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Beginnings of Maytree
The inspiration and energy behind Maytree came from the Director, Paddy Bazeley who had been working full time with the Samaritans for nearly 30 years.
During this time Paddy met many people with feelings such as “I don’t really want to die but I don’t know how to live,” or who believed for example they would rather take their own lives than go to hospital.
The stigma of a mental illness label and the fear of being detained in hospital involuntarily (sectioned) deters a great many people from seeking help.
Paddy first suggested the idea of a non-medical respite centre for people actively thinking about suicide to colleagues and friends.
A working party was formed to explore the feasibility of such a project, following which a board of Trustees, chaired by Michael Knight, himself a Samaritan volunteer, psychotherapist and management consultant, began raising the necessary funds to buy the house and provide the initial running costs for Maytree.
The faith and encouragement of the trustees and friends has enabled Maytree to become a reality. Maytree opened its doors to our first guest in autumn 2002.
Maytree's founders: Michael Knight and Paddy Bazeley
Leadership and Management
Maytree is run by a small staff team and a team of around 100 volunteers. The team is led by Director, Jane Jones, who joined Maytree in January 2010. She takes over the reins from founder Paddy Bazeley to lead the organisation into its next stage of development and growth.
Jane has a wealth of both clinical and management experience gained in the voluntary and statutory sectors, most recently as Head of Strategy and Operations for a charity providing support to people with learning disabilities. She is a Registered Mental Health Nurse and has worked as a ward manager in the NHS; she has also undertaken a considerable amount of work on the development and delivery of cognitive behavioural programmes.
Maytree’s Trustees are responsible for ensuring Maytree’s good governance and management and for raising the funds for its operations. The trustees are:
Simon Armson (Chairman), Chief Executive of Samaritans from 1989-2004; ex-Chair of the Mental Health Commission; Mental Health Act Commissioner; practising psychotherapist
Adam Greenbury, Director of N M Rothschild & Sons, the investment bank
Professor Keith Hawton, Director of the Centre for Suicide Research, Oxford
Tommy Hutchinson, Chairman of Kikass the innovative youth charity and founder / owner of i-genius
Janet Lewis-Jones, Trustee of the BBC Trust
Helen Otton, Chief Executive of Tommy's the baby charity from 1993-1998
Brian Watson, volunteer at Maytree (legal background)
Because of the nature of what we do, it’s hard to define our ‘success rate’.
However, feedback from former guests are a testament to the difference a short stay with us can make.
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