Helen P. Stephens is a community builder.
Following graduation from a music industry management degree, she lived in London, working for a number of music companies. She returned home to Liverpool and worked in a variety of jobs from Playwork to Digital Communications – She even had a short stint as a taxi driver.
Her passion is creative writing and her debut full length novel was published in August 2014.
In 2010 she set up a social enterprise to provide affordable web design services to voluntary and community groups. In 2014 she Co-founded Little Sandbox, a Tech Club for kids providing an environment for children to make use of digital equipment and resources to develop their tech skills. This expanded in 2019 to become a makerspace when Sandbox Workshop was opened to the public in a community library in North Liverpool.
After ten years, Helen stepped down from Sandbox and after volunteering at Walton Vale Community Shop for a few weeks, she started a new social enterprise – Everyone’s Aigburth – a community hub that aims to facilitate local residents working together to improve their community. Their first project was a Food Club, which aims to reduce food waste by stocking surplus food and selling a basket of 10 items for £3.50. The club has over 500 members and saves half a ton of food waste every week.
Helen is also a non-executive director/trustee of VOLA Learning Consortium, Walton Vale Community Shop, & Periscope Productions CIC, she’s also on the organising committee of Liverpool Soup and Chair of the Self Employed section of Community Union.
She now works on a freelance basis for a number of social enterprises and community groups in Liverpool, providing a range of support including web design, finance & admin, bid writing, facilitating events & workshops and community consultations.
She spends her spare time writing, playing video games, watching television and learning the clarinet. She campaigns for the Labour party, supports Liverpool football club and lives with her long term boyfriend and their cat Tilly.
