Inspiration from ACE Interrupters in Great Britain
Mel Berry – kind and curious Director of include, a community hub for ex-offenders in Swansea, and former captain of the Wales women’s rugby team Mel Berry’s high-flying career with the Wales women’s rugby team took her around the world, allowing her to sample different cultures and communities. Over the years, there have been other journeys too – of personal growth and professional development. Since retiring as Wales captain in 2010, Mel has devoted herself to supporting people impacted by trauma. She has also battled her own demons, making a conscious decision four years ago to analyse the adverse experiences she went through as a child. To some extent, her training in trauma development is intertwined with her personal history. “You learn about it because it gives you an awareness about yourself,” she says. “If you’ve not met yourself, i.e. if you’ve not challenged your own trauma, you will struggle to help someone else.” Returning to Wales in 2018, Mel has come a full circle, after growing up in Swansea as a child. She studied English literature at university in London during her rugby days, working all week and travelling back to Wales at the weekend to train and play. This gruelling schedule became her normality – “I’d never regret a minute of it,” she says. After retiring from the game, she worked in Scotland and then Yorkshire, pursuing her ongoing interests in the science of trauma and the power of sport to heal troubled minds. “I thought it was about time I came back to Wales and, in terms of my own personal journey through trauma, once you get to a place where you’re settled, you feel you’re in a place where you can give.” Mel is generous with her time, juggling various paid and unpaid roles. Day-to-day, she manages include, a Swansea-based hub for ex-offenders and those with street vulnerability, such as sex workers, the homeless and people with complex addictions. She is also a trustee for the Panacea Project, a non-profit organisation that provides trauma-informed services to the public sector, and acts as a non-executive director for a careers app, called MiFuture. At the weekends she runs, often accompanied by her dog, for hours at a time. Her ambition is to run in every country – she has ticked off 94 so far – and her next challenge is a mountain trail from Slovakia to Poland. During Mel’s time on the rugby pitch, she predominantly “… From every life experience, you played in the back row or as a centre, captaining the take something away and that’s what Welsh national team in 63 games, including two world makes you grow …” cup tournaments. Unlike many high-level athletes, she has not struggled to adapt to life in retirement, saying her self-worth wasn’t wrapped up in rugby. “My rugby career is part of me, but doesn’t define me – if it did, I’d probably have more mental health challenges.” However, the sense of belonging and the experience of managing a squad have stayed with her. “I’m a huge believer that from every life experience, you take something away and that’s what makes you grow.” Playing for a club in New Zealand for 18 months introduced her to an inclusive and nurturing culture, which aligned with her own ideas about the importance of building local relationships within a community.
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