The Antonia Watson Foundation has been wound up and all its assets distributed to the causes we supported.

Thank you very much for your previous support for The Antonia Watson Foundation in Changing Lives

Who Was Antonia Watson

12^th October 1968 – 20^th July 2017

Antonia Watson, Chief Executive of the Wallich, Wales’ leading homeless charity, sadly died in 2017, just before her 48th birthday.

Her vocation was to work with homeless and vulnerable people, and she was a passionate advocate. Her vision was one where power was shared, people worked with each other and support was created in partnership.

She started out as a project worker in a hostel in Reading and by the age of 30 she achieved the position of Chief Executive at Irish Centre Housing in London. Her admirable career spanned 25 years of working in supported housing and homelessness, in the charity and Registered Social Landlord sector, supporting those in need to live with dignity and hope.

Antonia served on a number of boards, including North London Muslim Association, Women in Prison, Homeless Action and Cymorth Cymru, and, in 2005, she was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by St Mary’s University College for her work with homeless people at Irish Centre Housing in London.

Antonia was appointed Chief Executive of The Wallich, in 2010. Her vision transformed the organisation into a place where the people receiving support were truly involved at every level of the organisation. She developed numerous initiatives and projects which genuinely changed people’s lives for the better and created opportunities for people that rarely had them.

Antonia championed not just traditional homelessness support, but innovative ways of helping people to engage in their communities through heritage, arts, culture and sport.

She changed the culture of The Wallich, she took risks and was brave enough to talk about mistakes made and lessons learnt, enabling others to use those experiences to improve their services. Antonia was humble, despite her position of authority, and her focus on what mattered to those she was helping always took precedent over what she could take credit for. She was a truly selfless and inspiring woman.

Through Antonia’s leadership, The Wallich changed its focus to the individuals that make up the charity and that is where her loss will be felt most – by those individuals she worked with and fought for.

Antonia will be deeply missed, but her legacy continues in the many innovative projects The Wallich developed during her time with the organisation, supporting and enriching so many lives.