Partner Article

Accountant swaps job to work with ex-offenders

An accountant has quit his job to work with former criminals helped by a North East charity.

Alistair Christie turned his back on a successful career in which he had over three decades’ experience in order to do something he believed to be “more fulfilling”.

Alistair has joined North East charity Norcare as a housing support officer, to help vulnerable groups of people in the North East.

Having spent a number of years volunteering for charities and more than six months in Norcare’s own volunteer programme, Alistair had a clear sense of the challenges and rewards of the job.

He said: “I found that accounting was no longer making me happy. The work I was doing as a volunteer was what excited me and got me up in the morning. “I realised that I wanted to bring more to the role and put it on a more professional footing so that’s when I decided to pursue it as a career.”

Alistair is now working as a housing support officer at Norcare, helping the charity’s range of service users move towards independent living.

This can involve helping them develop practical skills such as cooking and managing budgets, but can also involve providing emotional support to help with the service user’s rehabilitation.

Jo Wallis, volunteer co-ordinator said: “The volunteers are vital to Norcare. Without them we wouldn’t be able to provide half of the support services we do. Getting involved in the scheme is an excellent way to learn more about working in the care or social work sector, but also offers an opportunity for those who simply want to give something back and help others.”

For more information about volunteering opportunities with Norcare please contact Jo Wallis on 0191 229 9112.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .