Meet Us: TiB Operations Manager
Introducing Amanda, Operations Manager at Together in Barnet!
I spoke with Amanda about her role, the ups, the downs and a typical day in the life of the Operations Manager at Together in Barnet!
How long have you been involved with Together in Barnet? And what made you decide to apply for the role of Operations Manager?
“ The injustice of her story stuck with me”
I first got involved in the homelessness sector when I was 14 and volunteered with my mum at Crisis at Christmas. My strongest memory of those few days was meeting a woman who had found herself homeless after she had reported her landlord for refusing to do necessary repairs on her flat, so he evicted her. She had been an English teacher up until she was evicted and I met her after her situation had led to months of sleeping rough. The injustice of her story stuck with me and I knew that when I "grew up" I wanted to do a job that made a small difference to people in similar situations.
“I returned to Together in Barnet in 2019 as the Operations Manager”
Once I turned 18, I started volunteering at the Night Shelter in Barnet and at Homeless Action in Barnet and when Together in Barnet formalised into a charity in 2014, I applied and was lucky enough to become the Night Shelter Coordinator. I ran two seasons of the shelter and then spent some time gaining new skills working for a local mental health charity. Equipped with new experiences and knowledge I returned to Together in Barnet in 2019 as the Operations Manager.
“Sometimes when people come to the shelter, it’s after one or two nights of sleeping on the night buses”
Together in Barnet is extremely special and an organisation I am very proud to represent. The community in Barnet are at the heart of what we do and make the charity what it is. On paper Together in Barnet offers 'dinner, bed and breakfast' and our priority is always being a safe place away from the streets for our guests, but our communities make the shelter so much more than that. Sometimes when people come to the shelter, it's after one or two nights of sleeping on the night buses, or moving from friend's couch to friend's couch. Or its after years of sleeping in a tent in a local green space or in a big supermarket carpark. Wherever they slept the night before, the shelter is a place where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. We are however, not a solution to people's housing crisis. We are a stop-gap measure, an unfortunate necessity and not an alternative to long-term housing.
Did COVID-19 change anything about your role?
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With the onset of the pandemic and the announcement of the national lockdown on 23rd March 2020, my job changed overnight. Our faith-venues had begun to shut one by one and we started to lose volunteers. Luckily one of our amazing communities had a separate hall from the main church and this became our base for the week. Suddenly, I was working from one place and the guests were all stuck in the same hall together 24/7. We were all scared, not sure what to expect or how the next few days would pan out. After a week in the hall, trying to keep everyone occupied and fed, Barnet Homes thankfully found all of our guests temporary accommodation and the shelter closed it's doors.
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The next 9 months were spent coordinating volunteers delivering essential care packages to people placed in temporary accommodation in partnership with Homeless Action in Barnet. Together in Barnet also fundraised to enable us to give out micro-grants - small grants that go a long way. An example of this being £20 phone credit. Someone who approached HAB for support who was rough sleeping and at the time had no funds to be able to top up his phone, with the TiB micro-grant was able to stay in regular contact with his probation worker who was facilitating his application for Universal Credit. Once secured he was able to move into stable accommodation. This illustrates what a huge impact a relatively small amount of money can make.
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During this time we were also looking into how we could adapt the service and re-open in a Covid-safe way. In January 2021, we opened our first hotel project which housed our guests who may have otherwise been rough sleeping on the streets of Barnet.
What is your favourite thing about TiB?
My favourite thing about Together in Barnet is undoubtedly all of the people I get to meet through the course of my job, guests and volunteers alike. I have the chance to work with enthusiastic and dedicated volunteers to provide a service for people when they really need it. Throughout my time working at TiB I have met people from all over the world, from all different backgrounds and each of their stories has been unique. We've had talented pianists, expert plumbers, PR professionals, students, and grandparents stay with us at one time or another.
What is the most challenging part of being Operations Manager?
The most challenging part of my job is also an aspect that I love. Being a part of a small two person staff team (alongside amazing volunteers), means that I get to wear lots of hats throughout the day which keeps the job interesting! I work on the 'frontline', directly interacting with our guests, whilst developing the charity's strategy and working on fundraising and admin amongst other things. No two days are the same which is what I love about the job.
