New Chief Executive appointed to Welsh homelessness charity

Karen Robson has been named the new Chief Executive of The Wallich, Wales’ largest charity dedicated to tackling homelessness and rough sleeping.

Ms Robson will step into the role on 23 September, succeeding Lindsay Cordery-Bruce, who left the position earlier this year. Sian Aldridge, who had been serving as Interim CEO, will return to her role as Director of Operations within the charity’s Executive Team.

The Wallich, founded in 1978, provides crucial support services across Wales, working with over 8,300 people who are experiencing homelessness, or are at risk of it, or dealing with financial hardship.

Under Ms Robson’s leadership, the charity will continue to oversee 132 homelessness and prevention services across 21 of Wales’ 22 local authorities.

With a career dedicated to social justice, Ms Robson brings a wealth of experience to The Wallich, having advocated for disabled people, young people, and veterans throughout her career. Her previous roles include leadership positions at the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID), The Care Collective, and Cardiff Metropolitan University. She was also named Welsh Woman of the Year for her work in ensuring equity for disabled students.

Upon her appointment, Ms Robson said, “I can already see from the outside the ways in which The Wallich is changing lives for the better through the charity’s mission and values – which I feel incredibly passionate about. From the inside, I believe I can be an asset to the organisation and I cannot wait to get stuck in.”

Ms Robson has a history of steering organisations through periods of change and ensuring financial sustainability, which will be key as The Wallich continues its mission to end homelessness for good. She has also contributed to advisory boards for both the UK and Welsh Governments, advocating for marginalised and underrepresented communities.

In 2018, she was part of a team awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award for voluntary groups in the UK, for contributions to regional regeneration in the north-east of England. Though originally from the north-east, she has lived and worked in Wales for 28 years.

The Wallich operates under three core objectives to address homelessness: getting people off the streets, keeping them off the streets, and creating opportunities for people to rebuild their lives. The charity is preparing to launch its annual winter fundraising campaign on World Homelessness Day, on 10 October.

Oliver Townsend, Chair of The Wallich’s Board of Trustees, expressed excitement about Ms Robson’s appointment, stating, “We appointed Karen from a highly competitive field of candidates, and are very excited about the future with our new Chief Executive. We saw in Karen a real understanding of the need to build on what our organisation is good at – working across Wales, with people who are facing some of the most entrenched inequality and injustice we can imagine. That is where The Wallich is so needed, working with people that society has – far too often – given up on.”

Homelessness remains a pressing issue in Wales, with the Welsh Government’s latest figures showing 11,301 people in temporary accommodation and 153 sleeping rough as of June. The Wallich continues to advocate for increased funding and support from the Welsh Government to tackle the growing crisis, with Mr. Townsend calling for a boost in the Housing Support Grant to help meet the government’s ambitions of ending homelessness.

“The Wallich will continue working with the government to ensure homelessness is rare, brief and unrepeated,” said Mr. Townsend. “But we also need to see the Welsh Government doing its part by increasing the Housing Support Grant in the approaching Welsh budget. In tough financial times, we need to ensure resources are allocated to achieve the ambitions set out by government to end homelessness.”