Seeing the potential within
At the heart of this project since the very first day was kindness and empathy; I saw this immediately and wanted to be a part of it, to help nurture this idea and watch it grow.
We had a dream…
On a cold winter's day back in 2002, when I was between jobs after a stint overseas as an education development worker, a good friend Danny told me about an interesting lady called Alice that he was sharing an office space with in the Brighton Peace Centre. "You two should meet, you'd have a lot in common" he suggested, and we went then and there to meet Alice Conroy, then a one-woman band planning the first steps in setting up her own supported accommodation service for unaccompanied asylum seekers and refugee young people. We met, we chatted, we went for a coffee, she told me her plans ... and the rest, as they say, is history….
Jeanne Revest. Assistant Director
It began with an idea
Back then Pathways was very much the energy and ideas of one lady, which I played a small part in helping to turn into a reality. With years of social care experience under her belt already, she had a vision of the kind of service she wanted to provide, to help young people find their feet and accompany them along the path to greater confidence, more stability and, eventually, independent living. At the heart of this project since the very first day was kindness and empathy; I saw this immediately and wanted to be a part of it, to help nurture this idea and watch it grow. From those first days, when it was just Alice and me, we slowly grew, opening more houses, employing staff and eventually expanding into new locations and different projects. From my start as a trainee keyworker, I went on to open up our first project outside of Brighton in Redhill, Surrey, and am now still involved remotely with the organisation, nearly two decades later, as Assistant Director.
A Family
I am proud of what has been achieved over the years, of every young person whose life we have touched, helping them to write their own stories and be their own, authentic selves. While both the faces and the world have changed over these many years, for me the central message at the heart of PTI has remained strong - to care and to empower young people on their pathways to independence.
“The best way I can describe Pathways is as a family: a mother – caring and kind, a father – offering direction and guidance, a brother and sister who I can chat to and share my fears and hopes with. A family.”
— Squarespace