Meet April, Justlife’s newly-elected Chair of Trustees

April Baker has been elected by Justlife’s Board of Trustees as the new chair as Steve Coles, Justlife’s Chair of Trustees for 4 years steps down.

April will bring over ten years of experience in the voluntary sector to her new role, having worked as the CQC registered manager of Mental Health Services in Brighton, alongside other roles that include managing outreach services for young people, ex-offender schemes and large hostels in London.

April is currently the Head of Development and Quality for Turning Tides, a homelessness charity in West Sussex, where she oversees Business, Property and Community development alongside Quality and Performance.

April’s appointment comes as Justlife seeks to develop and deliver support for people living in temporary accommodation with even greater impact over the next few years, and April will play a vital role in driving these initiatives forward.

"I am delighted and honoured to be appointed Chair. I am grateful to Steve for all his passion, expertise and commitment to Justlife over the last nine years. He leaves big shoes to fill.

Reducing homelessness and rough sleeping has been a passion and priority throughout my career. It has also given me first hand insights into the challenges and devastating impact this can have on individuals and communities.

By supporting people living in temporary accommodation with their health and well-being to prevent them from falling in to rough sleeping, Justlife plays a vital role in reducing the negative consequences of this societal issue, whilst importantly raising awareness of the large amount of people who are living in this form of accommodation.

I very much look forward to engaging and listening to all those involved in this critical and much needed mission at Justlife, to develop a shared strategy that will make an even more positive impact in the future for our communities."

During Steve’s 4 years as Chair, and 9 years in total as a board member, Steve has overseen the expansion of Justlife’s services across Brighton and Greater Manchester and the development of research and campaigning on a national level.

Steve’s years of experience in the voluntary sector have been hugely beneficial to Justlife through his role on the board, and for the past 4 years as chair.

The Board of Trustees and staff team would like to take this opportunity to thank Steve for all his hard work and commitment, all given voluntarily, towards the cause of making peoples experience of temporary accommodation short, safe and healthy.