Voluntary Sector Representation on the Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership Strategy and Development Board
Maxine Wragg
I am the Centre Manager at Relate Wolverhampton and Dudley. We provide relationship counselling for children and young people from the age of 9 upwards. We also provide family counselling. So I am getting to know all the issues around children and young people - the things that they worry about and why they need help at these vulnerable ages. I attend many meetings across the boroughs of Wolverhampton and Dudley - including the Children and Young People Network in Dudley. We also provide counselling in schools and childrens centres and I have met with senior staff to set up these services and continue to try to develop our services in this area.
My current role as Centre Manager is very much a strategic role - I report directly to the Board of Trustees. Previous to this role I was Direct Services Manager at Age Concern Dudley which was also at a strategic level and part of the Senior Managers Team at Age Concern.
I have two children of my own - my eldest son is now 20 and my younger son is 10. So I have quite a lot of experience of being there for my son when he was going through some rough times as he grew up - he was bullied quite severely when he was a teenager which stopped him going out for about 3 years - he's still very nervous. There have been other issues which we have had to deal with and I am therefore extremely aware of the many issues that affect children and young people and I feel I have a lot to offer not only in life experiences but also in my professional capacity.