Karen Robson is set to join The Wallich, Wales’ largest homelessness and rough sleeping charity, as Chief Executive.
Ms Robson steps into the role from 23 September, following the departure of previous CEO, Lindsay Cordery-Bruce, earlier this year. Interim Chief Executive, Sian Aldridge, will return to her previous role in The Wallich Executive Team as Director of Operations.
Established in 1978, The Wallich worked with 8,306 people who experienced homelessness, risk of homelessness or financial hardship in 2023/24 across Wales. Ms Robson will oversee 132 homelessness and prevention services, across 21 of the 22 Welsh local authorities.
Ms Robson will join The Wallich’s Executive Team with vast experience and passion for social justice. She has a history of advocating for the rights of disabled people, young people and veterans across her career, which is pertinent to the work of The Wallich to end homelessness.
Previous roles include CEO, Director and Senior Leadership experience for organisations such as RNID (Royal National Institute for Deaf People), The Care Collective, the National Association of Disability Practitioners and Cardiff Metropolitan University.
A previous Welsh Woman of the Year for her work ensuring equity for disabled students, 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.”
In 2018, Ms Robson was part of a team awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service; the highest award for voluntary groups in the UK in recognition of the contribution to regional regeneration in the north-east of England.
She also has vast experience as a panel member and part of advisory boards working with the UK and Welsh Governments advocating for marginalised and underrepresented groups. Her work has led organisations through periods of change and development, a revolutionary drive to embed inclusivity and the financial sustainability of charities. Originally from the north-east of England, Karen has lived and worked in Wales for 28 years.
On her appointment, Oliver Townsend, Chair of The Wallich’s Board of Trustees, said:
“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.”
The Wallich is a psychologically informed organisation which operates under three core objectives to end homelessness for good: getting people off the streets; keeping people off the streets; and creating opportunities for people. The charity is due to launch its winter fundraising campaign on World Homelessness Day, as it does every year, on 10 October.
Homelessness in Wales continues to be a priority for Welsh Government, who published the latest homelessness statistics for June. 11,301 people were recorded in temporary accommodation and 153 individuals were reported to be sleeping rough in Wales. Moving people into suitable and stable long-term accommodation continues to be a challenge, with financial pressures hitting the people supported by The Wallich and the charity’s services.
“The Wallich will continue working with the government to ensure homelessness is rare, brief and unrepeated”, continued 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.”
