Jody Rowley, Director of Operations, The Sanctuary Trust
At The Sanctuary Trust, we believe that people with lived experience bring real value to the work we do. That’s not just something we say, it’s reflected in how we recruit and build our teams.
Currently, just under 70% of our workforce have lived experience of Homelessness or Addiction. For many of our staff, this isn’t just a job, it’s a chance to give something back and use what they’ve been through to help others.
Having people with lived experience on the team brings a level of understanding you can’t teach.
They know how it feels to be in crisis, to feel stuck, or to be trying to rebuild your life from scratch. That kind of empathy makes a difference, especially in the early stages of support work, when trust can be hard to build. A trauma-informed, lived experience workforce changes the dynamic of the work we do. When people accessing our services speak to someone who’s been through similar struggles, it can break down a lot of barriers. There’s less judgment, more honesty and often, better engagement.
We also find that lived experience staff members often have a different way of thinking. They bring innovative ideas, challenge how things stand, and keep us grounded in what actually works on the ground, not just what looks good on paper.
That said, there are challenges too. For one, coming from a background of substance misuse, or housing instability can present some personal issues, even long into their recovery journey or after obtaining a stable tenancy. Some staff & volunteers may still be early on in their recovery. We must make sure the right support is in place for lived experience staff- something that is often overlooked in many workplaces. Regular supervisions, an open dialogue about wellbeing and a workplace culture that promotes speaking up if staff are struggling.
Burnout is another factor. Supporting others who are in crisis, especially if it hits close to home, can and does take a toll. We try to be realistic about workloads, encourage time off when it’s needed, and keep an eye on how people are doing day to day.
For people coming into work after an extended period of unemployment due to instability, or after being in the justice system, adjusting to workplace culture can take a bit of time. We sometimes need to spend more time with our lived experience staff, cultivating confidence within their role, training staff around professional boundaries and workplace etiquette. We welcome this challenge, for all the value lived experience brings to our charity culture. We don’t expect perfection. We just expect honesty, effort, and a willingness to grow.
Despite the challenges, bringing people with lived experience into the team has made our organisation stronger. It’s not about tokenism or ticking boxes, it’s about building a workforce that genuinely reflects the people we support.
When we get it right, we see people grow in confidence, take on more responsibility, and move into long-term careers in the sector. We see our beneficiaries flourish under support that feels real and more relatable. We don’t always get everything right, but by applying the same holistic, person-centred principles we use with the people we support to our staff as well, we recognise that support workers need support too.
Ultimately, lived experience is a powerful asset that shapes how we work, who we are, and the impact we make. If more workplaces took the same trauma-informed, compassionate, and values-driven approach, we might find more lasting solutions to some of the biggest challenges we face. The most valuable thing on a CV might just be what someone has lived through- and what they’ve done with it.
