Why are you a Trustee? 

Allen Knott - Chair

I am a retired Police officer. On retiring from the Force in 1999 I trained as a Dyslexia Therapist and worked in two local schools. I have now retired a second time but still have a small private practice. I am a musician and entertain the residents of Care Homes for the elderly.

I have known about the DYA for many years. Too many, I fear, to remember when I first heard of the Charity. I am a Lay Minister in the Church of England and was asked to represent the Church on the Board of Trustees.

I started by helping the leaders of a local Cub Pack in 1966 and I don’t think I’ve stopped working with young people since then. I’ve been an Assistant Scout Leader, Scout Leader and then a Group Scout Leader, a member of the committee of both Bridport and Dorchester Youth Clubs, and Service Co-ordinator for West Dorset and East Devon Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme.

In 1981 I took on a specialist role in the Police Service as a Juvenile Liaison Officer. This post involved liaising with all statutory and voluntary agencies with respect to all young people who had come to the notice of the Police for whatever reason. I then moved on to being a Child Protection Officer which meant investigating cases of child abuse. I finished my career in the Police as a Community Relations Officer. This involved spending a fair amount of time in schools giving information to the students about alcohol and drug abuse together with other safety and crime prevention messages. I have been and still am a School Governor and have run various youth groups over the years.

I have recently taken over as Chair of the Charity and I hope that I can, in some way, encourage more people to train as volunteers to help young people. I am keen that we do all we can to help young people who are, for whatever reason, disadvantaged in some way.  I hope that with a flexible approach, good inter-agency work, and a realistic vision we can continue with our valuable work.

The main strength of our charity is our highly motivated staff. Money, contracts and buildings are simply tools that enable us to reach out to and help young people.  I am determined that both our volunteers and paid members of staff continue to feel valued and appreciated. I am hoping that we as trustees will learn more about the work being done and the potential needs of the future so that we can maintain and enhance our credibility with all sections of society.