Meet YMCA Exeter Facilities Officer, Sarah Griffiths

Our Very Own Facilities Officer, Sarah Griffiths, shares how the skills her Dad taught her are now blessing the lives of YMCA Exeter residents and staff members.

When I was growing up and living at home, my Dad taught me how to paint, wallpaper, tile and lay carpets. I just mucked in and learnt alongside him.

When I joined YMCA Exeter in 2012 as a cleaner I noticed all the jobs that needed doing in the rooms and just suggested that I could save them money by doing them myself.

I remember my first project was room 15 in St Davids Hill. The tiles needed replacing. I took them off and tiled new ones on. Today, they’re still there.

A few years back YMCA Exeter paid for me to do a six-week DIY course at Exeter College, so now I can plaster and brick lay. This came in handy when the Lighthouse Cafe toilets needed plastering.

I love my job and I love that no two days are the same. As Facilities Officer, I work with a team. Some of them used to be YMCA Exeter residents and now they’re living independently and working alongside me. I’ve taught them how to tile and lay carpets.

I also taught two YMCA Exeter residents how to paint and decorate when they worked alongside me to redecorate the Lighthouse Cafe. Every time I can pass my skills on, it makes me thankful to my Dad for all he taught me.

It’s such a privilege in my job to be able to get a room ready for each young person arriving at YMCA Exeter. We wash everything down, repair anything that’s broken and repaint the room. We then buy two sets of brand-new bedding, saucepans, frying pans etc. Everything they need to start their new life.

The number of times I’ve heard about new residents walking into their room and starting to cry tears of joy. They just can’t believe they’ve been given all this, especially if they’ve come off the streets or from sofa surfing.