Light to a Safe Harbour

My average working week is pretty busy, with long hours and lots of travel. And although the huge variety of work I do for many, very different, clients is both challenging and rewarding, I was looking for a new opportunity to test my skills as a lawyer and business adviser in a completely different environment. A further spur for me to get involved in the voluntary sector was that my children were approaching their teens and I wanted them to see me taking on a new challenge and making a real contribution to helping others outside the world of commerce – enter Pilotlight!

For me, Pilotlight was a great route into the voluntary sector. Pilotlight is a charity that provides the opportunity for four senior people to work with a small or medium-sized charity over a one-year period with the aim of helping it to develop a strategic plan and put it in place. Many organisations have already benefited from this approach, reporting two years after the programme that they are able to provide services to an average of 53% more individuals than previously.

Strategy and stability

I worked as part of a team with Safe Harbour in Inverclyde, an organisation that offers support to people with a wide range of mental health issues.

Being in a team with other senior business people to help a very small charity gain a better sense of direction was a great experience. Of course, we had some pretty robust conversations throughout the period of the project, but we were always mindful of the need to be sensitive to the key individuals who were at the coal face, dealing daily with service users’ needs in what were often stressful situations.

During the time I spent with the charity, our team saw it go through a lot of change and today it feels like a very different organisation – very focused, full of purpose and clear about what it wants to achieve.

At the end of 2015, Safe Harbour secured significant funding for a five-year period that will allow it to continue to implement the strategy it adopted and reach out to more service users from a more organised and stable business structure. That success is a huge testament to the time, passion and commitment of the small team there.

Eye opener

From the outset, I was concerned to learn as much as possible about the charity’s work, and also to learn from some of my fellow Pilotlighters. I was, of course, happy to find that my business skills as a lawyer – developed by working with clients operating in fairly diverse sectors – were hugely transferable. That experience undoubtedly equipped me to bring some real value to the charity early on.

Meeting some of the people that the charity helps made a huge impression on me. Safe Harbour really does make a difference to the lives of people suffering from mental health problems and it also provides much-needed support to their families.

Hearing their stories first hand made me realise the extent of their needs and appreciate the important work that the charity fulfils, without which many people might otherwise fall through the NHS’s mental health framework and lose their ability to make any positive contribution to society.

Safe Harbour works with people and successfully supports them in re-engaging and taking control of their lives. Compared with the daily challenges of being a lawyer, it certainly put into perspective any stresses I was feeling and reminded me of the hugely privileged life I lead.

Beyond fitting it in

Many people ask me how I managed to “fit in” the additional commitment. I think that misses the point. Volunteering becomes a part of who you are. It helps you stay grounded and deal better with the pressures and stresses in your own life. It also provided me with an opportunity to talk to my children about helping in our local community. So my response would be: “Get involved, work out how you do it, and then enjoy the added colour it will bring to both your working and personal life.”

I’ve taken the confidence and experience gained in working through Pilotlight, and from there I am delighted to have become a non-executive director of Scotland’s largest homelessness charity, Simon Community Scotland.

So, if you are busy, Pilotlight is a great first step to getting involved with the charity sector and using your skills to make a difference. It is well organised and your time is well managed. I would recommend it to any business professional – you’ll find it life-changing and hugely enjoyable.