ABOUT
It was much later that I came to realise that everyone didn’t feel the same as me. I always had good food, clothes that fit, a warm home, and love. It still hurts to realise that some of my friends didn’t feel this way, many years later, one friend told me ‘I felt I was left out of all the fun, it made me feel empty inside’. It was later still that it began to dawn on me just how disadvantaged some of my friends had been and some still are. They mentioned waking up every day and not being able to heat their home, facing insecurity, uncertainty even marginalisation and discrimination about their parent’s financial circumstances.
I always had hope, I know several of my friends who have used hope to a create a bright and stable future for themselves and their children. I am proud of each and every one of them. But I can’t forget those who couldn’t see the light in the darkness, who were never given the courage to put one foot after the next to find a way out of poverty. I know there are still millions of children still facing this heartache today. These children have to fight twice as hard for their future. A lot of the challenges my friends’ faced can be found here:
I know the cause of child poverty is hugely complex and the answers no less challenging. For me, I can only tell you that hope and kindness played its part, my saving grace was that we had books and lots of them!
I somehow managed to get a place to read English Language and Literature at the school of English at Leeds where I fell in love with creative writing and modern literary theory. I would then take a twenty five year detour away from this passion becoming an entrepreneur! I helped build the Write Research Group and Smart Public into the number one talent intelligence business in the UK before they were acquired by Capita Group in 2013. I was very grateful to be awarded the 2020 Northeast Entrepreneur of the Year by the Entrepreneur’s Forum which aims to inspire and support fellow entrepreneurs. Before this I was Director of research for a management consultancy based in yorkshire.