JOE MAIRURA is the Director of Touchstone. His name means ‘one who doesn’t sleep’ in Masai and his CV is testament to this. He says Joe Cocker can lift him up where he belongs, but then again so can Chris deBurgh and Neil Diamond... 

Organisation: Touchstone Leeds
Client Group(s): Mental Health Needs
Job Title: Director Since: 2000

Previous Employment:
Amongst other things I have been a Roman Catholic priest in training, a school teacher, a psychiatric nurse, a community mental health nurse, a residential services manager, and senior manager of Leicester City Social Services.

Qualifications: BA and MA in Philosophy and an MBA.

How relevant are they to your current job?
Obviously the MBA has been enormously useful. Effective business administration is more and more important in our sector. (Ed-) And if I might butt in here, it is more than evident from speaking with Joe that a background in philosophy allows him to think in great depth about the work he does.

Where do you see yourself a year from now?
I will actually be leaving Touchstone at the end of February, and it is with great pride though that I look upon my time here. As for one year’s time, I hope, after a good holiday, that I could be invloved with a similar organisation nearer home.

Where do you see the future of Supported Housing?
Housing Support has already taken on a different meaning to a few years ago. More and more, our ‘business’ is about enabling people, it’s about walking alongside people as they make their journey. And housing support is a tool on that journey, not an end in itself.  I think that in the future, housing will be more integrated to other services in a ‘case management’ approach. Supported housing is a pillar of community care and I would like to see it integrated with ideas of citizenship. I see it enhancing the  social model of disability.

Can you name a Best Work Moment?
There are obviously many, but one in particular springs to mind. When I was a team manager, commissioning services for the frail elderly, I met a man who had reluctantly come to the conclusion that his only option was to move into a residential home. I remember his sheer joy when I put a plan to him that meant he would be provided with enough support to stay in his own home.

And your Worst Work Moment(s)?
These have always been when letting a service user down. Thankfully it’s rare, and it is almost never withoutgood reason, and even though I know it wasn’t my fault I just can’t help the sense of failure I feel when you can’t  follow through on something.

How do you manage your stress?
I know my ‘tell-tale’ signs. I have a high metabolism and know that when I start getting snappy it’s time to retreat for a while. I’m luck because I can close the door and listen to classical music in my office. There are some other songs that I can play when I’m feeling thoughtful or worried about something, Borderline by Chris deBurgh, Neil Diamond’s soundtrack to Jonathan Livingston Seagull, and “Up Where We Belong” by Joe Cocker they never fail to get me back in the right frame of mind.

What do you like about those you work with?
There is an amazing ability amongst the people work with to help make a difference. That is, to contribute something to the process of someone making a success story of themselves.

Anything you’re not so keen on?
I sometimes think that we can be too protective of the work we do, and that can sometimes mean we are resistant to or at least suspicious of change.

Finally, what is your top tip for LAF newsletter readers?
I say this, quite simply, if you want to look after others, then you must look after yourself. We all work in a stressful environment, and it is up to us as individuals to manage our stress. We have a responsibility to feed our brains to improve on what we are doing, so we must use the structures that are in place to help us do that. Ask for help when it’s needed,  be brave and say no when things are genuinely impossible, in short use your line manager!