Joanne: A Multifaceted Journey

We start our ’Meet the Team’ series with Joanne – shining a spotlight on one of the sunny personalities in our team.

Warmth and jokes often take a back seat when dealing with challenging topics. Still, Joanne stands as a ray of light, weaving together a tapestry of experiences reflecting her deep passion for family, community, and growth.

Joanne had always been within the healthcare field in some capacity. She was a nursing assistant early on, completing a psychology degree and then obtaining a master’s in trauma. It was here that she found out how much a mental health issue can debilitate a person. Joanne supported veterans through employment programs with Landau from 2018- 2021 and saw first-hand the difficulties in transitioning from military to civilian life. Her passion led her to the IPS model to support those with mental health challenges to secure sustainable employment. She joined the IPS Grow Team in 2021, bringing an array of experience and expertise to the team, including her veterans’ work.

“Hope is often what drives and keeps people going.”

A Champion for Veterans

Joanne’s unwavering dedication to supporting veterans was palpable as she recounted her experiences with Landau– a supported employment and training charity contracted with the Royal British Legion. Joanne has a natural connection to this area due to her friends and family being in the military, and her work as a veteran employment specialist paved the way for over 50 veterans to secure meaningful employment.

In addition to this, Joanne has made some significant pledges to military charities and members of parliament- She even rubbed shoulders with Royalty- Princess Anne. She spoke to her about IPS and how they supported people into work. Her frustration with the limitations of addressing mental health conditions in isolation fuelled her desire to explore how working within the field of employment specialists could extend its reach to other marginalised groups.
The challenges faced by military personnel transitioning into civilian life emerged as a poignant theme, with Joanne shedding light on the profound impact of this journey. Her emphasis on addressing mental health issues within the military was driven by her compassionate spirit and unwavering advocacy for those in need.

Looking to the future, Joanne is keen to expand her knowledge and skills in homelessness, encapsulating her unyielding commitment to personal and professional development. She aims to stay with IPS for as long as the team will have her. The next step for her is to be a manager; hopefully, that opportunity will arise. This is driven by wanting to expand on the relationship between the providers (the team) and the contract with OHID and NHS and seeing the team’s growth from 10 people when she started to over 30. Her parting words echoed with hope and possibility and for those who want to join this field, “Be comfortable in not knowing something…be comfortable enough to say I don’t understand this”.

On a more personal level, Joanne loves psychological thrillers, The Tudors, and Coldplay. She finds joy in playing musical instruments, from the didgeridoo to the harmonica, with a tradition of every Christmas, a new instrument is to be learned to be played the following Christmas. The piano is the instrument she truly loves to play and has done so for 20+ years; her love has even been passed down to her son. All of this paints a picture of a remarkable individual with a penchant for the extraordinary.

In another delightful revelation, Joanne confessed her fondness for musicals – In the real world, you don’t see many people “singing in the rain,” but in this scenario – it’s essential to make it a musical which she adores! From Chicago to Les Miserable, Joanne can’t help but sing along (granted, awfully, but with a passion)!