Posted on 15th Apr
A Newark charity that helps young homeless people is celebrating an anniversary.
Lou Rumble is marking her 20th anniversary of work with the Newark Emmaus Trust, which provides supported accommodation – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year – for homeless young people aged 16-25. It also offers specialist housing for parents and babies.
Lou started work at the Trust in April 2000 on a one-year, part-time contract.
At the same time she was also working part-time as a special needs support at Bishop Alexander Primary School in the town.
She was disappointed at the time because she didn’t get the full-time post for which she had applied. However, Lou was invited back because the trust had been impressed with her interview and the 12-month, part-time post was created especially.
Lou heard about the role through Anne Readman, a director of the trust with whom she had previously worked when she was the deputy head of Bishop Alexander.
Three months after taking up the position she stepped into the full-time role, when the person appointed to the position left the organisation. At that time there were only 11 young people in the care of the trust and there were five staff members. Twenty years later there are 36 young people plus their babies/children and 11 staff members.
Lou eventually took over the running of the training centre and became a senior support worker at the same time. She delivered educational programmes for the residents in the training centre – which was also an Outreach Centre for Newark College. Lou was the key worker for five clients and carried out many activities with them.
Nicola Burley, the trust’s CEO commented: “Lou is greatly respected by both her team mates and our residents and they join with me in congratulating her on her 20th anniversary here.
“We are very grateful to her for her loyalty and all the work she does at the trust. I know that Lou can always be relied upon to go the extra mile. We are very lucky to have her. The board of directors all join me in thanking her for her service, commitment and hard work.”
Lou has continued to teach City and Guilds/AQAs for many years with great success and she actively gets involved with raising for funds for the Newark Emmaus Trust – having done the Great North Run some years ago. If it hadn’t have been for the Coronavirus crisis she would have been taking part in a Three Peaks Challenge.
Lou is kept busy managing her team of key workers as well as supporting the young people herself, delivering re-settlement support and partnership working with outside agencies, schools and colleges.
She said: “I have seen the trust grow and develop. It can now offer more support to vulnerable young people and young parents. I enjoy seeing them grow into independent young people, moving on to their own homes, starting work, college, university. It is great to see their families do well. I love it too when they pop in to see us and tell us how they are, it’s challenging work but also very rewarding.”
