2020 NEWS HIGHLIGHTS Liz Osman
16
From lunchboxes to foodbanks
ANNUAL REVIEW COLLEGE NEWS
Alumna Lorraine Schulze (née Wicker) (BEd 1985) explains how her Homerton training and 30 years in teaching equipped her to manage foodbank provision as demand soared during the pandemic. I was at Homerton from 1985–89 and it was an amazing and inspiring time, full of fun, friendship and vibrant learning experiences. It was in the days when everyone at Homerton was training to teach and we had that common bond. My main subject was Religious Studies and I especially enjoyed studying theology with other university students. I went on to teach in Kent, London and Medway for the next 30 years, teaching the whole age range from Nursery to Year 6 and specialising at times in music and then special needs. I spent the last 14 years as a SENCO, for most of that time working with a fantastic team in a Catholic primary school in a deprived area of Medway. I also worked on safeguarding issues for many of those years. When a particularly inspirational head teacher that I worked closely with retired, I decided to take a mini career break. After some part-time SENCO posts in tiny schools in Kent villages, I took a big career change step and took on the role of Project Manager for Medway Foodbank. I had been a voucher distributor for the foodbank in my role as SENCO and was well aware of the levels of poverty for many local people. As a volunteer at the foodbank in the church that I attended, I had already seen the foodbank operation from two different angles.
That was in 2018 and in that year the eight foodbank centres in Medway fed around 5,800 people. This year of 2020, as for all of us, has been somewhat different and challenging. We closed the foodbank centres during the first lockdown and haven’t opened them since. We reworked our whole operation quickly into a delivery only service and we are currently delivering around 100 parcels a week to those in need. Medway is currently in Tier 3 with our rates sadly being the highest in the country as I write in December. So far this year we have fed over 10,600 people, of which just over 5,000 were children. We are part of the UK-wide Trussell Trust network of foodbanks so we work with a voucher system. We have 150+ voucher distributor agencies including schools, Children and Family Hubs and local charity groups that support families. The aim is that, as well as receiving food, people also receive signposting support and advice to help them out of their financial crisis. From my days as a SENCO and safeguarding lead I know only too well the complexities of life for those experiencing poverty as well as the need for clear advice to help families make steps towards a better future. I have learnt that my skills from 30 years of teaching are certainly transferrable, and this year I have certainly called upon some of the resilience that I developed through working in a school in a challenging area.
