Dave is an experienced social entrepreneur with a passion founded in his faith to help the marginalised in society; a visionary with a track record of building sustainable initiatives that are both people and solution-centred.

 

Compassion and action were modelled in his working class childhood.  Twenty children were fostered in the family home and his mother founded a beautiful community in Halifax welcoming south Asians and asylum seekers called St Augustine’s Centre. 

 

Dave’s ability to bring sustainable ideas to fruition is instinctive.  He founded a highly successful marketing agency, established Halifax’s ‘Food and Support Drop In’, set up emergency accommodation solutions in Calderdale and Bradford, chaired Churches Together Calderdale serving tens of thousands in the community, and developed a church for the marginalised in Halifax.

 

Over the last ten years, he founded and built one of Halifax’s primary providers for the homeless in the area. Happy Days now supports and houses over 100 residents and has provided over 100,000 food parcels to those in need, even winning the Queens Award. As the CEO, Dave’s highlight was “seeing thousands of lives being supported and witnessing the turn around in people’s lives, families reunited, addictions conquered and people owning their own homes.”

 

It’s with this wealth of experience that in 2023 Dave stepped away from leading Happy Days to establish a new adventure: ‘The Homeless Pastors’ - a CIC with a national vision to equip and train churches in ministering effectively to the homeless in their towns and cities, with the ultimate aim to help them off the streets, into supported communities and equipped for life.

 

At home, Dave is married to Kate and enjoys nature, playing football, walking his dog and heading off to the wildness of the Scottish island of Tiree.