After eight years at the helm of Norwich homelessness charity St Martins, Chief Executive Dr Jan Sheldon has announced that she will retire this summer.
The local charity started life as the night shelter over 50 years ago and has developed into the largest homelessness charity in the county, supporting around 300 people at any one time. The charity has a range of hostels, residential care and shared homes in the city. St Martins leads the Pathways outreach service for people sleeping rough, as well as running a learning and development centre to support people with life skills and a chance to belong to a positive community.
Dr Jan Sheldon said, “It has been an enormous honour to lead the development of St Martins over the last few years. Early on in my career I was given the sage advice to only leave when you are proud of what you’re leaving behind – I couldn’t be prouder of St Martins now. St Martins is in great shape, the team are doing fantastically, and all systems and processes are working well so it seems a good time to pass the baton onto the next person fortunate enough to lead this amazing charity.”
During Jan’s leadership the charity acquired St Martins House in 2023, a 23 bed hostel on Thorpe Road, opened by HRH The Duke of Gloucester in 2024. There have been significant challenges, particularly during the pandemic when the safety of team members and the vulnerable people supported by St Martins was paramount. The government’s ‘everybody in’ announcement in 2020 was an opportunity for St Martins to establish an emergency assessment centre in Norwich for people who would otherwise be sleeping rough, and the numbers of on the streets in Norwich have significantly reduced since the highest number recorded in 2016.
Always taking every opportunity to talk about the work of St Martins, Jan made many connections with communities all over the county, and she held the civic position of Sheriff of Norwich 2023 – 4.
Having worked in social care for her whole career, Jan is passionate about the homelessness sector receiving the recognition it deserves. Jan has worked with national organisation Homeless Link to develop an accredited qualification that recognises the specialist skills of the profession, which is due to be launched this year.
Chair of trustees Colin Bland said, “On behalf of the Trustees, past and present, I would like to thank Jan for her dedication to the charity, which has meant that we are able to help so many people. Jan has overseen a huge growth in St Martin’s work. She has been responsible for managing a team that goes above and beyond what can reasonably be expected of them and has enhanced the reputation of St Martins. The standards that the charity has achieved is a true testament to Jan’s own work ethic.”
St Martins is recruiting a Chief Executive and the vacancy can be found here: https://stmartinshousing.bamboohr.com/careers/125?source=aWQ9MjU%3D