Mi casa su casa – my home is your home – springs to mind when thinking of the last few months since my last blog. This is because we welcomed the judging panel from the Kent Charity Awards to visit AMAT UK, after hearing we’d been shortlisted in the category ‘Large Charity of the Year’.
To say I was happy about this exciting news, feels like an understatement.
Obviously visits like this are anxiety-inducing, but the judges totally put us at ease and gave us some lovely feedback about the work we do. They’ll have a difficult job ahead of them in choosing the winners and I was impressed with how thorough they were with their questions.
We’re looking forward to attending the awards ceremony in September to celebrate with all the other amazing charities that work in Kent. Win or lose, it’s an honour to be shortlisted and its testament to the journey we’ve been on to be recognised in this way.
Other recent visitors to AMAT UK include councillors from both Labour and Conversative parties. These have been good opportunities for us to speak with them about the important work we do and the challenges our Residents and the local community face.
We’re thrilled to welcome Forward Trust to 411 Hive, our community project. They will be running Medway’s Treatment and Recovery Service (RIVER) for people who have issues with drugs and/or alcohol out of the Hive. Also the NHS community based, complex needs nurse will be working once a week in our clinical space at 411 Hive. Both these services are available for the local community to make use of.
AMAT has also been out making connections with other organisations which have brought more visitors to see us. At a networking event earlier in the year, we connected with Stacey and Sharna from Adams and Bowles Wealth Management Ltd, they subsequently popped into see us and find out more as they are keen to work with charities in Medway. They want to offer financial education to our Residents and staff, free of charge, which is an excellent resource for our Residents and staff and we’re looking forward to seeing this relationship develop.
One thing highlighted by all the visits, is the dedication of AMAT’s Trustees and their passion and willingness to promote what we do. Someone that has stood out is Alex, who until recently was a Resident, but continues to volunteer in our café and as a board member. His willingness to speak about his experience of being homeless and his journey to permanent accommodation is nothing short of inspirational. He’s great advocate of what we do and a perfect example of why I love my job. We are always on the look out for Board members, so if you feel like you would be interested in making a difference, please get in touch with us and I can arrange to give you more information about the role.
Till next time.
Jodie.
