Alex is chief exec of Mayday Trust, which offers strengths-based coaching to people going through tough times like being homeless, and works with organisations and local areas to replace our broken support systems, through the New System Alliance. Previously, Alex led Shared Lives Plus, the UK network for Shared Lives and Homeshare which offer strengths-based, highly personalised support to around 15,000 people as part of supportive households and communities. Alex sits on the NHS Assembly and was Vice Chair of Think Local, Act Personal, developing the Asset Based Area model. He is a trustee of Alternative Futures Group (& previously of Social Care Institute for Excellence where he is co Director of a strengths-based leadership course), an Honorary Senior Fellow, Birmingham University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He chaired the government’s review of health and care charities (2015-18), the Social Care Learning disability & Autism Advisory Group and co-founded the Social Care Innovation Network.
Alex is author of A new health and care system: escaping the invisible asylum (Policy Press) and Meeting as Equals (RSA/NCVO) on building asset-based charities. He was awarded an OBE in 2017 for services to social care.
We believe that only whole-area and whole-system change will work, which means lots of ‘asset-based’ community innovations being introduced together, as the new heart of the community and its support system. Alex worked with Think Local, Act Personal, a national partnership supporting the personalisation of care and support to build community capacity and to identify ten actions which local areas can take to create system change: Ten Actions for an Asset based Area.
Alex was independent Chair of the Joint VCSE Review was commissioned by Dept Health, NHS England and Public Health England. Its report set out how local areas can build their voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors, with recommendations for local and national government, as well as the VCSE sector itself: www.vcsereview.org.uk
Alex’s book, A new health and care system: escaping the invisible asylum is published by Policy Press. The launch featured NHS England’s CEO Simon Stevens and was filmed by hosts, Nesta.
Escaping the invisible asylum 
interesting what you can do to entertain these young adalts very good
Its so refreshing to hear such positive stories about peoples lives- inspiring!