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Mick Clarke Chief Executive finishes his speech pictured with Canon Nicholas Sagovsky of Westminster Abbey.

Pictured are Kensa, Roger Clark, Mick Clarke and Dame Suzi as the visit concluded.

After spending the morning at The Passage, and meeting Mick Clarke, (Passage CEO), Roger Clark, (Deputy CEO), as well as clients, staff and volunteers, Suzi commented:

"It was a very interesting and insightful visit and we learned a lot about The Passage and it's work in the short time that we were there. I was delighted to have the opportunity to be so well briefed on The Passage's approach to supporting people in transforming their lives, to talk to volunteers and to see the building. The Passage clearly has a huge and positive impact on people's lives. I was struck by the way that the charity expresses the Vincentian ethos day by day and by the enthusiasm and commitment of the staff and volunteers we met. Surely Vincent would see  reflected in the work of The Passage today the truth of his teaching four hundred years ago and say 'They are continuing as I hoped they would."

Mick Clarke commented:

"We were delighted to welcome Suzi and Kensa to The Passage. We have an excellent relationship with the Charity Commission, and always find them extremely helpful in any enquiries we may have; they are an excellent resource. Knowing how busy Suzi is, it was great that she could spend a whole morning with us and see the work we do and the difference we make in the lives of so many homeless and disadvantaged people. They showed a real interest in our work and it's great to know we have their support in our work to help homeless people transform their lives."

The Passage runs London’s largest day centre for homeless people, offering help to around 200 people every day. Its mission is to provide resources which encourage, inspire and challenge homeless people to transform their lives.

Archbishop Vincent Nichols said: “I have been aware of the reputation and work of The Passage for many years. In recent months, following my visits to the charity, I have come to understand more fully the impact of the work of its staff and volunteers on some of the most vulnerable people in society.”
      
Mick Clarke, Chief Executive of The Passage, said: “The Passage is immensely grateful to Cardinal Cormac for the support he gave to The Passage during his time as Patron. We are equally delighted to welcome the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols to the role of Patron. On his first visit to The Passage as Archbishop, it was clear that he has a deep passion for working with the most disadvantaged in our society, and advocating on their behalf, to ensure they have the resources available to transform their lives. This approach completely matches the values and ethos of our work at The Passage."

Mick Clarke CEO, Samantha Cameron and Roger Clark deputy CEO

Mick said: “We were delighted to welcome Samantha. She showed a genuine interest in our work and a genuine interest in our clients. “We like to think that a homeless person’s first step into The Passage is their first step out of homelessness. We are really about a hand up as opposed to a hand-out.”

Samantha Cameron helps our chef Nour

A Conservative Party spokeswoman said: “The Conservative Party has a strong relationship with The Passage. Members of staff from Conservative Campaign Headquarters regularly volunteer at the centre.”

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Mick’s presentation focused on how our founding values still inspire the mission of The Passage, and are particularly relevant in the midst of the recession.
Commenting on the event, Mick said:
“It was a fantastic occasion and an honour to represent the clients of The Passage and speak on their behalf, and it was great to learn from others experiences of working with homeless people and share with people from all over Europe how The Passage works.”
“Our founding values ensure we work in partnership with our homeless clients to enable them to transform their lives, seek innovative solutions to complex issues, achieve practical and lasting solutions, but most of all treat each homeless person as an individual and with utter respect. “
“In a time of recession it is always the poor that get hit the hardest and this type of approach is needed more than ever.”

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in the Charity Partnership category of the Third Sector Excellence Awards.for their Skills for Jobs for Homeless People work. The ETE team is part of a London wide consortium lead by Crisis - along with St Mungo's, Broadway, The Salvation Army, Connections at St Martins, Brent Homeless User Group, and Business Action on Homelessness - which, earlier this year, signed up to delivering increased job outcomes for homeless people.  

This entailed setting up a whole new recording system, new working practices and increased focus on sustainable job outcomes for our clients. The team have systematically achieved the outcomes agreed over the year - even more remarkable given the current economic situation.

Click here to visit my fundraising page

Click here to view my diary.

I have now returned home after a fantastic experience in the Himalayas. I was fortunate enough, with a lot of help from my team, to summit Mt Everest. It was an incredible mental and physical challenge and I believe that I have learnt a lot from my experience. I was unfortunately quite ill on summit day and our team also reached the summit during a storm so I am afraid and sorry that the photo is not the best. There was not a view from the summit but I can assure you that it is the top of Mt Everest and not Ben Nevis!!!!!
 
Many thanks to erveryone who sponsored me and in so doing supported the great work of The Passage.
 
Chris Macklin

He has taken over from Sr Ellen Flynn, who has been CEO for eight years. Ellen will, at a date to be agreed, become chairman of the Board of Trustees and Peter Macklin, the present chairman, will then become vice chairman.

Following an open and competitive recruitment process, Peter said: “We were most
impressed with the calibre of the applicants who applied. But Mick’s long
commitment to helping some of the most disadvantaged in our society shone
through, together with his understanding of what makes The Passage distinctive.

“We’re delighted that he has accepted our offer of moving into Ellen’s shoes – no
mean challenge in itself. We also recognise that this is a particularly challenging time
for our charity and that Mick has proven himself to have both the leadership and
team-building skills needed at this time. “

Mick has a postgraduate degree from City University in Voluntary Sector
Management and started his career in youth work. Since 1995 he has been involved
in the homelessness sector, starting as a volunteer and project worker. He has
worked in senior management roles for the past eight years, having been Head of
Services for the young homelessness charity, the Depaul Trust UK. He is currently a
Trustee for Depaul Trust Ireland. In 2006 he joined The Passage as Deputy CEO.

Mick said: “I feel privileged and absolutely delighted to be taking over from Ellen
and helping to build on her successes over the past eight years. By working in
consultation with our service users, and with the support of our staff, our volunteers and our many friends, I am confident that we have the capacity to strengthen and develop the high quality services The Passage provides to some of the most vulnerable in our society.

“The vision and mission of Vincent Depaul inspired the creation of The Passage and
still inspires our values and ethos today. I’m also inspired by these values and
believe they are as relevant today as ever, and they will influence the decisions that
myself and my team make to help homeless people to transform their lives.”

Sr Ellen resigned as CEO following her appointment to the Provincial Council, the
national leadership team of the Daughters of Charity.

She commented: “During the two years that I have been working with Mick,
I have come to rely on his commitment and skills in finding solutions to the
many and diverse problems that we have to deal with day by day. I am
delighted that he is taking over as Chief Executive as he has so clearly
demonstrated his commitment to the mission and ethos of The Passage.

“I would like to pay an especial tribute to Peter for his chairmanship of the
Board. No Chief Executive could ask for a more inspiring chairman. I am

As a consequence, she tendered her resignation as our CEO on September 1. The Board of Trustees will be conducting an open and competitive recruitment process in line with our recruitment policies.

We are very pleased that we are not losing Ellen. She will continue as Chief Executive until a new CEO is in post. She will then become chairman of the Board of Trustees.

As promised in our statement in March, we want to keep you informed of plans for redeveloping our Carlisle Place building. We are making progress, however this has been much slower than anticipated.

We are continuing our negotiations with a potential development partner and Servite Houses. We are also consulting with the Daughters of Charity, who will continue to live in St Vincent’s Centre, about their continuing role in the services offered in the building after the redevelopment.

In these circumstances, a planning application for St Vincent’s Centre will not be submitted this year and, as a result, any building work is likely to be several years away.

Peter Macklin

Chairman of the Board of Trustees