I grew up in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and continue to live here with my family and so feel a strong commitment to the borough. I believe passionately in the contribution the Voluntary Sector can play in delivering high-quality services for all residents of Greenwich and the need for this to be better acknowledged by those who commission services. I have worked for charities in the borough providing mental health support for thirty years (including as Clinical Lead at Mind for sixteen years and then on an outreach project for the Tavistock). Currently, I am CEO (and Founder) of MumsAid which I set up eleven years ago to provide an accessible service, particularly aimed at marginalised women struggling with maternal mental health difficulties.
This experience of setting up a charity and growing it from a small start-up with a grant of £3,500 to an an-award-winning organisation has given me a lot of insight into what is great about the Voluntary Sector but also the challenges we face. In particular, I understand the struggles smaller organisations contend with to get fair representation and to achieve sufficient funding to make them sustainable.