“Make Me Redundant!” Bosco Chairman Tells AGM
The 6th Annual General Meeting of the Bosco Society was held at the new Bosco Lodge on Friday July 29th, with the Chairman of the board, Alan Matthews, throwing down a challenge to politicians – “Make me redundant!”
The open-day at Bosco Lodge saw visitors taking a tour of the new premises and chatting to residents and staff. The AGM followed the official opening ceremony that was conducted by Peter Dowd, MP.
Bosco manager, Sheila Howard, presented the annual report, highlighting how many changes had occurred over the past twelve months and thanking both staff and residents for their help during this time of upheaval. Sheila then invited Johnny, a current resident at the Lodge, to talk about his experience at the new premises so far.
Johnny was originally at the SEAD project before moving to Bosco Lodge. He said that the old building was not a nice place to live. In contrast, he said, the Lodge is lovely, clean and spacious. He said he was proud to have family and friends visit. Johnny was on a zero hours contract and had fallen into arrears with his rent. After being evicted from his flat he became homeless and that’s how he eventually went to the SEAD project. He said that he is much happier at the new Lodge and thanked the staff for their support. Johnny concluded by saying how grateful he was to Bosco for the support he is receiving in so many ways.
Tom Harrison, support worker at the Lodge, then gave a worker’s perspective on how he is finding his new role at the Lodge. He said it was a great place to work and that the atmosphere was totally different from the SEAD; residents stopped to have a chat and a laugh, whereas before this didn’t always happen. Tom said the environment was lovely and a welcome change from what he had left behind at the old SEAD. He also said that he had received more training in his short time with Bosco, than his many years with his former employer. He paid tribute to his colleagues for their support and a special note of thanks for James Heller for his guidance and support since taking over as Senior worker.
Alan then dissolved the committee and opened nominations for election to the new board.
- Alan Matthews was nominated by Lyn Matthews for the Chair of Trustees, seconded by Sr.Fidelma Frawley. Alan Matthews elected as Chair.
- Alan then announced that a new position of Vice-Chair would be needed. Alan nominated Mhairi Doyle as Vice-Chair. Seconded by Paul White. Mhairi Doyle elected as Vice-Chair.
- Anna Connolly was nominated as Secretary by Alan Matthews. Seconded by Mhairi Doyle. Anna Connolly elected as Secretary.
- Jose De La Cruz nominated as Treasurer by Paul White. Seconded by Linda Van Nooijen. Jose De La Cruz elected as Treasurer.
In his closing remarks to the AGM, Alan talked passionately about how saddened he was to see the rise in homelessness in recent years. He said: “According to official figures, homelessness has increased by 54% since 2010.”
“But these aren’t just statistics, they’re people,” he added. “You can see it, it’s visible on the streets. This is 21st century Britain and you can’t walk down Church Street in the centre of this great city of Liverpool – my hometown – without passing a homeless person every few steps. I’m appalled by this and think it’s totally unacceptable.”
“That is why I want to throw down the gauntlet to our politicians. My challenge is this – make me redundant. Make Bosco redundant. Do everything in your power to help eradicate homelessness in Britain today.”
