Lindsey Hayes is the chair of Gordon Moody’s Board of Trustees and 2021 will be her final year as chair after three years in the hot seat.
Our blog team caught up with her to get her views on how Gordon Moody is doing and what lies ahead.
Why did you choose to become a trustee at Gordon Moody as opposed to another charity or organisation?
Personally, I feel very fortunate that I am able to contribute skills and expertise to the fantastic work of Gordon Moody. I was initially a community nurse, and I have always worked with and engaged with a range of individuals and communities among the most deprived areas of London.
I am curious about people, groups and their behaviour and I’m committed to working with those from challenging backgrounds. I followed a teaching, training and development path that led to a counselling and Health Psychology degree.
I strongly believe that through investing in others, including their professional development and learning, will ultimately enable greater confidence and strengthen the work of the staff, the teams and the charity as a whole.
How do you see 2021 shaping up?
This year will be my third and last year as Chair and I am expecting it to be a memorable one as we start to plan a series of events to celebrate the success of Gordon Moody over the past 50 years.
While the aims and objectives of our charity have remained pretty constant over the years, other issues have impacted our work among those most severely affected gamblers.
Technological changes are just one example of how more people have easier and faster access to online gambling sites. And data from recent reports show that those accessing and becoming addicted to gambling online continues to rise.
It is definitely going to be a year that will have an impact on the services that we provide.
With all the challenges of the past year, what has impressed you?
During this unprecedented time I have been particularly impressed by the flexibility and agility of the staff facing into unpredictable circumstances and an ever growing demand for their skills and expertise.
Gordon Moody has risen to the challenge of unprecedented increasing demand from a wide range of individuals, their families and others through successfully growing the outreach and online offer.
This was particularly relevant for those needing our help who were unable to join our residential programme.
What do you think Gordon Moody needs to do more of or start doing from 2021 onwards?
The health and well-being of all those with whom we come in to contact continues to be our highest priority, and the continuing pandemic will mean that we will continue to develop the services that have especially targeted those most in need of our support and help. We know that the numbers of troubled and addicted gamblers will continue to rise because of lockdown.
An organisation such as ours needs to keep evolving and fortunately we have an excellent board of trustees who are equally committed to the aims, purpose and vision of the charity and who generously and regularly give their time.
In spite of the abrupt changes to the more traditional ways of working last year, we are embracing new opportunities for communicating effectively and looking at all the opportunities we should be building into our future plans. The changes experienced at Gordon Moody last year have definitely focussed our minds on reviewing our services, impact and purpose. This is a journey that will continue into this year and probably many years to come.
What do you think will be the most challenging thing Gordon Moody faces in 2021?
If we are to respond to the increasing demand for our services we need to ensure that our funding sources are sustainable at every level. While we are very fortunate to receive regular funding we are also in a strong position to attract interest and support for specific projects and developments.
Our aim above all else is to support others and deliver lasting positive change. We cannot do this alone and are acutely aware of the need to strengthen alliances and partnerships and develop long-term relationships and networks.
Where would you like Gordon Moody to be heading by the time you finish your stint as chairman of Trustees
The strength of purpose of Gordon Moody continues to grow and we are more adept at gathering and utilising the latest clinical research as well as our own evidence base from our unique approach.
One of the challenges for the future is to strengthen our message to others, especially those in the community who are not aware of our work and impact.
We will be using the opportunity to celebrate our success during this 50th anniversary year to focus on these and other issues, to influence others and ensure that we have a positive impact at all levels of the public and private sector and government.
By the end of the year and the end of my role as Chair I anticipate leaving Gordon Moody as a strong and sustainable charitable organisation ready for future challenges and opportunities.