Jason Hanford (Chair of Trustees)
I joined the board of Catching Lives as a trustee at the beginning of 2017 and took over as chair in November 2019. My role is to increase the Charity’s visibility and raise awareness regarding the impact of Homelessness.
I initially got involved with Catching Lives by volunteering at the Winter Night Shelter. I am passionate about challenging social injustice and want to support change for those in our society without a voice.
For the past 20 years, I have been involved in the Executive Search Industry globally.
Andy Robinson (Deputy Chair)
I joined Catching Lives in 2016. I have volunteered in the kitchen since then and have also been a trustee. My working life was within social services and the care sector. I worked with rough sleepers in 1974/5 and, when I joined Catching Lives I realised that not much had changed since then!
Catching lives is a great organisation, it serves people who use it well. Trustees are involved in helping to run and improve the service and all staff, volunteers and trustees I have met are passionate about helping vulnerable adults living in appalling conditions. I was elected vice chair in 2019 and am proud to hold that post and use it to hopefully benefit those who need our help.
Mark Cowland
The Trustee team at Catching Lives are fully driven to supporting the objectives of the charity – and I am proud to be a part of it.
Although I have no previous experience in working in the voluntary sector, I have been impressed with the level of professionalism provided by the dedicated staff and volunteers at the charity. We all recognise that the homeless situation is likely to get worse before it gets better – and in a world of ever pressured finances, the work we all do in driving funding is directly linked to service levels we provide.
My work experience to date has been in building a successful career in national and international advertising and marketing – and, as I approach retirement, I hope to bring some of the commercial experience I’ve gathered and some of the lessons I’ve learned in supporting the valuable work undertaken by the group.
James Duff
I joined the board of CatchingLives in 2009 and was elected as chairman in 2012. Prior to this I was a client and a volunteer.
I enjoy my role, which involves, amongst other things, raising much needed funds and creating awareness. In addition, I spend much of my time at the centre talking to clients and volunteers. I feel this helps shape what we do to meet the complex challenges we face. Having a ‘real hands’ on experience enables me to be involved in how the service operates and, as a result, I feel that we are able to make a real positive difference to our client’s lives. Also, as I live in Canterbury I regularly see first-hand the issues our clients have to contend with.
Before coming to Canterbury I worked in various social care and admin roles.
Dr Ruth Auger
I became a Trustee of Catching Lives in November 2018. I know the day centre well, having started off as a volunteer in the kitchen in January 2011. I then undertook long-term academic research on rough sleeping in Canterbury. This highlighted the continuing need for my main passion: challenging the assumptions that continue to exist around people who are street homeless. Being a Trustee provides me with new ways of raising awareness and advocating for both Catching Lives and its clients.
George Metcalfe
I have been a volunteer in the kitchen since 2015, during which time I also served as Lord Mayor of Canterbury (2016 – 2017). I became a Trustee of Catching Lives In 2018, as I am passionate about Homelessness in and around Canterbury and Kent. Previous to that I was the owner of international public relations company which ran for 36 years. Today I am a Life Coach, a former mentor for the Prince’s Trust (1986 – 2015), trustee and chairman of the Marlowe Society.
Kate Menzies
I joined the board of Catching Lives in November 2019. I was excited to take on the role of Treasurer as it brings together my two core skills sets: an interest in finance and social care knowledge. I originally come from a Purchasing background which has given me a breadth of experience in identifying and delivering cost savings, efficiencies and value for money purchasing for the benefit of the client group.
I had however always dreamed of retraining in a people focused setting and had undertaken counselling skills qualifications and voluntary work alongside my day job in the hope of working towards this. I took the first step towards a caring and empowering career change in June 2013, when I proudly held the role of senior project worker at Catching Lives for 3 years.
In 2016, I decided to go back to university to complete my social work masters, graduating in 2018. I am currently employed as a children and families social worker but my heart will always be with the homeless of Canterbury and the wonderful clients, staff and volunteers at Catching Lives. I hope to utilise my skills to support the charity as it continues to grow and develop into the next decade.
Nikki Davies
I have been a volunteer nurse at Catching Lives for the past 4 years so have some understanding of the problems some of the clients have in accessing health care. We have excellent provisions here in Canterbury but due to lifestyle and possibly a mistrust of health care professionals, the physical health needs of clients are often neglected. As I am employed as a Nurse Practitioner in a GP practice. I have a good understanding on how the health service works and hope to use this for the benefit of people who are homeless in Canterbury.