As I approached my last couple of years in school, working within the travel sector was all I wanted to do. I was fortunate enough to secure an apprenticeship with Tui UK as a trainee Travel Agent and the goal for me was to work abroad but having my first daughter at 21 and moving from Yeovil to Windsor, my aspirations changed.
After eight years, I left Travel and began a Customer Services role for my then Local Authority, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, specialising in Revenues and Benefits. I had never considered Housing as career, until I moved into mine and my daughters first home together following a relationship breakdown. I had applied for Housing through the Local Authority and was offered the tenancy of a flat in Sawyers Close, Windsor. I recall breathing a sigh of relief the day I signed my agreement knowing I had the security of a home and looking back, this move was pivotal to my future career and the path I chose to take.
Before becoming a tenant, I wasn’t aware of the stigma that clung to social housing residents; All of a sudden, I felt I was being defined by my housing status and not because of the person I was.
This feeling was shared amongst my neighbours, some of whom had lived in the flats for years and just accepted it for what it was, but I wanted to change that. I became actively involved in community groups and resident associations, keen to have my voice heard. Our Housing Officer, Simon, worked really closely with the residents, resolving our issues, engaging, and more importantly listening– I was fascinated by this type of work. I wanted to know more.
A couple years later, I made the decision to leave my life in Windsor and move back to Somerset; my daughter was due to start school and I accepted that working full time and juggling the school holidays without a support network would be really difficult. However, I would only move back on the basis that I found a job at the Local Authority or for a Housing Association, and the rest as they say is history!
In 2010 I joined Yarlington as Corporate Support Assistant, manning reception, and ensuring the kitchen always had enough milk!
I've been really fortunate to have spent the last 12 years in a variety of customer facing roles across the business, working with some fantastic teams but my heart always has and will be, with Housing.
I now manage Abri’s Housing Admin and Planning function, with colleagues based across our geography. We are a newly established team and are really looking forward to supporting the delivery of Abri’s Housing Management service to our many customers. One of my favourite parts of my role, is nurturing the talent, providing support, and seeing colleagues progress into roles which interest them and provide as much job satisfaction as I have.
Our work can bring many challenges, but the rewards outweigh the difficult days providing such gratification. In partnership with local agencies and internal teams we really are the everyday heroes making a positive difference to our customers lives through the work that we do, and I couldn’t imagine working or doing anywhere else.
