Director of Staffordshire Buddies

Chris has lots to smile about

I had a brief space to introduce myself in the last edition of Positive Lives - I'd now like to give everyone an update on how I've found my first three months here with Staffordshire Buddies.

I've spent a lot of this time meeting as many of our Stake-Holders as possible.
Within the charity, I have enjoyed meeting our Service Users across the county - from women living with HIV in Stoke-on-Trent, to bisexual men attending our Married Men's Group in Lichfield, to Gay Men at our Hanley drop-in. All have given me valuable insights into how the charity operates and what they need from us in the future.

Of course, Staffordshire Buddies could not function without our dedicated team of Volunteers. I'd like to thank those I've met for filling-me-in, and I look forward to meeting others in the near future. I'd like to say a special thanks here to the Charity Trustees, who I feel have gone out of their way to make me feel welcome during these early days .

Lastly, within the charity, I've taken great pleasure in getting to know the staff team; all of whom have made me feel incredibly welcome and have considerably eased my starting here.
Looking outside the charity, I've enjoyed meeting and working with our various funders; Niall McGrogan & Sue Scott at North Staffordshire Health Authority; Julie Metcalfe at Stoke-on-Trent City Council; Dr. Duggal at South Staffordshire Health Authority; and Ken James at Staffordshire County Council.

There seems to be an enormous amount of good-will towards Staffordshire Buddies in our local community, which perhaps hasn't always been capitalised on as it might have been. I've been amazed at the manner in which other Stakeholders have firstly made me feel so welcome, but more importantly have gone out of their way to extend the hand of friendship to us. In particular, I'm talking about Stoke-on-Trent Citizens Advice Bureau, Staffordshire University Schools of Humanities and Social Work, Voluntary Action Stoke-on-Trent, and Beth Johnson Housing Association. This is just the beginning though; I look forward to developing many more meaningful alliances across the county.

Finally, outside of Staffordshire - I've enjoyed meeting a wide range of our partners in Birmingham, Manchester, Shrewsbury and beyond.
I realise that some of my predecessors weren't in post for very long. I want to make it completely clear now that I am enjoying both working and living here and look forward to the task of directing the charity through the challenges outlined on page one.

I'd like to finish off by saying corny but heartfelt thanks to a few people who've particularly helped my move here to Staffordshire. Cheers guys to Niall McGrogan, Jonathan Knall, and to Mike Wolfe, and extra thanks to Bob Lishman for helping me out in so many ways.

Chris Woolls
Director