New boss heads up charity that cares for vulnerable youngsters
A charity that looks after young people who need extra care for a range of complex reasons has appointed a new director.
Alison Gough has been named as part of the team at the Good Shepherd Centre in Bishopton.
Roisin McGoldrick, chair of the organisations’ board of directors, is delighted to have her on board.
She said: “Alison emerged as the top candidate from a very competitive field with many excellent applicants.
“We are delighted to have secured her services and are confident we have in her someone who will fully embrace the ethos of the Good Shepherd Centre as a place of light and hope where young people are nurtured and cared for to the highest standard.
“We also look forward to a process of continuous development as Alison’s fresh eyes and expertly-informed vision takes us into the next phase of our development as a centre for excellence in working with some of Scotland’s most vulnerable young people.
“We look forward to welcoming her into her new role in the new year.”
The Good Shepherd Centre is a secure and semi-independent living service for vulnerable young people aged from 12 to 17.
The campus comprises an 18- bed secure unit, a six-bed close support unit and a three- bed semi- independent cottage. Young people are referred through the criminal justic system and through the Children’s Hearing system.
Alison has a wealth of experience working with care-experienced young people.
She qualified as a social worker in 1991 and held various social work practitioner and management roles within Scottish local authorities before becoming a service manager and subsequently head of service at a residential school care resource in the Scottish voluntary sector.
She then joined Children’s Hearings Scotland (CHS) as director of panel and area support, where she was part of the executive team that established the then new organisation and introduced new national standards for the Children’s Panel.
Alison, who is currently the secure care national adviser with the Centre for Youth and Criminal Justice at Strathclyde University, commented: “It is such an honour to have been appointed as the new director”.
“I have been privileged to meet and work with some of the dedicated and talented practitioners and senior team who work across the Good Shepherd Centre.
“I know I am joining a team who are committed to ensuring that everything we do across our services has the best interests of the young people we care for, and keep safe, at its heart and who share my excitement about future possibilities”.
Young people using the Good Shepherd Centre are likely to have suffered adverse childhood experiences, including acute trauma, psychological distress, mental health problems, self- harm, drug and alcohol misuse and sexual exploitation.
The team also works with those with learning difficulties and autistic disorders that are too complex for their families, and carers and to cope with.