Sanctuary in Chichester supports refugees and asylum seekers locally to recover from trauma, build new lives and become independent. We do this through a huge range of activities, delivered by a large team of volunteers, a small team of paid staff members and the Board of Trustees. Our trustees are very actively involved in the charity’s operations as well as providing strategic oversight, and they work closely with staff and lead volunteers. We make a cohesive team and are in the process of expanding and professionalising the organisation to meet rapidly increasing need.
OUR STAFF
Kathryn Crosby – Charity Manager
Kathryn began her career as a teacher for children with Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD) and Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD), specialising in music and drama, later becoming Deputy Head of Fordwater School in Chichester.
She developed a youth theatre company in Brackelsham Bay, and developed the special needs theatre groups for Chichester Festival Theatre.
Kathryn then spent 25 years working as a personal impact trainer for the NHS Leadership Academy and The King’s Fund. Most recently acting as a final assessment marker on the Mary Seacole Leadership Programme and the Graduate Management Training Scheme.
“My first introduction to working with refugees and asylum seekers was in Calais, where I volunteered in the warehouse and the Refugee Community Kitchen, a great experience and highly recommended! But my most helpful experience comes from being a befriender with Sanctuary in Chichester for nearly three years, which helped me to understand the very varied needs of our beneficiaries, and the crucial work of volunteers who are at the heart of our charity.”
Read more about Kathryn’s background here >>
Steve Lebbon – Deputy Charity Manager and Charity Administrator
Steve joined us in May 2022 to help with the ever-expanding number of refugees we support, and to coordinate operations and our large team of 120+ volunteers. He was promoted to the position of Charity Manager in January 2023.
Before joining Sanctuary in Chichester, Steve worked for 20 years as Transport Manager with a national aggregate company, where he looked after the legality of the trucks and drivers and the coordination of deliveries for over 100 trucks. Steve also has experience in management of building and road construction projects.
Over the last 40 years, Steve has helped coordinate and arrange numerous fundraising events for local charities. He says that, “Since working for Sanctuary in Chichester I have grown to realise the tremendous amount of good work everyone involved carries out. It is always pleasing to help somebody in desperate need solve something, either on your own, or with the amazing backup from other team members, trustees or volunteers who have been very supportive in helping me negotiate the complexities of a new and challenging job.”
Kerry Foster – Pathways to Independence Manager
After finishing college with an interest in broadening her understanding of developing countries, Kerry embarked upon an expedition to Indonesia in 1998 to support a community with the challenges of illegal deforestation. Three years later, she completed a BSc in Criminology/Sociology whilst working as a Special Constable with Thames Valley Police, and then went on to work as Police Staff for Hampshire Police Headquarters. Kerry said, “My experiences with the Police and travelling abroad – including living and teaching English as a Foreign Language in Thailand – enlightened me to the inequalities and challenges that people have to face for a multitude of reasons; whether that is the political climate and civil unrest or conflict, racism, poverty, lack of education, training and employment opportunities or other combinations of unfortunate circumstances which have left people unable to live a positive and prosperous life. I have since worked passionately to help people achieve their full potential, including seven years working in the Youth Offending Service and then as Operations Manager working for a charity diverting young people from offending or reoffending. I then spent fours years as a Team and Operations Manager, supporting staff working with children with significant behavioural problems stemming from severe trauma.“
Kerry says she was drawn to Sanctuary in Chichester after seeing the good work that is being done to support refugees and asylum seekers who have suffered unimaginable experiences and trauma, displaced from their homes and finding themselves in an unfamiliar environment with all the challenges that come from being in a foreign country. “I am delighted and feel honoured to be part of Sanctuary in Chichester, to lead the Pathways to Independence programme and support beneficiaries to fulfil their potential; reinstate their sense of dignity and pride whilst supporting their integration into the very welcoming community of Chichester.“
Anouar Ben Messaoud – Refugee Support Coordinator
Originally from Tunisia, where she worked with charities, the British Council and the EU, Anouar has made her home in Chichester and is fluent in Arabic and French, as well as English. Her background is in interpreting, and she is driven to “break down barriers between refugees, asylum seekers and social services.” When she saw the Refugee Support Coordinator position advertised on social media, she “couldn’t miss the chance to apply as I believed that it aligned perfectly with my values.”
Commenting in March 2026 on how she was finding her new role, Anouar said, “My first two months at sanctuary have been nothing short of amazing. I feel deeply honoured to be part of such supportive dedicated team, and I can already see how incredibly rewarding this work is. As Refugee Support Coordinator, I’ve had the privilege of guiding beneficiaries as they find their way in the community. Everyday, I witness the impact of our efforts, seeing individuals gain confidence, access resources, and steadily move towards independence.
Since I started, we are welcoming more and more resettled families. Some are already finding their footing, and others still need a bit more guidance, but I feel so privileged to walk alongside them in this journey.“
Hannah Lytton – Leave to Remain Coordinator (Former Hotel)
Hannah has been part of our team for some time, having volunteered at our weekly drop-in for a year before starting her full-time role of Refugee Support Caseworker in November 2024. She was then promoted to Chichester Park Hotel & Leave To Remain Coordinator in September 2025.
Hannah’s career began in children and families’ social care administration, working in a multi-agency capacity to coordinate support for families in the Reading area – a job that inspired her to complete a Social Work Master’s qualification.
A university placement with Rainbow Haven, a charity offering a safe space and support to refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants in Greater Manchester, highlighted to Hannah the challenging barriers present in accessing resources, receiving support, and integrating into local networks for those new to the UK. Her subsequent dissertation on the UK’s asylum system explored the experiences of local caseworkers and those with lived experience, to better understand and address these barriers.
Hannah says about her work with Sanctuary, “Every day brings a new challenge, which we are able to overcome with the combined strengths and skills of everyone involved – beneficiaries, befrienders, volunteers, our staff team, and our network of supporting organisations. I am a big believer in building community and a team approach. I’ve had a wonderful welcome from the Sanctuary in Chichester community, and it is my pleasure to extend this welcome to others.”
Bec Hopkins – Runs our social media and is a long-time Sanctuary volunteer
Bec has been volunteering with us for a number of years in all sorts of roles, and continues to be one of our most active volunteers. When we saw her social media for her own business as an artist, we invited her to take over our ‘socials’ that were rather neglected due to lack of capacity on the team, and were delighted when she came on board in this part-time freelance role. Since then, Bec has worked wonders and our social media has been transformed.
Bec has previously worked for various international charities and started her own girls rights charity in Uganda in 2014, providing menstrual and sexual health workshops and washable sanitary towels to girls who had been missing school due to inadequate protection during their periods. It was during a visit to Uganda in 2015 that Bec watched in horror as the news of the Syrian refugee crisis unfolded. As soon as she returned home to Chichester, she felt compelled to help locally. Bec and her daughters joined Sanctuary as volunteer befrienders to one of the first Syrian families to arrive in Chichester and – after witnessing the isolation women faced, especially during the pandemic – started the popular Sanctuary weekly women’s group with a creche in 2021. Bec explained, “There is a real need for women refugees to connect with each other socially on a regular basis, and in a women-only space“. Bec can be found on the craft table and coordinating art projects at the group. As well as volunteering and working on our social media, Bec also continues her career as an artist (www.bechopkins.co.uk) and she and her family are hosting a Ukrainian refugee.
OUR TRUSTEES
Tony Toynton – Chair of Trustees
Tony was a Police Officer for 30 years, serving in Lincolnshire (home county), Wiltshire and the final six years at Sussex Police as Assistant Chief Constable. From 2008 to 2012 he was Director of Communities and Infrastructure at West Sussex County Council, and from 2012 to present he has been self-employed as interim manager, management consultant and training consultant.
Tony’s strengths lie in getting strong performance from teams and contracts. He is an experienced and qualified project and programme manager and an experienced contract manager, with considerable experience of local government change and restructure programmes, taking cost from both management structures and contracts. Tony has had success in managing contractual disputes and the broader, performance and relationship improvements between client and contractor in public outsourced contracts.
Tony joined Sanctuary in Chichester as Chair of the Board of Trustees in May 2019. He has overseen rapid change at the charity and has turned the organisation’s finances around, from being in a very vulnerable position in 2019 to having a diverse and sustainable income in 2022. This has made it possible for Sanctuary in Chichester to increase its paid personnel and its team of volunteers to meet the needs of increasing numbers of refugees and asylum seekers in our area. Tony has also built a strong, dedicated and talented Board of Trustees, ensuring the charity has strategic direction and is in a great place for adapting to its continued growth.
Lois Smith – Lead for ESOL (English as Second or Other Language) and Adult Education
Lois has over 20 years’ experience as an English language teacher and programme
designer. She lived overseas for many years and was the chair of a language
centre and also an IELTS examiner during that time. Following this, she gained a
PhD in Educational Research and had an academic career as an Associate
Professor of Education before becoming the director of a British university’s largest
overseas campus.
On returning to the UK in 2015 she worked briefly as an Associate Lecturer with the
University of Chichester, teaching the bridging module (From Adversity to University)
which prepares students from disadvantaged backgrounds for academic study in the
UK.
Lois has a keen interest in supporting refugees and asylum seekers, especially in
developing their English language skills, which she considers vital to their integration
into life in the UK. She volunteered previously with Voices in Exile, a Brighton-based
charity, before joining Sanctuary in Chichester as a volunteer tutor in 2020. She
became a trustee in 2021 with a lead role in promoting ESOL and adult education.
Jude Clouston – Drop-In Lead
After qualifying as an architect in 1982, Jude began working for a large London practice where her projects included award-winning Docklands warehouse conversions, community projects (including a women’s refuge) and new-build housing schemes. She became an Associate, then a Director, as the practice continued to grow before setting up her own medium-sized practice in 1994. The projects were mainly residential and community schemes for private developers and Housing Associations, with many involving public consultation. She set up a second practice in 2011, working with many of London’s leading Housing Associations on new housing and estates regeneration projects with a particular emphasis on low/zero carbon design and sustainable construction. She remained as a Director of this practice until her retirement in 2020. Throughout her professional life Jude has worked on social housing schemes, giving her an in-depth knowledge and understanding of providing for those in marginalised communities and in greatest need.
Outside her full-time career, she was involved in a number of local voluntary groups in North London, where she lived. She was on the management committee of a community centre based in a large Local Authority estate which housed many incoming refugees, often on a temporary basis. She took part in numerous fundraising activities for local community groups and was Chair of a local civic society.
Jude left London and moved to Chichester in September 2021. Following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 she felt compelled to “get involved in some way to help people fleeing the war“, and came across Sanctuary in Chichester. She started volunteering and quickly realised what a vital role the charity was fulfilling in assisting and supporting refugees and asylum seekers. She became a Trustee in August 2022, with particular responsibility for the weekly Drop-In.
Mark Stables – Designated Safeguarding Lead
Mark has worked in adult social care for 40 years – latterly with Portsmouth City Council. For much of that time he worked with people with learning disabilities and has been involved in the transition from long stay hospitals to people taking their rightful place in the community.
Mark first went to Calais in 2016 as an antidote to the discouragement produced by news coverage of the plight of refugees. He has returned on several occasions to volunteer and is inspired every time by the efforts of individuals and small charities.His first contact with Sanctuary in Chichester was inadvertent – providing the founder a lift and asking him what he did! For the last three years Mark has been a volunteer befriender, and became a Trustee and Designated Safeguarding Lead in 2021. He has helped us craft our Safeguarding Policy and advises the Board on dealing with safeguarding issues and concerns, as well as questions around inclusion.
Gemma Driver – Secretary to the Board
Gemma works in the international development and humanitarian aid sector and first approached Sanctuary in Chichester to volunteer with us in early 2019. She was offered a paid role and worked for the organisation for three and a half years, until leaving her position as Development & Communications Manager in December 2022. She still works on communications for the charity.
Gemma says, “I was delighted to be invited to join the Board when I left my previous role – it is an honour to join the other trustees whose skills and hard work I admire so much, and who work so well as a team. I am also really pleased to be able to continue my involvement with this fantastic charity. It is so rewarding and such a privilege working directly with the people we support and with our awesome team of dedicated volunteers.“
Mike Mansergh CBE, DL – Befriending Lead
Mike served in the Royal Navy for 37 years, spending much of his time deployed to troubled regions of the world, working with a range of international organisations and meeting people from many nations. Following the Navy, he worked in Defence and Security business for eight years, retiring in 2022 to pursue a range of local volunteer activities in the Chichester area.
After a year working as a volunteer with Sanctuary in Chichester, Mike became a trustee in summer 2023 and has recently taken over from Philippa Gogarty as Befriending Lead.
Having lived in West Sussex for over 20 years, Mike is also a trustee with the Shipwrecked Mariners Society charity in Chichester, is a primary school governor, and is a Deputy Lieutenant for West Sussex.
Dr Waleed Hussein – Lived Experience Ambassador
Waleed Hussein has been a friend of Sanctuary in Chichester since he started volunteering with us in 2019, so the board was delighted to welcome him as a trustee at last year’s AGM. His lived experience as a refugee combined with his being long-settled in the UK is of huge value to the organisation in being able to deliver optimally for those we serve.
Born is Basra, Iraq, Waleed has been living in the UK for 13 years, during which he gained a PhD in English from the University of Chichester and has held academic positions at a number of UK universities. He was a literary advisor for Comma Press (UK), published a collection of poems in English called ‘The War on Idigna’, and translated ‘Eugenics’ by Prof. John Glad into Arabic. Latterly, Waleed has started teaching at local schools, including St Richard’s Catholic Primary School and teacher at St Philip Howard Catholic (secondary) School.
Waleed says of his experiences since arriving in the UK; “As an Iraqi immigrant and refugee myself, raising my children in the UK, my life has been a journey of adaptation, resilience and integration. While navigating the challenges of cultural differences and language barriers, I have found strength in building connections within my community. Each day presents new lessons and opportunities for growth, and I’m grateful for the support and acceptance we’ve found in our adopted home.”
Waleed goes on to describe what becoming a Sanctuary trustee means to him; “I was honoured and excited to join the Board of Trustees at Sanctuary in Chichester. The opportunity to contribute to such a meaningful cause fills me with enthusiasm and a sense of purpose. I collaborate with fellow trustees, leveraging our collective expertise and making a positive impact in the lives of those we serve. Together, we can empower individuals, foster community resilience, and create lasting change.”
Read on for more details on Waleed’s background and to hear more from him here >>
Caroline Purewal – Treasurer
Caroline began her career in contracts management in the NHS and local government but has spent the last ten years in the charity sector at Pancreatic Cancer UK, as Fundraising Finance Manager and then Legacy and In Memory Fundraising Manager. She set up the charity’s Donations Team, together with financial and supporter care processes, to support the charity through a period of rapid growth.
Caroline moved to the area from London two years ago and became aware of the work of Sanctuary through our social media posts. She felt compelled to get involved and joined us as Treasurer and a Trustee in July 2024. “It’s always been very important to me that asylum seekers and refugees fleeing trauma are able to feel safe, welcome and supported, and I feel very privileged to be working with Sanctuary in Chichester and to play a small part in helping the amazing team of trustees, staff and volunteers.”
Caroline’s husband also volunteers with Sanctuary. He’s a Punjabi speaker and very happy to be able to brush up his language skills with some of our beneficiary families!
Graham Hart – Trustee Lead for Volunteer
We welcomed volunteer Graham Hart to the board of trustees in January 2026, as the Trustee Lead for Volunteers. Graham is well-qualified for this role, having been a very active volunteer with Sanctuary for five years, regularly helping at the Chichester Drop-In and with English teaching. He also assists with the storeroom at Chichester Park Hotel and the lift bank. That’s not to mention all the other Sanctuary work he has supported with over the years.
Following a career as an engineer in the Royal Navy and a Management Consultant, Graham was looking for new purpose: “I loved languages and thought I could teach English as a foreign language, so I got the qualification and did some teaching, retired and life took over. Then, as troops pulled out of Kabul in 2021 I found out that Sanctuary in Chichester needed English teachers.” That was the beginning of Graham’s journey with Sanctuary, and he has since given so much of his time, enthusiasm, care and expertise to beneficiaries and the organisation, for which we are extremely grateful, and it is wonderful having him on the board.
On his experience of volunteering with Sanctuary in Chichester, Graham said, “Knowing that we can help someone who arrives with only the clothes they stand in, supporting them to navigate our bureaucracy and improve their English, and lifting spirits in little ways is a great reward, as we can see that in some small way we have helped our fellows.“
Read more from Graham about his volunteering work here >>
ABOUT THE BOARD’S FUNCTION
Sanctuary in Chichester is a CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation) registered with the Charity Commission. The Board of Trustees have independent control over, and legal responsibility for, the charity’s management and administration. Trustees have overall control of the charity and are responsible for making sure it’s doing what it was set up to do. Trustees are the people who lead the charity and decide how it is run. Being a trustee means making decisions that will impact on people’s lives. Trustees use their skills and experience to support their charities, helping charities achieve their aims. Trustees also often learn new skills during their time on the board. – Charity Commission UK.
Sanctuary in Chichester’s Constitution describes the functions and
duties of trustees as:
The charity trustees shall manage the affairs of the CIO and may for that purpose
exercise all the powers of the CIO. It is the duty of each charity trustee:
(a) to exercise their powers and to perform their functions as a trustee of the CIO in the way they decide in good faith would be most likely to further the purposes of the CIO; and
(b) to exercise, in the performance of those functions, such care and skill as is reasonable in the circumstances having regard in particular to:
i. any special knowledge or experience that they have or hold themselves out as having; and
ii. if they act as a charity trustee of the CIO in the course of a business or profession, to any special knowledge or experience that it is reasonable to expect of a person acting in the course of that kind of business or profession.