Our colleagues
Get to know the team leading Homeless Friendly.
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Founder and chief executive, Dr Zahid Chauhan OBE
Cllr Dr Zahid Chauhan OBE, FRCGP is a Labour Party activist, committed local Councillor and respected GP. A champion of many Social Justice and Charity causes, he is the Mayor of Oldham.
In 2019 Dr Chauhan received an OBE (Order of the British Empire) for his services to people who are homeless and in January 2022 was named as Number 3 of 100 Changemakers of 2022: Housing and Homelessness in The Big Issue Magazine. Most recently he successfully campaigned for people who are homeless to be put on the priority list of people to receive their COVID vaccination.
Dr Chauhan mobilised health workers in Oldham over the new year in 2020, and on January 13 ran what is thought to be the first COVID clinic in the world for people without a stable home to receive the life-saving jab. Dr Chauhan’s actions came two months ahead of governmental advice from Westminster as well as in Scotland and Wales to prioritise people experiencing homelessness for jabs.
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Other team members
Gail Sutcliffe has been the Manager of Homeless Friendly for over 5 years. She is an experienced social worker qualifying at The University of Salford, living within Greater Manchester, with over 35 years experience of working in Local Authority settings at Tameside and Bury. She initially worked in residential care as a hospital and field social worker, before then becoming a manager of frontline services.
Gail has also worked as a registered manager for services registered by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), specialising in working with vulnerable adults. For the last 14 years, she has worked with both individuals and families who become homeless.
Initially, Gail managed a hostel for families and individuals who are homeless, before then moving on to oversee a dispersed model of temporary accommodation and housing advice and assessment services, as well as a dispersed portfolio of properties. Gail brings extensive experience of working closely with the 10 authorities which make up Greater Manchester.
In the press
BBC: Greater Manchester GP practices start homeless-friendly scheme
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GP Online: Dr Zahid Chauhan: How Manchester practices are helping homeless patients
MEN: A potentially life-changing new scheme will give homeless people vital access to healthcare
BBC Radio Manchester: Alison Butterworth and Phil Trow (at 1hr 27m)
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Oldham Times: Oldham surgeries among the first in the country to take part in a campaign by Dr Zahid Chauhan to make Britain Homeless Friendly
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