20 years helping the homeless

In his two decades of service, he has presided over the charity’s growth to its position today in which it provides a home to over 350 homeless and vulnerable people every night and supports around 2,000 every year.

Andrew joined Alabaré from a Portsmouth housing and social care charity where he had been Deputy Director, and prior to this had worked as an accountant. Andrew joined Alabaré ‘because of its commitment to the vulnerable and marginalised’ initially meeting a need in Salisbury, but with aspirations to help many more.

Working with Alabaré's founder Revd John Proctor, a vision was set out for the charity to grow to meet the need in other areas in South West England and Wales, and Alabaré has since opened dedicated Homes for Veterans in 9 areas, merging with other charities to increase the reach of its support for homeless people across the South and South West, as well as opening social enterprises and further development centres to provide activities and employment opportunities for their clients.

On the anniversary of his 20 years in position, Andrew commented:

“It has been a privilege to work for Alabaré over the past 20 years alongside an amazing staff team who support the vulnerable and marginalised to transform their lives. To see our service users overcome such difficult barriers to live better lives gives me an enormous sense of pride.

“We were able to redevelop the old Damascus House hostel in 2010 to what is now Alabaré Place, our charity’s largest service which provides a home to 41 homeless and vulnerable people in Salisbury.

“Additionally, another moment was when we were able to present our “Homes not Streets” campaign to MP’s at the Houses of Parliament in 2017. More recently has been the opening of the new Riverside Sanctuary service which is now providing essential support to people struggling with their mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“There have been numerous moments that I can reflect fondly on as well as a number of challenges, none more so than the current situation, however I never cease to be amazed by colleague’s commitment and care to our service users. The current pandemic around Covid-19 has further highlighted the need of Alabaré’s services and I look forward to marking our 30th year anniversary in 2021.”

Alabaré's founder and Honorary President, John Proctor OBE appointed Andrew as Chief Executive back in 2000. He said:

“As Chairman of Alabaré I enjoyed working with Andrew for 19 of his 20 years’ service during which he has always shown total dedication to the job. At intervals throughout this time there have been many stresses and strains all of which Andrew has taken in his stride, whilst acknowledging the strength of the team that support him.”