Our Community Programme Leads
Robyn Martin – Treatment Coordinator
I have a BSc in Applied Psychology (First Class Honours) and an MA in Counselling and Psychotherapy (Distinction). I am a qualified psychotherapist and a registered member of the BACP. Alongside my work conducting assessments, working collaboratively with partner organisations, and overseeing safeguarding and risk, I also work as a therapist within BCT, delivering 1-2-1 counselling to service-users across our gambling-related harms and Paul’s Place programmes.
Matt Burton - Criminal Justice Lead
I am the Criminal Justice Lead at Beacon Counselling Trust. Prior to this role I spent 32 years as a Police officer in the Greater Manchester Police, National Crime Squad, Serious and Organised Crime Agency, National Crime Agency and laterally in 2018 when I became an Assistant Chief Constable in Cheshire Constabulary.
I was the National Policing lead on problem Gambling and served as a Gambling Commissioner working with Lord Goldsmith and the Howard League Commission on Crime and Problem Gambling.
I retired from Policing in December 2021 and took up a role with the Beacon Counselling Trust as the Strategic Criminal Justice lead where I coordinate a number of programmes of activity across a wide range of agencies including UK Policing, HM Courts and Prisons, the Probation Service.
Nicola Jaques - Families Link Worker
I started working at Beacon Counselling Trust in 2021. I am BCT’s family support worker, specialising in practical and holistic interventions for family members who have been impacted by gambling-related harms. I have worked extensively across the North West to help raise awareness, educate, and support professionals in family provision and to help build new pathways to support for service users. This includes financial needs, legal assistance, accommodation and housing and family services.
Our family programme is part of our aftercare provision and an integral part of our wider support at BCT to help people rebuild their lives after gambling harms.
As an affected other of gambling harms, I pride myself in connecting well with our clients and wider stakeholders and partners with empathy and understanding. In addition to the families provision, I work with BCT’s own Lived Experience Alliance, former service users who are contributing to the ongoing development of our support services. I am a member of the lived experience groups ALERTS and sit on the Gamble Aware Lived Experience Council. I am committed to guiding and supporting people through the challenges gambling harms can bring and developing the models of care and early intervention to reduce the number of people experiencing harms in the future.
Dave Eva - Local Systems and Workplace Charter Partnerships Manager
I am the Community Relationship Lead at Beacon Counselling Trust. I started in 2023 and I lead on building community relations and greater integration with the health and social care system to improve people’s awareness of and access to support. I have been involved with the NHS for over 30 years, sitting on a variety of Boards and until December 2022 I was Chair of Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust. I also worked for the TUC and it was in that role that I became aware of gambling-related harms through work with Unite the union and Beacon Counselling Trust helping people in danger of losing their employment.
I am passionate about improving people’s health, especially their mental health and I have been really impressed with the quality of service and commitment of everyone at BCT. I am very pleased to be able to contribute to building the joint work with health and social care and reaching many more people impacted by gambling-related harms.