THE TEAM

I was born and raised in Darlington, County Durham. After completing a Business degree in Hull, I moved south to Erith and joined The McNaughton Paper Group as a Buyer. I stayed there for 19 years, becoming Purchasing and Supply manager in 1998. After 2005, I began to lose my sight and was registered blind in 2008. I joined the staff team in June 2013. I am trained in Mental Health First Aid and IPS. After three years as Head of Employment and Skills, I became CEO of Re-Instate in September 2018.

I am a local girl, raised in and around Bexley. I have been together with my husband for twenty-four years and we have four grown-up children. I joined the Re-Instate team in July 2014 as a workshop assistant and I am now the Community Hub Manager. I manage the day-to-day running of the Community Hub and our Living Well project. We have a strong team of 10 volunteers that I also manage as part of the project. Living Well supports our members with learning disabilities and autism to “Live Well”. The program is designed to support people to learn everyday living skills, connect with their local community and support their life goals. I get so much love from working with new members and to see them develop, grow, and find their independents and confidence is my passion. I have qualifications in Mental Health, Health & Social Care, and working with people with learning disabilities.

I was born in Greenwich and then moved to Thamesmead when I was five. The school I went to was Woodside and I enjoyed my time there. After school, I went to Bexley college to study child care, and painting and decorating. I have worked as an office cleaner and in a recycling centre. I enjoyed gymnastics, swimming and shopping (the shopping I still do).

I was introduced to Re-Instate via college to help boost my self confidence and engage with the wider community,  but I was aware of it before. I had been volunteering at the hub before being offered a paid placement.

I have lived in the Bexley Borough my whole life. I’m an avid tiktok creator. I have been working as a part of the Living Well team since 2021.

I became a part-time carer for my Nan throughout the pandemic, which I am very proud of and privileged that I was given the opportunity to take care of her. I dealt with cooking meals for her, having a chat, hoovering her apartment and handling her finances. I enrolled at the Miskin Theatre doing performing arts and became a voluntary coach for the under-fifteen Charlton Athletic Ability Counts football team. I also gained a Jack Petchey Young Achievers Award and a D of E Bronze award. I have a lot of admin experience working for WGSN as an intern, Digital Skills Solutions and Mottingham Primary School as a HR and Admin assistant. I also have previous customer service experience at ASDA. 

I started at Re-Instate as a volunteer assisting with various groups in September 2022 as I enjoy helping out in the community and have now taken an exciting new role as a Living Active Co-ordinator. I have been living in Bexley most of my life but spent five years in Leicester and Birmingham whilst studying and supporting family.

I am a massive Liverpool fan with a huge passion for playing, watching and talking about sports. I have been actively engaged in football, futsal, boxing, jiu-jitsu and wrestling over the last few years whilst even competing in a few competitions. I am always looking to take up a new challenge so it is a joy to be given this opportunity.

I’m all the way from Johannesburg, South Africa and joined Re-Instate in October 2023 as my very first job in the UK. I am always keen to bring a dash of friendliness, fun and a lot of creativity to any role I am in. I’m an “out-of-the-box” thinker with a wide range of expertise, ranging from research, training and organisational leadership development to workshop facilitation and beyond.

With an Honours Degree in Politics and International Relations, and roughly ten years of experience in the non-profit and academic sectors, I’ve had the pleasure of contributing to some interesting projects. Igniting youth development, stirring things up in social change and diving deep into subjects like mental well-being, mindfulness and intercultural/interfaith understanding. I’m all about strategy, innovation and meaningful impact. Finding that sweet spot where these all comes together.  As a global citizen, I’m passionate about helping others, living a life filled with adventure and making a meaningful impact in the world around me.

I hail from South East London. After more than 30 years spent at Associated Newspapers in a variety of roles, before being made redundant in 2012. After several short–term roles, including self-employed sports coach, I started as a volunteer with Re-Instate. I was then employed in the Social Enterprise, and after that, as an Employment Development Co-ordinator at the start of 2014. I have a fantastic family including a son and daughter who I’m glad to say active in sports and further education. I get great joy personally from encouraging others to develop and find those hidden skills that we all have. I am trained in  IPS, Job Retention and Advanced Job Retention. I have just started studying for a mental health qualification through Grimsby University.

I have lived in the Bexley borough my whole life and joined Re-instate in Autumn 2023. I have worked in mental health for a number of years through various roles and positions and it is something I relate to through my own lived experience. I also hold qualifications in Therapeutic Counselling and Photography.

In my spare time, I enjoy vintage shopping, visiting new places, both in the UK and abroad and creating artwork.

I started working for the NHS in 2007 and eventually moved into working in South London and Maudsley hospitals initially as a ward clerk before moving on to become a Business Manager. After a brief stint working in the city as a PA, I eventually took time out to have my daughter and be a stay at home Mum. Whilst thinking about getting her a place in nursery I found Re-Instate were looking for a PA and with my experience working within mental health services I just couldn’t let the opportunity pass me by!

I spent my childhood in Lewisham, South London until I married and then moved to Erith. I completed my AAT Accountancy Qualifications whilst working as a  Finance Manager. I heard of Re-Instate through my neighbour and started volunteering in my spare time. My love for the organisation developed and it was in May 2014 that I joined as a staff member as the Company’s Book-keeper.

I was born in Gravesend, but have lived in Bexleyheath most of my life. I joined Re-Instate in 2023, but before that, I went to university in Nottingham where I got my bachelor’s and master’s degree in Animation. I lived there for 5 years before returning to London.

I now run the autism workshops and as an autistic person myself, I’m happy to be able to host a safe space for others. I love working here, it is a wonderful environment, full of wonderful people.

Born in North London, the family moved South of the River (and don’t we hear about it!!) when I was a mere toddler and I’ve lived around here ever since. Having found the job club really beneficial after a career break, and with everyone I met at Re-Instate being thoroughly lovely, I started asking if I could help out. Opportunities quickly arose and it seems I’ve been useful enough for them to want to keep me around! Yay!! Social Enterprise is not a concept I’d come across before, but one which seems to have the potential to greatly benefit all stakeholders involved. This is the first such environment I’ve found myself in, one that’s very interesting to observe, really enjoyable to work in and certainly an organisation I intend on remaining a friend of.

I was born and raised in the Bexley Borough and would never want to live anywhere else. I was educated in Sidcup and Bromley with my first job working as a skincare consultant for a well-known cosmetic company. I then went on to work in events and hospitality as an Operations Manager for 15 years. Later on in life I decided to become a student again studying a level 3 in Social Work. This truly opened my eyes and made me see things differently. Due to Covid hitting, once the course was completed I became a CareGiver for the elderly and loved it. Some great friendships were made. I wasn’t looking to change roles at the time but saw this fantastic opportunity to work for Re-Instate. With several people in my family learning with difficulties I couldn’t turn down an opportunity to work with such a fantastic charity.

I have just turned 21 and grew up in Dartford, I’m thrilled to be a part of Re-Instate! I have a background in Hospitality, but coming to a mental health charity was quite tough at first. I believe I’ve grown well into my role as a Support Worker for the Early Intervention Project. Growing up, I witnessed firsthand the impact of mental health challenges on friends and family close to me. I’ve come to realise that mental health is not just about diagnosis, it’s about compassion and empowerment, and I know Re-Instate is the right place for me 🙂

I’m a lifelong resident of Bexley, where I was born. In the past decade, my professional journey has transitioned from finance and recruitment roles in Canary Wharf and Central London. Working with people in a meaningful setting has always been my passion, and joining Re-instate has been a fantastic experience after taking a four-year break from the office world to raise my daughter. Outside of work, I love spending time with my family and friends, exploring new places, and going out for dinners and drinks.  A personal life goal of mine is to take my daughter to a new country every year, allowing us to discover and appreciate the diversity of the world together.

In a previous life I worked in the Corporate Sector, but in 2011 I took a leap of faith to change sectors so I could embark on a career in Mental Health, this obviously worked out as I stayed there for over 7 years. I then went on to work within a hostel for a homeless charity in Greenwich, then as an Employment & Education worker within 3 different London boroughs. After this project finished, I did a brief stint supporting women with convictions into employment.

This year I decided I wanted to work within (and for) my own community, and having been born and bred in Bexley, I started looking for local opportunities when I saw the Employment Co-ordinator role at Re-Instate, I knew I had to apply as it ticked all the boxes.

Woof, I am Bonnie. I support our clients at Re-Instate’s Employment Centre whilst providing comfort and reducing stress, helping individuals to feel calm enough to engage fully in their search for work.