Growing your own talent

If a chief executive is meant to embody the values that the organisation they lead holds true, then YMCA England has found a perfect fit in Denise Hatton.

The relatively new – she is six months into the role – boss of the national charity has spent 30 years at the organisation, working her way up from an administrative assistant when she joined aged 23, before managing then running local services and securing the top job last June.

Such a rise through the ranks of one organisation is unusual in today's voluntary sector, and the relevance it has for the young people that YMCA supports and works with is not lost on Hatton.

"My career pathway is a reflection of what the organisation is about," she tells CYPNow as we chat at YMCA's plush offices in the up-and-coming London district of Farringdon.

After an "average" education that ended at 18, Hatton started working in a sales office in the City of London and by 23 had become communications manager. But her life took an unexpected twist when she volunteered at a housing project at the behest of a friend.

She explains: "It was at a project in the city and as it was on a Sunday no one else wanted to do it, but I loved it." Realising she'd found her calling in life, it was not long before Hatton landed a job at the YMCA as a full-time personal assistant.

The daughter of a social worker and administrator, she went about getting experience in numerous roles within YMCA, always ensuing that "they offered the opportunity for me to develop".

The springboard for Hatton to make the jump from frontline roles into management came when YMCA sponsored her to undertake an MA in human resource management. She says it is this willingness to develop people's skills and give them the confidence to progress in life that underpins YMCA's ethos.

"For us it is about advocating for all young people and supporting them to advocate on their own behalf," she says.

Renowned for its work in the homelessness sector, YMCA's work with young people is far broader, incorporating many of the issues that might have resulted in housing problems occurring in the first place, such as education difficulties, relationship breakdown and mental health problems.

This is also reflected in three priority areas – body image, housing and unemployment – that YMCA has identified, under Hatton's leadership, as being important to young people today – issues it wants to champion through its policy and campaigning work.

Explains Hatton: "We are investing significantly in these areas, working with young people to find the issues relating to body image that are important to them.

"For young people, a lot of what they are subjected to online and in magazines they believe to be normal," she says, in reference to the media's portrayal of body image.

"Young people are subjected to comments about body image at school. This is linked to bullying and emotional wellbeing. We might develop a campaign about media portrayal with key messages for and by young people."

YMCA already works in education settings providing childcare, study support and personal development services for children, as well as partnering with schools and local authorities to deliver breakfast and after-school clubs, holiday schemes and parenting programmes.

The right placements

However, Hatton thinks greater emphasis needs to be given to workplace and vocational training, particularly with nearly one million young people not in education, employment or training. Although she backs the government's drive to increase the number of apprenticeships for young people, she questions whether they are the right kind of jobs.

"We need to look at where most of these are and ensure that the government is funding the right apprenticeships," she says. "Young people will be seeking to train in traditional skills such as plumbing."

Many of the young people YMCA provides education and training support to have come through its housing service - it provides around 10,000 beds for homeless people of all ages. When it comes to youth homelessness, "a significant number" of young people present as a result of relationship breakdown, explains Hatton.

"That is why we are keen to develop services to support the emotional wellbeing of young people," she adds. "Building relationships with, say, youth workers might stop young people becoming homeless in the first place."

Hatton says leaders need to think more creatively about how to tackle the housing crisis for young people as a whole, from helping get a foot on the property ladder to short-term accommodation for those in crisis.

"There is a scheme in Kent involving YMCA staff, housing officers and social workers that developed a 'crash pad' for young people who needed accommodation in crisis. Of the 14 young people it helped, only one needed to be housed long-term. There are ways to prevent youth homelessness, but we must also look at creating housing for young people."

On this broader issue, Hatton says that the economics of housing mean that independent living is a pipedream for many young people that may not be realised until their mid-30s, if at all.

"Those aged 35 and under need a significant paying job just to be able to afford renting nowadays. Help to Buy (the government-backed scheme to underwrite a large proportion of a first-time buyer's deposit) is fine but more needs to be done. It will be a significant shift in our culture if children have to live with their parents until they are 35."

YMCA has plans for working with local authorities to turn empty buildings, such as office space, into affordable housing. "Equally, we are looking at how we can develop new build - not just blocks of flats, but modular designs, based on German models - for housing that will be really attractive for young people," Hatton adds.

YMCA's links with councils – many local YMCA's contract with local authorities and some even manage youth work services on their behalf – puts it in a strong position to deliver youth work services for government. However, Hatton says this wouldn't be possible "without the partnership with local authorities". This is why she has "real concerns that youth work is a soft target" for further funding cuts.

Defending youth services

She is considered, yet forthright, in her response to recent comments made by minister for civil society Nick Hurd that it was necessary for some local authority-led youth services to close because they were "crap".

"We have very strong links with local youth services – I'm not sure where he (Hurd) has seen these 'crap' services, but it is not my view. Youth work is often seen as a service with soft outcomes, but I have seen it help young people make significant life changes," she says.

Despite this, Hatton admits there is a need to develop the evidence base to support youth work's contribution to positive outcomes, and hopes a PHD in youth work to be offered by YMCA's George Williams College will help further this. "Students will be doing excellent research into youth work: the more people educated to this level, the more research you will get and the better the outcomes for young people," she says.

Such a commitment to critical thinking and evidence-based practice will also help youth workers reflect on their contribution to tackling young people's problems, particularly when opportunities to do that regularly are limited. "With the cuts, we have seen people's jobs get busier and it is harder to reflect on what you are doing, which can affect quality," explains Hatton. "We want professionals at all levels to come together for reflective practice."

She says this could take the form of regional networks or Skype meetings to discuss innovation and best practice.

As well as offering PHD studies, George Williams College intends to develop the training and education support for young people to undertake apprenticeships and volunteering in youth work.

It is this ability to adapt to the changing needs of young people that explains how YMCA has survived for 170 years and remains as relevant as ever, says Hatton. "We can be flexible around the community's needs, but we won't lose sight of who we are."

CV
- June 2013-present: chief executive officer, YMCA England
- Jan 2013-June 2013: interim chief executive officer, YMCA England
- 2003-2012: chief executive officer, YMCA Thames Gateway
- 1993-2003: director of operations, YMCA West London
- 1990-1993: assistant to the chief executive, Croydon YMCA
- 1984-1990: PA to management, YMCA Metropolitan Region
]]