Jo begins every day balancing two forms of care. At home, she supports her 86-year-old mother, Janet, who lives with vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s. At work, as an Ingeus finance, benefit and debt advisor, she supports men on probation whose lives are shaped by neurodivergence, addiction, homelessness, trauma and long-term disadvantage.
The emotional labour of both roles is immense, yet Jo carries it with grace, humour and what she calls her “organised chaos”. Her caring responsibilities have shaped her approach to work. She understands what it means to advocate for someone who cannot always do it for themselves, to navigate complex systems, and to show patience when life becomes overwhelming. That lived understanding is what she brings into every probation office she walks into, whether Shrewsbury, Telford, Hereford or any of the many others she has covered over the past five years. It has also seen her nominated by her colleagues for a coveted justice industry award.
A career built on empathy
Before joining Ingeus, Jo spent sixteen years as an accounts manager at a lighting industry association, helping steer a merger and later moving into customer relationship management. Redundancy during the Covid-19 pandemic prompted a period of reflection, and she realised she wanted to work somewhere that her empathy and life experience could make a difference.
“I have always been interested in the justice and welfare system,” she explains. “I thought this job was somewhere I could help people but also use everything I’ve learned in life.”
Her connection to the justice system is personal. Friends with children in custody, families affected by neurodivergence and addiction, and her own observations of how trauma passes through generations, all shaped her desire to support people society often overlooks.
A day in the life
There is no such thing as a typical day, explains Jo, but one Monday captures the reality.
A man with a brain injury arrived early for his appointment, distressed after an important meeting was stopped because he could not remember key details. Later, she squeezed in an initial assessment for someone who needed face-to-face support, then handled a remote intervention for a man living in an isolated area. A housing crisis emerged for another person, requiring Jo to rearrange her schedule and work with probation officers to prevent homelessness. By the afternoon, she was supporting someone with hypomania through a health-related benefits application.
“People think high complexity means complicated finances, but it is their lives that are complex,” she says. “Their conditions, trauma, their situations vary and you have to meet them where they are.”
The reality behind the role
Jo’s work sits at the intersection of probation, housing, wellbeing services, addiction recovery teams and Ingeus colleagues. She collaborates daily with court teams, support workers and probation officers:
“We are all one big team trying to help that one individual,” she says. “Nobody can do it alone.”
Her caseload is varied but Jo meets them all with the same approach: care and respect. “People say, thank you for treating me like I am normal and that breaks my heart. In my eyes they are ‘normal’.”
Balancing care at home with work
Jo’s caring responsibilities at home mirror the compassion she shows at work. She often works evenings, weekends and from her mum’s home supported by a team who understand flexible working and the realities of caring for family.
“My manager will say, just go, we will deal with it. Nobody judges as everyone has something going on in their personal lives. We are all human.”
A future built on purpose
Jo hopes to continue making an impact, particularly by providing advocacy through tribunals, hearings and appeals. Ask Jo what she wants people to understand about probation work, and she does not hesitate. “The only way you ever turn someone’s life around is by giving them support. Two steps forward might be two steps they never thought they could take.”
