Last Updated: 6th August 2004

The Team

DIRECTOR

Hi, I'm Vivian the new Director of VOYPIC. I have been involved with VOYPIC from the beginning in 1993, when we started by getting groups of young people together to hear their views. VOYPIC has come a long way since then. Sometimes when you are very involved in things you might think you know just about everything there is too know. Starting to work in VOYPIC has given me some surprises, particularly in how may opportunities there are for young people to get involved in making decisions and bringing about change.

In the past I have worked for First Key, (Leaving & Aftercare), Barnardos Young Parents Network, Save the Children Youth Unit and Whitefield House. I am really looking forward to building a strong VOYPIC organisation, which will offer young people support and advice through advocacy, befrienders and opportunities to volunteer and take on work on behalf of VOYPIC.

email Vivian

FINANCE & ADMIN

Hi, my name is Karen Stirling (but everyone calls me Stirling) as my role within VOYPIC is Finance Administration Manager.

I joined Voice of Young People in Care on the 1st July 2002, and since then this has been a very exciting and challenging time watching VOYPIC growing from 3 staff to 13 within that time. Before this I work in finance departments within the business sector.

I really enjoy my job and when you phone remember to say hi!

email Karen Stirling

My name is Mairead McAllister and I am the befriending project co-ordinator. I enjoy working with young people and I am looking forward to meeting everyone involved in working with the project.

I have been involved in working with young people for six years and have worked in a variety of settings. I work previously managing a youth centre for two years, I enjoyed the challenge that the job presented to me and enjoyed working with the young people to develop the centre into a place where they can come in and relax and get involved in what's going on.

In my spare time I enjoy socialising and meeting new people and keeping fit. I like to take long walks on the beach and in the country side.

I look forward to meeting you all.

email Mairead

My name is Caroline McCrea and I am the Befriending Project Worker. I started in February 03.

I have worked with a variety of young people, for three years. In the last two years I have worked in Fantasy Island in Portrush, along with attending university of a year. I have used my experience of being in care to take part in conferences, involving children's rights and services and also participated in group work, on the role of the children's commissioner.

I hope that this experience will be valuable and equip me in my work with you - the young people.

email Caroline

My name is Jenny Laughlin and I have recently joined VOYPIC as part-time Befriending Project Worker. Through my own experience of being in care, I will be assisting in the development of the Befriending Project, which I'm really looking forward to getting up and running.

For the last three years I have been volunteering at a women's centre. There I helped set up education programmes for young mothers and peer education for young girls in an after schools group.

I really enjoy working with young people and look forward to meeting you all.

email Jenny

My name is Alicia Toal and I am the Making Connections Co-ordinator.

Just to give you some idea of my background over the years, I have worked in a range of settings, for example, youth centres, a Women's Aid Refuge and a drop in centre for people diagnosed as HIV positive. After studying Community Youth Work at Jordanstown, I worked as a development worker for a young people's drop in centre in Wes Belfast. For the past 5 years I was the Teen Project Co-ordinator with Gingerbread NI, an organisation that works with lone parents and their families.

At VOYPIC my job will be to recruit and support people who want to make connections within the agency or those young people wanting to make connections within their local community.

Making Connections is a great way of meeting new people, learning new skills through training and of course having fun!!!

For some people it is a way of sampling different kinds of jobs and roles, before deciding what you want to do with the rest of your life! If you think that you might be interested in Making Connections, please feel free to contact me at VOYPIC, I'll be only to happy to have a chat with you about it.

email Alicia

Well hello and how you doin? My name is Karen McAlister and I am not new to VOYPIC. I have been here for six years, but I'm glad to say that I am staying for another while as I got a new job as Advocacy Co-ordinator. Which is fab!

In VOYPIC I have been involved in loads of thing all across Northern Ireland with all different types of young people. For those who do know VOYPIC, I was the one with the spikey hair. At the minute I have a bit of a David Beckham.

My new job will be to help children and young people to have their voices heard. I will be able to give you advice and information on different issues about care. I will be able to support you in various ways, for example if you have difficulty speaking at reviews or you feel that you are not involved in decisions made about you, or you feel that you are not getting the services you should then give me a call!

I am really looking forward to getting the Advocacy project developed and I need your help if you have any ideas give me a shout. I hope to hear form you soon.

email Karen

My name is Sharon Redmond and I will be co-ordinating the "Shaping the Changes" project at VOYPIC over the next three years. Part of my role will be to work directly with young people in care and aftercare to ensure that you feel confident in influencing big decisions which affects on you life.

Over the next few months, I will be out and about meeting young people from across Northern Ireland telling you about the "Shaping the Changes" project and encouraging you to apply for the Young Associate Training Programme.

If you are interested in expressing your opinions and those of your peers in relation to how services are delivered to you, work as a Young Associate might well be up your street.

email Sharon

Hello, my name is Alison Morrow and I am the Team Co-ordinator of the CASPAR Project, which will be based at the VOYPIC offices from October 2003. So what is the CASPAR Project the? Good question, I keep asking that myself - who or what is CASPAR, I mean, are we talking ghosts? Well no we're not, the project is actually about mental health, and CASPAR was a real person who had a tough time when he was young which led to him having a few difficulties in later life. What we are going to be doing as part of this project, is talking to young people in care and those who have left care about mental health and well-being and the kind of services that are available (or not). I won't go into the details just now, but the important point for you to know is that we will want to hear YOUR views and ideas about this important subject, so watch this space for more information. I look forward to meeting some of you soon…..

email Alison

My name is Fiona Rollock and I'm very excited about my new job as the Project Worker for the Caspar Project, which got underway officially on the 20th October 2003. As you can see there are a few new faces rocking around the VOYPIC offices at the minute, which makes settling in a lot easier. A big chunk of what I'll be doing over the next 3 years will hopefully involve some of you. The plan is that I will give u a chance to meet with groups of young people like yourselves, who are in or who have been in care, and find out what your views on Mental Health are now although I'm new to this job, VOYPIC and I go back quite a while, in fact I used to work on the VOYPIC newsletter magazine and I'm happy to see that it's bigger and better than every and that loads of contributions to its pages are being made. With a bit of luck I'll be meeting a few of you soon, Take Care.

email Fiona