Philanthropy

I have been working in the homelessness sector for 7 years now. My career has varied between street outreach, working early morning or late night shifts alongside people rough sleeping, to supporting people leaving prison with complex housing issues.
I'd always been aware of Crisis and had constantly been impressed by not only their innovative frontline work, but their progressive and outspoken campaigning. Crisis has always stood out to me as an organisation that is fearlessly fighting for the rights of homeless people across the UK.
I have worked here for almost 5 years now and before I was part of our fundraising team, I was working as a Housing Coach in our Crisis Skylight London centre. My time within that team has given me first-hand experience of the important impact that Crisis has on our members. We are only able to continue that work through support from our incredible donors, so I feel privileged to now be in the position to speak with them every day and show them just how their support is changing lives.

I joined Crisis in early 2023 excited by their ambition and values-led approach to ending homelessness. It is a failure of modern society that so many people continue to experience homelessness and am proud to be part of an organisation that is changing this. I have been impressed in by Crisis holistic approach to ending homelessness, not only through their front line work and the support they offer members, but also through their policy and campaigning work.
I have worked in fundraising for over 12 years for a range of charities and have always been passionate about tackling social justice and global inequality. I believe that we all have the ability and responsibility  to build a fairer and better world, and it is a privilege in my role to work with some of our amazing supporters who share this passion. I am constantly inspired by the resolve and commitment of members, colleagues and supporters across Crisis who work tirelessly everyday to end homelessness.

I joined Crisis in late 2020, having previously worked at Cancer Research UK and a fundraising consultancy. I've been passionate about social justice for a long time and was hugely inspired by the breadth of Crisis' ambition, as well as the warmth and compassion of the team here.
It's unacceptable that anyone in our country doesn't have a safe place to call home, but for so many people to be experiencing the indignity of homelessness is a disgrace. I don't ever want to live in a society that considers it to be 'normal' or 'okay' that people are forced to sofa-surf, sleep rough, or live out of temporary accommodation.
We know what it will take to end homelessness, and how to get there, so I'm really excited to be managing the Journeys Home Fund (Crisis' first giving club). Collaborating with Crisis' incredible supporter community to ensure that our front-line staff can deliver the best possible service for our members is a real privilege, and I'm humbled every day by the stories that people share with us.

When I was in my 20s I spent a year working for a radio station in Cork. During this time, we broadcast a series of stories narrated by people experiencing homelessness around the city. A doctor, a refugee, a grandfather, a postgraduate, every story was unique, yet a common thread emerged none of them ever expected to find themselves forced into homelessness and now that they were, they felt unseen, unheard, unacknowledged.

Now, 10 years later, I am so proud to be a part of Crisis mission to end homelessness for good.

Based just around the corner from our London Skylight, I have the privilege of working with the charity's most philanthropic donors, maximising the impact their support can have on achieving this goal.

I love fundraising, I love helping to make a difference to the lives of others. What motivates me when it gets tough? well, I return to a quote I first heard in Cork all those years ago - the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members (Gandhi)

In 2020 after learning about the archaic Vagrancy Act of 1824, which still made it a criminal offence to sleep rough in England and Wales in modern Britain, I was motivated to conduct my research dissertation on the omnipresent stigma and exclusion forced upon those who experience homelessness. Whilst researching for this thesis, I came across Crisis and was inspired by the incredible work they do.

I joined Crisis in December 2022, the same year that Crisis had successfully completed its campaign to force the government to finally repeal the Vagrancy Act.

This felt like such a full circle moment for me, and I consider myself so lucky to be working for an organisation that is determined to end homelessness for good. It is a privilege to get to know philanthropists who stand with those experiencing homelessness, and to work closely with them on the journey to ensure everyone has a warm, safe and stable place to call home.