Authors

Andrea Hutchins works in Curo's Community Connect team, offering a free service for people over 50 living in North Somerset who would like information, advice or guidance to help them stay living independently at home. Community Connect offers a wide range of tailored support and advice, including information and guidance over the phone, face-to-face or by email, helping people to stay connected and active in their community.

Andrew has 13 years of experience working in social housing and anti-social behaviour. Previously Andrew has developed and delivered training sessions on all aspects of anti-social behaviour and worked on the RESPECT agenda.

As Curo's Work Placement Support Worker I help our customers find opportunities for them to gain work experience and NVQ units through our Accredited Work Placement Programme. I’ve been with Curo since July 2016. Prior to working at Curo I worked with a charity, Missing People, in Swindon supporting vulnerable young people when they ran away from home or went missing. My passion has always been supporting and empowering people to make the most of their lives and I get the chance to do that every day here. It’s a challenging role at time but I’ve never been one to shy away from a challenge!

Charlotte joined Curo in October 2016. Charlotte works in Curo's Temporary Accommodation Service in Weston Super-Mare where she supports customers to gain independent living skills. Charlotte is also the support worker for Curo's new Step Down service in North Somerset where she supports customers with mental health issues whilst they are waiting to return home after their hospital stay. Charlotte has a BA (Hons) in social work and her career to date has been largely in the homeless sector; working with street homelessness, in a council resettlement team and at large hostels in London.

Claire worked with Curo on a three month student placement. Her role was to research the history of the Foxhill MOD site and suggest how this history could be used within the future of Mulberry Park. The project took her to archives in Bath and London, and she spoke with a range of people who worked on the site. She was based with Curo's PR & Communications team while studying for a Masters in Heritage Management with Bath Spa University.

Dave has worked in social housing property maintenance all of his working life for a number of housing organisations and for private contractors. As Head of Curo Response he is responsible for the delivery of responsive repairs, minor works, void re-let works and gas and home safety inspections.

Donna joined Curo in August 2014 as Organisational Development (OD) Manager following 19 years in the utilities sector. Donna has spent time in operational management before moving into project and change management roles, latterly with a HR and OD focus. She has developed talent management schemes, introduced performance management processes and led on employee engagement initiatives. Now, as Head of Colleague Experience, Donna is the strategic lead for talent management, learning & development and equality & diversity for Curo. Donna has more recently taken on responsibility for health & safety and facilities management.

Ed has worked as a lecturer and youth worker for 11 years, specializing in youth engagement. As a Learning & Development Worker and Wellbeing Project Officer at Curo he is responsible for delivering our Working Well service to support clients to improve their wellbeing, confidence and skills.

If you'd like to contribute, we'd love to hear from you. Please contact communications@curo-group.co.uk or tweet us @Curo_Group.

Harriet is the Director of Health, Care and Support at Curo, where she leads innovative services including the Independent Living Service (ILS). In March 2013 ILS won the South West Better Health category at the National Housing Federation Community Impact Awards. The Independent Living Service went on to be the overall National Winner. Harriet has a track record of service transformation and innovation having cut her teeth with one of the first mentoring schemes in the country for young offenders in Hackney and Tower Hamlets. She co-wrote a housing strategy with people with learning difficulties living in South Gloucestershire in 2005. At the Big Issue Foundation she set up arts based education and engagement programmes for street homeless people. In recent months her team at Curo have launched the Rural Independent Living Scheme for people concerned about their memory loss to enable people to remain independent in their own homes. In her spare time Harriet is on the Board of St John’s Hospital in Bath and enjoys yoga, dog walking and river swimming in that order!

Jack has worked for Curo since 2015 and in social housing for 35 years. He is a service manager in North Somerset, working with contracts to support people in communities with homelessness, mental health support, isolation and loneliness.

Jade joined the Curo family in December 2019 as her first UK post since leaving Queensland, Australia. Prior to Curo Jade worked for the University of the Sunshine Coast as a Research Coordinator and the Department of Health Primary Health Sector as a Health Planner and Engagement Officer. Jade’s passion is in community health and wellbeing and evaluation processes.

Joe Robson is Curo's Senior Arboriculturalist. Joe has worked as a tree surgeon, a tree surveyor and was a member of the tree team that manages The National Arboretum at Westonbirt.

Judith Forde is a Business Improvement Project Manager at Curo who has worked in housing for over 25 year in all aspects of housing management, before making the change to concentrate on delivering service improvement and change projects. She is passionate about equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging.

Kris joined the Curo family in July 2020. Originally from Scotland, Kris was a welder by trade, which took him to Cyprus for a year. Kris and his family put down roots in North Somerset, where Kris had a career change and worked in a care home as a team leader for people with learning disabilities and mental health issues. Kris has a passion for supporting vulnerable people access the support they require to help them live independently with good mental health and wellbeing.

Matt Taylor started his career in a plumbing and heating apprenticeship before joining Curo as a fully-qualified Gas Safe and Oftec Oil registered engineer.

Michelle joined Curo’s Livewell team in December 2019 and has an extensive background in elderly care and support. Working alongside St John's Foundation Trust, Michelle organises weekly activities for our socially isolated customers as well as one-off events throughout the year and digital inclusion sessions for our older customers.

Paul joined Curo in 2017 from Acorn Group, an African property management company where he was VP Corporate Affairs.  Prior to that he spent five years as Group Director Customer Experience at Unite Students Group where he implemented a highly successful customer digital programme.  This was preceded by roles at the South West Regional Development Agency, Laing O’Rourke Group and Royal Mail.

Pearl has nine years of experience working in social housing. Pearl has worked in affordable housing development and currently in asset management where she is managing innovative projects designed to address fuel poverty.

Rebecca joined Curo in December 2019 as a support worker in Curo's Young Parent Project. Her role involves supporting young parents and families to develop the skills and confidence to live independently. Rebecca is very interested in social justice and has a background in health, well-being, yoga teaching and meditation. These practices are something she encourages when working with customers to build positive strategies.

Rosie joined Curo in 2016 as an Apprentice Repairs Planner working in our Customer Contact Team where she is studying towards a Level 3 NVQ in Business Administration.

Sarah leads a team of Account Managers, Advisors and New Customer Advisors who provide an effective income collection, debt recovery and income maximisation service, supporting customers who may be struggling with money, while maximising Curo’s rental income.

Sarah is a multi-disciplined social housing professional with a passion for customer care and expertise in Universal Credit. Sarah is a regular speaker at conferences and in 2015 gave evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee on benefit delivery and its impact on Curo's customers. As Head of Head of Customer Account Management, Sarah is currently the strategic and operational lead for welfare reform, financial inclusion, income management and tenancy management at Curo.

Vic joined the business in 2011, initially focusing on integrating three housing associations into one, bringing together our culture, governance and strategy. From these foundations, Curo was formed in 2013 as a re-energised commercially savvy business with a strong social purpose. Today Curo has more than doubled its turnover and has a pipeline of over 2,700 new homes in development. It has established itself as an ambitious business with a regional and national reputation for innovation. Under Vic’s leadership, Curo has become an Investors In People ‘Gold' employer, has been ranked 27th Best 100 Not for Profit Company to work for in the UK by the Sunday Times and has won many awards for our services and our new homes and regeneration activities. Vic is Chair of Homes for the South West - a collaboration between housing associations working together to increase affordable housing supply in our region. Vic sits on the National Housing Federation's Diversity, Equalities & Inclusion group and is Chair of Local Space Housing Association – a specialist in temporary accommodation for Homeless Families in east London.