Ben’s Trustee Story
Hi there, can you introduce yourself?
I’m Ben and I joined the board at Purfleet in 2019/2020.
What inspired you to join the board at Purfleet?
There was someone, and that was the Chief Executive, Paula. I’ve known Paula for a number of years – I got to know her through my role on the Mayor’s Charity Fundraising Committee.
Over a number of years, Purfleet has been the recipient or the joint recipient of the Mayor’s Charity. The convention is that the Chief Executive or someone nominated by them sits on the on the Fundraising Committee for that year. That’s how I got know Paula and I got more interested in what Purfleet do.
I learnt that Purfleet is not a charity that works conventionally to other homelessness charities. I find if I’m talking to anybody about The Purfleet Trust locally, they’ll say “aren’t they the people that provide shelter for homeless people?” but actually there’s a lot more to it than that. The fact that it’s so different to that is what I found so interesting and inspired me.
So it was Paula as a person, but then also the fact we don’t follow the conventional lines of what homelessness charities do.
What’s one thing that surprised you about Purfleet or about homelessness since you’ve joined?
I think what surprised me was the closeness of the relationship with the clients.
I thought that what you would see is clients coming in, getting lunch and going out again on the street. The difference is shown especially with the Training Houses – it’s not just to provide a roof for the night, but it’s actually to get people back into mainstream life.
There is a bond between the clients and the Trust, that I think is one of the truly inspiring bits about Purfleet. The fact that people, after they’ve got themselves back up on their feet in accommodation and employment, still have that relationship with Purfleet. I think that’s incredibly strong.
What’s a project that you feel kind of most proud of being involved with in particular since with joined Purfleet?
It’s the Purfleet Pathways warehouse. Soon after I joined the board, I was asked to be the trustee that took on the oversight role of the warehouse. So, whilst obviously Paula was in charge of the day-to-day and making sure it will happen. I was more involved with the with the broader oversight, so supporting her really, and I’ve got to say this is this is a phenomenal facility. I think we should be immensely proud of this project.
Is there anything that you in the future you’d like accomplish?
The real measure of success is when Purfleet is no longer needed. That would be the ideal outcome.
I think it’s about working with outside organisations to try to lessen the likelihood of more people needing to access homelessness services. If we can lobby those in power or work with other charities so that homelessness becomes less likely than need for Purfleet becomes less and ultimate ambition would be to see no more clients needing to use our services.
That to me would be the big one, but to come down to earth a bit, I think our Pathways warehouse can do a lot more, whether that be to help clients with employability or to help generate more income through supporting our shop. Through bringing us more income we can provide more services for our clients – income we get directly impacts the services we can provide.
What does being a trustee mean to you?
One of the things that is particularly engaging about being a trustee is a sense of belonging to a locality. I’ve been a trustee for a number of different charities, including nationally, but national charities in particular don’t have that local feeling to it.
What Purfleet does well is that sense of belonging to something, and belonging to something that has so much support and respect in the local area. I think we can all sometimes be a bit close to it to realise that.
It also gives me a feeling of pride, and that is what makes being a trustee worthwhile – pride in what you’re achieving.