issues of homelessness, isolation and discrimination. Since my time at ASSIST, I have been awed by the passion, commitment and hard work of all those involved.
I retired 5 years ago. I spent 9 years of my working life in Manchester working as a social worker/community worker, moving to Sheffield in 1985 to work for the Probation Service. I worked as a Probation Officer, a hostel worker, a Practice Teacher for probation students, and for the last 12 years as a team manager in Rotherham. This work gave me extensive direct experience of working with disadvantage and destitution, of accommodation projects, of managing staff, and of related HR issues, as well as being part of a team delivering safeguarding and diversity training to staff and students.
In retirement I have been enjoying the opportunity to spend more time outdoors, walking, cycling, playing tennis and gardening, as well as attending a French class. For the past 3 years, I have been a volunteer as a humanist ‘chaplain’ on a women’s acute psychiatric ward at a local hospital.
And I love a good novel!
