Sade McCarthy has been appointed by Cardiomyopathy UK as their new Youth Support Manager, a post which is directly funded by Max’s Foundation.
Here Sade tells us why she applied for the role, why she is passionate about working with children, young people and younger adults affected by cardiomyopathy and how she hopes to help develop services for this group.
“I applied for this role as I could see that here was a charity who was genuinely interested in improving services for children, young people and younger adults (CYP/YAs), as rather than paying lip service to the idea, they had a panel of young people and young adults who were integral to decision making.
I found this so refreshing; who better to advise us than the people who will use the service? The idea of working with the panel to develop an outstanding service was the first appeal, then meeting some of the team at interview and feeling the ‘family’ vibe of this wonderful charity sealed the deal; I was so pleased to be appointed!
Youth advocacy is very close to my heart, and in everything I do, from campaigning in the UK Youth Parliament as a teenager to now being a parent and foster carer myself and in every job role in between, I put the views of the child, young person or young adult at the core. I’ve spent my whole career working with CYP/YAs in a wide range of settings and contexts, including in education, within social care and in the community across the private, public and third sector.
The roles have all been varied but have core aspects in common: offering support, information and guidance; prioritising safety and wellbeing; respecting the individuality of each CYP/YA; and enabling CYP/YAs to have their voices heard by the people who can make a difference to their lives.
I’m really excited to work with our panel, as well as with other affected CYP/YAs, to build and deliver the youth services that Cardiomyopathy UK offer. My vision is to extend our reach to more CYP/YAs and provide a toolkit of different services which can be dipped into whenever needed, where at least one of the things on offer appeals to each and every child, young person or young adult who comes looking for information or support.”
Cardiomyopathy UK’s Head of Services, Ali Thompson, said, “Max’s Foundation funding for this role has meant that Cardiomyopathy UK can actively identify and support more children and young people and address a greater diversity of need.
We are so grateful to Max’s Foundation for enabling us to create and develop a wider range of services that will both enable service users to better understand and manage their health holistically and develop greater emotional resilience as they mature.”