Karen Ritchie
Karen Ritchie (41) was born in Worksop and has lived in Worksop all her life, apart from three months in Margate, where she moved with a friend to work at Butlins.She is the manager of Sheffield’s branch of leading national child and family support charity Home-Start. Every week, over 15,000 volunteers across the country visit families across the country who are struggling with isolation, multiple births, poverty, illness, bereavement, children with disabilities… or are just finding parenting a struggle. 4,000 of Sheffield’s children are considered to be ‘in need’, and a Home-Start volunteer’s non judgmental, practical support can be a lifeline.
Sheffield is special to Karen, because as a teenager she spent her Saturdays shopping there and went to the University of Sheffield as a mature student when she was 24. She has been working in the city ever since.
“My mum, dad and brother all live just round the corner and we are a very close family. I have two daughters aged 21 and 18 and I adore them. We are like the three musketeers when we get together, nothing can come between us. My eldest, Leomi, is at university in Lincoln studying Bio Veterinary Science. Her ambition from being a little girl was to be a vet and I have no doubt she will achieve that. My youngest daughter, Caitlin is off to Nottingham University in January to do children’s nursing. She has such a lovely way about her, that I can only say that the Queens Medical Centre staff are very lucky to have her!”
Many people would say that having children changed their life, but to Karen, that has a special meaning as she was 18 when she became pregnant with her eldest child.
“She was born on the 12th June 1989, and I remember to this day looking at her and thinking what I had to offer her: I was single, lived with my mum, had no job, had no career prospects, no money! It was then that I decided to go back to college and study. I had no clear idea what I was going to do, but I chose sociology and psychology. I can remember having a dictionary with me at all times, because when I read a book, I couldn’t understand half of what it was saying!”
Karen gradually became more confident in her studies and decided to apply for an Open University course. This was the turning point in her life, as she gained a distinction on the course and was lucky enough to be linked with a mentor-tutor who had a real understanding of her background and related to who she was, because of where she herself had come from. Karen continues, “Her name was Janet Parr and I would love to see her again and tell her how much of an impact she had on my life. She convinced me that I should think about applying to university, which is something I would never have considered if it wasn’t for her. I would just never have thought I was clever enough, and none of my family had ever gone to university before.”
Karen applied and got a place at the University of Sheffield, and studied social policy and sociology. It was a tough three years, as although by then she had met someone, I had another child, so she had two children under five and a loan which only covered the train fare to Sheffield and childcare. Her only option was to get a job to make ends meet. “If anyone said I had to go back and do those 3 years again, I would say on your bike,” Karen smiles, “as they were three of the most difficult years of my life: studying, working and looking after two young children is really tough! But I came out with a 2:1 honours degree and made my mum proud for what seemed was the first time in my life.”
Since then, Karen has held down many jobs in her life, and counts herself fortunate enough to never have been out of work. Her varied career prior to university included bar maid, cinema steward, box office assistant, insurance clerk and pools coupon collector. Since university, Karen has been a youth worker and computer skills trainer. Most recently, Karen became a coordinator for Sheffield children’s and family support charity Home-Start. Karen was later promoted to manager and also manages the national training programme for Home-Start UK, which is based in Leicester.
“I love both my jobs. I have a real empathy for mothers with young children and the trials and tribulations they go through. I was 18 when I became pregnant and a single mum for a short time living with my mum for a year after she was born. I suffered with postnatal depression because I was blessed with a child who was very intelligent, needed constant stimulation and didn’t need sleep! I just couldn’t cope emotionally or physically with being a mum and I was exhausted from getting no sleep. It was such a huge life change for me. I started to feel better once I started working again, and then achieving my University Degree did wonders for my self-esteem and confidence. I can now look back and value the road that I have travelled, as it has made me who I am today. However, like most mothers I wish I could have gone back and done some things differently. I have learnt through my sociology studies to question life and others opinions, and feel it should be compulsory for everyone. We are fed so many half truths in life, it is important that we take a step back and think about things for ourselves.”
One example of this are the reasons behind Karen’s first pregnancy with her daughter Leomi, which were so very different to what the Government seems to feel are the reasons for teenage pregnancy that she sometimes get very frustrated with their campaigns. “Knowing about contraception and having access to contraception is not going to stop all teenage pregnancies, addressing low self-esteem and confidence in young women, I feel would have a much greater impact.”
Karen has a passion for living life to the full and staying positive regardless of what it throws at you. Her marriage of 19 years came to an end just over two years ago and a relationship which followed for eighteen months ended very badly, teaching her that no matter how strong, independent and in control of your life you are, you can never be sure what’s round the corner and how that’s going to impact on your life.
She explains, “I suffered with anxiety for the first time in my life this year. It is a very debilitating condition, something I will live in fear of ever experiencing again. I have never been one for self pity or letting things get the better off me, but this year showed me how vulnerable I really am. However, after time I fought back by concentrating on the things that are important in my life, in particular my daughters and my friends. I am on the mend ready for taking on 2011!”
Karen has more interests than most! She loves music, keeping fit and animals, owning an ex-racehorse called Roxy, who she is re-training to compete, hopefully next year. She plays golf (badly) and runs twice a week with old schools friends she recently re-connected with and hopes to get back into racing next year, “I mix keeping fit, with catching up, perfect!” Her goal is, having completed a half marathon in the past, to manage the London marathon eventually.
Karen continues, “My golfing partner is my acupuncturist, I found acupuncture so useful at one point in my life that we actually became friends because I had treatment so much. I was never one to believe in alternative therapies such as acupuncture, but it literally changed my life so I will recommend it to anyone. I love going to music festivals in the summer, in particular, V Festival and Leeds Festival- and yes I have tickets to see Take That at Wembly next year. I have good friends and lots of them- nothing can make you feel better than a good chat with a good friend I find. I love animals and had the pay been better that’s where my career would have led. Meantime, I dream of winning the lottery and opening an animal sanctuary! My daughters and I are always helping animals who are sick, old or abandoned. We have a dog called Tilly who is the most spoilt dog there is, and all my family love her. She is never left alone, has a wardrobe full of t-shirts, jumpers and coats for this cold weather and has been a great source of comfort to me this year- she keeps me smiling.”
Karen’s job at Home-Start Sheffield makes her count her blessings every day. The resilience of some of the families her team support is remarkable and they have huge respect for how some parents cope with huge adversity in their lives. These are the people she admires. She concludes, “I have a friend who had Home-Start support a few years ago when her partner left her whilst she was pregnant and had a one year old. She was made redundant and couldn’t get another job because she was pregnant. She couldn’t pay the bills, had mortgage arrears and no family support. Her ex didn’t help her with anything, and Home-Start was her only source of support. Despite this, she is one of the most positive, strong, independent women I know, she always has something positive to say, and will take time out to help people regardless of her own situation. She has now met someone special and I am so happy that they are getting married next year. If anyone deserves a bit of happiness it’s my friend Jen.
The team here, think Home-Start must be Sheffield best kept secret. We work tirelessly to ensure parents in Sheffield get the support they need to give their children the best outcomes in life. We offer support to parents who have a child with a disability, support young first time mothers to build secure attachments with their children, help parents to be their child’s first teachers, support mothers with postnatal depression…and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. We have been around for nearly 30 years, but in this time of economic recession, like so many other valuable organisations we are under threat of closure- it’s time to speak up about the work we do in Sheffield. With recognition, we hope will come funding, and we can continue to support all the most vulnerable families in Sheffield who are counting on us to be their lifeline-sometimes literally.”
Karen can be contacted on Karenr@hssheffield.org.uk Telephone 0114 2788377 Website www.hssheffield.org.uk
Profile distributed by Faye Smith at Keep your Fork marketing consultancy
Telephone: 07985 038265 email: faye@keepyourfork.co.uk
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