I’m Jaci, the new Director of Care for Juno. I’ve been a social worker for over 40 years and a counsellor/psychotherapist for over 30. I had envisaged that at my age, I would be moving towards retirement, towards a life that had no upset or conflict in it, some sort of fantasy where the real world wouldn’t intrude...
That isn’t going to pan out. I’ve joined Juno, an ambitious, not-for-profit organisation creating homes for children across Liverpool City Region. As someone who has spent my career supporting young people and challenging injustice, I cannot ignore the shocking reality that thousands of children are failed whilst in residential care. As soon as I saw that Juno was setting out to disrupt the commodification of children’s lives and the profiteering of the private sector, I wanted to be part of it, to help change residential care for ever.
We are going to create homes where young people feel safe, known and loved. To do that, everyone in the organisation will be on board. Every interaction with each young person will matter.
I’ve often used this quote when describing why, even in moments when children might feel most despairing, the kindness of their care-givers can make a difference:
“You are, in your caring interactions with these children, Spring. And in the depth of the bitter cold of this child’s Winter, you create hope; you build an internal representation of a better world – a world where people are decent and kind and good. And this child’s hope will whisper in the long dark night of Winter ‘these hard times will pass’.
(abridged from Perry 2013)