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29 SEPTEMBER 2021 | EDITOR - ERNEST JONES
Having worked for Young Lives vs Cancer for over 15 years in a variety of roles, Tracy understands the challenges that comes with supporting young cancer patients, but also the many highlights, too. Read on to find out more about Tracy’s experiences, what motivated her to first join Young Lives vs Cancer and her hopes for the future of the charity.
How Long Have You Worked With Young Lives Vs Cancer?
I have had the honour to be on Team Young Lives since 2004. I initially started as a social worker for Young Lives vs Cancer at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool, as part of the Oncology multi-disciplinary team, that worked with children who had cancer and their families. My role was to provide support to deal with the devastation that cancer can cause when a family learns that their child has the disease.
What Does Your Role Entail?
In my 17 years, I have had many roles during my time working for Young Lives vs Cancer. I began as a social worker, before progressing to social work team leader, working predominantly in Merseyside and Cheshire, as well as North Wales and Manchester, too.
My work then shifted to focus on developing our services for 16-to-24-year-olds across the UK – firstly as a project manager and then as a service manager. The latter role had a heavy focus on Participation service, which is concerned with how young lives and families shape our services and our charity purpose.
My role today is associate director, which involves overseeing the many services that we offer. I have responsibility for our Grants service, which ensures families and young people get the financial support they need; and our soon-to-be 11 Homes from Home scheme, which comprises of leading a team of around 35 colleagues whose job it is to arrange for parents to be close to their child when they are having treatment.
I also oversee our digital services such as Live Chat and a new Central Support and Social Care team, which delivers support through digital means and works hand in hand with our local social care teams in hospitals, in addition to our Service Delivery partnerships with other charities to create greater impact for those we are here to serve.
Which Aspects Of The Role Do You Find Challenging?
I have been to too many children's funerals over the years, which is as harrowing as you can imagine. That said, knowing the difference our charity makes by being there to support people before and following the death of their precious child is such an important part of the work we do – an area which our incredible social workers are particularly skilled in.
Is Young Lives Vs Cancer A Charity Close To Your Own Heart? Do You Have Any Personal Experiences You Would Be Willing To Share?
I was motivated to join Young Lives vs Cancer during my time spent supporting two children, whose mum died at a young age from cancer, in a previous social work role. When I saw the post advertised in 2004, I knew this was the role for me. The charity remains so very close to my heart, it is in my genetics now, to be honest.
How Did The Pandemic Impact Your Role And How Did The Charity Overcome The Hurdles The Lockdowns And Restrictions Placed On Them?
During the pandemic, our Homes from Home team worked valiantly. They kept coming into work even when public was being instructed to work from home. Together, we developed new health and safety protocols overnight, which were constantly being adapted to reflect the ever-changing government guidance over the last 16 months.
We had to reduce footfall in the homes and work even closer with the NHS to adhere to safety procedures they had to put in place to keep patients safe on the wards. With the help of our Homes from Home staff, we were able to ensure that parents could stay close to their child when they were inpatients.
We also helped with other issues as they happened, for example, when it was difficult to buy certain food at supermarkets during the height of the pandemic, our team helped to take this pressure off families by sourcing food for families, or by connecting them to local supermarkets that were fully stocked by utilising our links with Morrisons.
What Has Been Your Personal Highlight Working For The Charity?
Oh my goodness, this is such a difficult one – may I be cheeky and share a few?! A young man returned to one of the hospitals a number of years after finishing his treatment as he wanted to introduce his newborn son to me. He didn't think he could become a dad because of his cancer treatment, so to see him hold his baby was a precious moment.
Three years ago, I had the privilege to meet Sylvia, who was involved in the creation of Sargent Cancer Care over 30 years ago, that has since evolved into Young Lives vs Cancer. We connected immediately over our core purpose of being there for children, young people and families through the worst of times and the best of times.
What Are Your Hopes For The Charity In The Future?
My hopes are that no matter where someone lives or has their treatment, that Young Lives vs Cancer can be there for young patients from the moment the doctor tells them they have cancer.
This also includes working with patients and families to help them access the support they need, which includes our brilliant social workers in hospitals, our Central Support and Social Care team, and support they can access themselves through our Digital services.
I also hope that we can continue to make change happen through our Policy, Influencing and Voice team as this has great impact for families now, and the future.
How you can help
To find out more the incredible work Young Lives vs Cancer does, visit younglivesvscancer.org.uk. You can also lend your support when you purchase heart-shaped jewellery at Ernest Jones, with 10% of the profits going to the charity.