Q: How did you get into youth work?
I was one of those kids who kept getting kicked out of school. Eventually I got involved with Stepney Children’s Fund at Toynbee Hall, who invited me on a summer camp for young people like me. The youth workers there were different to most adults I had encountered – they focused on what I was good at rather than what my problems were. That was a genuinely formative experience. After a while I became a Young Leader, then a volunteer, then got a job as a youth support worker. It turned out that was what I was good at.
Q: How long have you been Chair of Trustees and what made you want to become one?
I have been Chair for around two years, but I was at Mary’s for six years before that as Youth Development Manager and CEO. Becoming a trustee was never really a question for me – Mary’s is where my heart is.
Q: What has the change in your role been like for you?
If I’m honest, I miss it. The youth club is a lot more dynamic than governance work – you are closer to the young people, the energy, the everyday moments. But there is important work to be done at trustee level too, making sure the organisation has the foundations it needs to keep doing what it does. It is a different way of supporting young people, but it still matters.
Q: What kept you involved?
I often feel that people don’t fully realise how special Mary’s is – though I’ll admit I’m biased. To me, Mary’s is a template for what good youth work looks like. It is an anchor in a sector that gets pulled in all directions, responding to funding pressures, shifting priorities, the demands of different commissioners. It is easy for an organisation to drift, to compromise on values, on rights-based practice, on genuine participation. Mary’s has not done that. That is worth staying involved for
Q: What skills do you feel you bring to the role of Chair of Trustees?
Youth work skills, mainly. We are a youth work organisation after all. Values-based leadership is probably the most important thing I bring – keeping the organisation honest about its purpose and recognising when we might be drifting from what matters. Having worked at Mary’s for some years before becoming Chair also means I understand the organisation from the inside, the culture, the practice, the people. And youth work teaches you to hold space for different voices, to make sure everyone around the table feels heard, which turns out to be just as important in a trustees meeting as it is in a youth club session.”
Q: What changes have you seen in the youth club over the last 10 years?
It is a slightly strange question because Mary’s has always been changing – that is the nature of open access youth work. The programme, the vibe, is shaped by whoever walks through the door and what they bring with them, so it has never really been one fixed thing. If I had to name the biggest structural change, it would be becoming a fully independent youth work charity, having previously been part of a larger organisation. That was a significant moment. But in terms of the work itself, the relationships, the values, the way young people are met – that has stayed remarkably consistent, which is actually the point.
Q: What do you think young people are dealing with most nowadays?
Yes, there came a time when we realised that for the charity to survive we needed to boost the rental income and also try to raise some money from grants and things like that. We were very successful in 2015 when we got over £300,000 from the Reaching Communities fund. That allowed us to hire more staff, including Aston and Sally, and took the organisation to another level. It was a big shift, and helped the charity move to the next level, helping to generate more rental income. This was an interesting time, with lots of ups and downs, good and bad times, but ultimately the charity continued to thrive and grow.
Q: What do you think young people are dealing with most nowadays?
That is a big question. The typical answers would be something like social media or vaping, but those are headlines. If you look back over the years there has always been a moral panic about young people – something that adults are worried about. The concerns change, attitudes towards young people do not, not fundamentally. If I had to choose one thing it would be inequality, and not just in financial terms. If I am taking the gloves off, I would say greed. Greed is at the heart of the challenges young people face, and a lot of other people too. The hoarding of wealth, opportunity, power. Young people are navigating a world that was not really designed with their best interests in mind, and they know it.
Q: What are some of your favourite memories of your time at Mary’s?
The residentials are always special, often hard work but incredibly worthwhile. There was one camp a few years back where I genuinely cannot remember anything specific that happened – no standout activity or memorable incident – just a brilliant group of young people and staff, and it felt like a holiday with good people. That is actually a perfect description of what a residential should be. They do a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to building and sustaining the relationships that make the youth club what it is. When you spend that kind of time together, something shifts.
Q: Where do you hope to see Mary’s in the future?
Still true to its values and driven by young people. That is it really. The buildings, the funding, the programmes – those things will change. As long as Mary’s remains a place where young people have genuine agency and the work stays rooted in what they bring, then we are doing it right
Q: Three words you would use to describe Mary’s Youth Club?
I am not playing that game – it is more complicated than three words. Mary’s works with young people at the most interesting, dynamic and uncertain time in a human’s existence, on a planet that is itself at its most interesting, dynamic and uncertain. Three words do not really cover it
Q: What can people do to support the youth club?
Connect with us – and by us I mean the young people and the staff, not just the organisation. We are all about making change together, and that only works if the wider community is part of it. Whether that is volunteering, bringing a skill, being present, or simply showing an interest in what young people are doing. And of course, donations are always welcome
