Andy Williams

Director of Involvement

Andy’s job is to make sure the voices and experiences of people caught in the revolving door inspire us, shape policy and set our priorities. He has worked in this type of role since 2004 primarily in the homeless, mental health and substance use sectors, including eleven years at St Mungo’s. During that time he has established lived experience employment and volunteer schemes, forums, delivered peer research projects and set up the first recovery college outside the NHS. In his spare time he plays a lot of football, supports Charlton Athletic and loves going to gigs, where he admits he’s stuck in a 90s electronica, techno, indie time warp!

“If you focus on abilities and provide opportunities, people can transform their lives. Involvement leads to a more creative way of working and I’m excited by the potential of peer support to empower people. I’ve seen the idea of involvement evolve from something tokenistic or ‘too difficult’ to an exciting time where those with lived experience are genuinely setting the agenda and shaping services. There’s still more to achieve ─ we’re only beginning to understand the true impact of this approach.”