Ben’s Centre is overseen by a voluntary Management Committee who are both Directors of the Company and Trustees of the Charity.
Ben’s Centre staff deal with the day to day running of the organisation but the Management Committee have overall strategic and legal responsibility for the activities of the organisation.
Although Management Committee members are voluntary they do hold an important role in the functioning of the Centre. Currently the committee meets every eight weeks usually on a Wednesday from 4.30pm for about one and a half hours.
People interested in joining the committee are asked to complete an application form, invited to chat informally to our Chair Person, Josephine Maltby and to attend a meeting. References and a standard CRB check will be sort.
We are currently seeking new Trustees and would encourage people interested and supportive of the work of Ben’s Centre to consider finding out more. We are looking for people from a diverse background and you do not need to have experience of Homeless or the Voluntary Sector. Health and Safety, Personnel Skills, Legal or Financial are just a few of the areas of knowledge and experience we could use.
Please contact us if you wish to know more.
Treasurer: We currently have the position of Treasurer vacant.
The overall role of a Treasurer is to:
- Maintain an overview of the organisation’s affairs
- Ensure its financial viability
- Ensure that proper financial records and procedures are maintained.
The Project Manager and Bookkeeper do all day to day recording and managing of the finances.
Our current Trustees are…
Josephine Maltby (Chair/Treasurer)
Jo has been our Chair since 2004. Jo is a Chartered Accountant currently a University Lecturer with experience as Treasurer for other charities in Sheffield. Jo is an absolute ’sweetie’ and is always so very kind and encouraging to all the staff. Jo works incredibly hard but still finds time for Ben’s Centre and staff.
Mal Crehan (Director)
Mal spent almost 10 years working for Nomad as a Housing Advice Officer, which included giving advice and support to anyone with housing problems. Mal was also involved in writing and delivering training to staff and volunteers as well as outside organisations.
Mal now works as a freelance trainer and consultant, writing and delivering training on a variety of subjects including housing related subjects, benefits, debt, care planning and professional boundaries. He also works on the County Court Scheme where Mal represents people at possession hearings to try and prevent eviction. Mal has been a member of Ben’s Management Committee since 2001. Mal has been so faithful and supportive to all the work at Ben’s Centre. In his spare time Mal writes novels and we all somehow wonder if he may appear in print someday!
Steve Hart
Steve is a Community Support Officer working in Sheffield City Centre. His role involves engaging with various people through the City and this includes homeless and vulnerable persons; some of whom have alcohol and/or drug problems. As quite often Steve has first contact with people on the street, working closely with places like Ben’s Centre is a great way to try and integrate someone who might lead a chaotic lifestyle into a more stable environment. Steve is our newest recruit onto the Management Committee. We look forward to getting to know him better.
Ben Sherman (Director)
‘Ben’ or Ian as his name is really, is the Ben behind Ben’s Centre. Ben worked as a police officer for a good number of years in the City Centre during which he supported a ’self-help’ group which eventually came to be ‘Bens’ Centre’. Ben has worked tirelessly for our client group being an active member of our Management Committee for many years. We will be featuring the full story on our blog of how Ben’s started… that is when Mr Sherman writes it for us!! Ben’s vision and compassion was foundational in the Centre getting started. Ben is still working, not as a Police Officer anymore, but in the Voluntary Sector.
Carol Allcroft (Director)
Carol started working in the Voluntary Sector in 1995 in a 24 hour Direct Access Hostel in Sheffield and moving on from there in 1998 to work with Bill Whitworth in our new rough sleeper outreach team. This is when Carol first became involved with Ben;s Centre. At that time Ben’s was housed in a tiny little building (one room) behind the Peace Gardens in Union Street. Very small, very crowded and very noisy as you can imagine. Things have moved on from that tiny little room with lots of changes over the years and Carol is so pleased to say “all for the better.” Carol now works for another Voluntary Sector Organisation, Nomad, in a different role but continues to be involved with our Committee. Carol has been an enormous supporter of Ben’s and the team. She can be relied on to encourage us all. She is able to see the progress that some of our clients have made, having known them for a long time.
