We are thrilled that the Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity (GMMC) is supporting the Greater Manchester Homelessness Action Network by funding a new post that will be hosted here at Greater Together Manchester.
The post will help to help increase impact, voice and influence across the city re
gion.
GMMC have provided 3 years of funding, alongside Street Support who are funding in Year 1.
Phillipa, the new GMHAN Manager, joined GTM in June and comes from a Housing and Homelessness background commenting:
“I’m born and raised in Manchester, and I am very passionate about the city and working to support people across the 10 boroughs.”
Philippa studied Economics and finance at undergrad and also has an MSc in International Development from the University of Manchester. Her most recent role was Research & Evaluation lead at Inspiring Change Manchester, a programme that explored innovative ways of working through co-production and partnership working and she intends to bring these values to her role with the GMHAN.
Asked what appealed to her about the role she says “It is a very exciting time to be part of the network, as the recent restructure means we have formed a basis to drive forward action, while also being open to change and build on what has been done before.
“I feel that partnership working is one of the key elements needed to drive systems change and improve services for people facing homelessness, but working across the sector I have seen the challenges that come from different organisations taking different approaches and ways of working.
“Through the network we can help to make connections which gradually break down the barriers to partnership working, and allows things to be done in a joined up way which ultimately improves the services that are delivered to people facing homelessness across GM.”
And her hopes for the future of the GMHAN?
“For me the value of the network is twofold- both by allowing different people and organisations to come together to make connections and learn from each other, but also by bringing people together to form a collective voice which influences decision making by those in positions of power”.
“I hope that this collective voice can amplify the voices of those with lived experience of homelessness, so we can all learn from those who have previously not been given a space to be heard.”
For more information about the GMHAN and to get involved visit - Greater Manchester Homelessness Action Network (gmhan.net)
GMMC’s funding of this role was made possible by a commitment from JCDecaux UK who agreed to donate annually over several years.