Retires from centre after 23 years
Rainbow Centre manager Trish Kinsella is to retire tomorrow (October 21) after 23 years at the charity.
The Rainbow Centre offers practical support to vulnerable people regardless of age, gender or religion.
Under the watchful eye of Mrs Kinsella, it operates a food andclothingbankandalsohas a shower room, laundry, television lounge and a garden for people to enjoy in a safe, comfortable environment.
Mrs Kinsella is on firstname terms with hundreds of people in Scarborough, and it will come as little surprise to those who know her that she has continued to work at the centrelongpastthetimewhen many her age would have already stepped down.
Announcing her retirement on the Rainbow Centre Facebook page, Mrs Kinsella said: “It has been my passion and my privilege to have worked with some of the most amazing people.
“Boththosewhohavecome to the Rainbow for help and support and those I have had the pleasure to have worked alongside and who have become my family.
“We have seen so many changes in the time since I started in 2000 from meeting with two or three people a day to the huge amount who come in now for support in these most difficult times.
“We have seen lives turned round and those who had no hopeleavehereknowingthere was hope and they could see a future.
“I have loved my work here and it has all been done in the name of Jesus who brought me here. Many challenges and many tears but many laughs and many joys.”
The post gathered over 950 reactions and more than 300 comments.
One Facebook user said: “Trish, you are an angel withoutwings.Thelivesthatyou've changed and will continue to change through your legacy are innumerable. It was an absolute joy and pleasure to work alongside you on some of the darkest of days.
"Yougavehopeandencouragementtonotonlyserviceusers but also to professionals, when we felt that all hope had gone.”
A second post read: “Saved my life so many times. Can't even imagine what a difference she's made overall. Wish I could be like her and wish there were more.”
The Vicar of St Mary’s, the Rev Richard Walker, said: “Trish is the most dedicated person I’ve ever come across.
"The care she shows towards people who have just found themselves in the worst places is amazing.
“She has shaped the legacy of the centre and has helped to form the centre as we know it now, it’s not an easy job for those on the ground.
“You will not stop this woman, she’s an unstoppable force, serving the community andshewillcontinuetoserve.”
Mrs Kinsella will step away from the centre completely to allow the new team to establish their own way of working within the centre.
She said: “The team taking over are amazing, they’re brilliant.
“I will miss the clients, working for them, fighting for them, banging on tables for them and getting to make a difference in their lives.
“The work has been my life for 23 years but it’s time to go and time for the Rainbow Centre to enter a new chapter.”