Reflections of a retiring Trustee…

By Jo Baker

My involvement with counselling women in York began in 1997 when, with some trepidation, I crossed the threshold of the Women’s Centre on Holgate Road to be interviewed for my first counselling placement. I had just arrived in York from Oxfordshire where I had lived and trained as a counsellor, and knew almost nobody. Now, 24 years later, my official involvement with the organisation that evolved into York Women’s Counselling Service ends with my retirement as a trustee. It has been wonderful to have been part of an organisation emerging from such small beginnings, with 2-3 counsellors working in a back room, to its formal establishment in 2000 and to its continuing existence as a thriving, professional, widely known and well-regarded counselling organisation with the resources to employ paid staff and look confidently into the future.

Along the way, a small, but growing, team of counsellors and trustees worked hard to keep the show on the road. Everyone needed to be involved and there were many gatherings - social and training events, efforts to raise funds in all kinds of ways - car boot sales, choir concerts, bicycle rides. I remember the long search for suitable premises while we operated in sometimes rather dismal rooms, until we gratefully found our home at CVS. There were many challenges but also much generosity of spirit, of time and individual resources, homes and gardens shared, a sense of pulling together as a team, of common purpose and friendship. As the organisation grew, with an ever-increasing demand for its services, so did the complexity of running it and the necessity to establish a firmer financial basis and to employ paid staff.

As a counsellor with YWCS and as a trustee, I have come across many inspirational and remarkable women - counsellors, supervisors, staff and clients, from all of whom I have learnt a great deal. The sharing of resources, knowledge, skills and interests has always played a key role in developing and maintaining the strength of the team. Many counsellors have begun their careers as trainees with us and have gone on to thrive in the profession; a good number have continued to work with us for long periods of time. I have particularly enjoyed being part of this process, in the selection of counsellors and in seeing them flourish.

Despite many changes and challenges, YWCS has continued to steer a firm course in its core aim of providing a safe place for women in York to receive professional, confidential counselling regardless of how much they can afford to pay. We have had to navigate past many rocks - the inevitable departures of key people, savage cuts to funding with the prospect of empty coffers often looming, and right now, a pandemic. But somehow there has always been a dogged determination within the organisation, and outside it, to keep this essential service going. This seems to run in parallel with the resolve of our clients to understand and overcome their problems as our counsellors help them to find the resources which they need to do this.

I have been constantly surprised that I have stayed with YWCS for so long! But then YWCS is a surprising organisation. Admittedly there have been times when I have sat in meetings weary of looking over the precipice of possible collapse, but I am delighted that we were not defeated, that new life and inspiration came to YWCS just when it was needed. The reward is to see YWCS in such a strong place now. From small beginnings, we have continued, not only to survive but to thrive.

Covid, and the organisational complexities which it has produced, has not derailed us and the majority of our team of 20 professional, committed counsellors are now returning to work in our offices at CVS, having worked resourcefully online with their clients during the lockdowns. We are most ably led by our Operations and Counselling Managers who have steered us through a very difficult year. We have a long-standing and brilliant Treasurer and an energetic and talented team of trustees. I can say with certainty that the organisation has never been stronger. Thank you to you all, past and present who have given so much to such a special organisation. It has been great working with you. I feel confident that an organisation which has made such a difference to the lives of so many women in York will continue to thrive and prosper for many years to come.