Transgender support charity Mermaids has named an interim chief executive – two weeks after it became the subject of a Charity Commission statutory inquiry.
Lauren Stoner began her stint by writing a letter to supporters on the charity’s website, promising to work hard to ensure it was a “trusted source of support and advice” for the long term.
Stoner has spent most of her career working in health and social care, including as chief executive of SV2, a charity that supports victims of sexual violence.
Stoner wrote: “‘Why Mermaids?’, you might be asking. Because young trans people and their families need great support now more than ever, and I want to support the charity to deliver that, now and in the future.”
Earlier this month, the regulator said it was looking into “newly identified issues” found after it started a compliance case into the charity in September.
Mermaids said that an independent report commissioned by the charity this year to look at its internal culture had raised “a number of significant issues for us”.
Mermaids said it would work with the commission “fully, openly and with complete transparency”.
In the letter, Stoner was frank about the task she faced.
She wrote: “It’s a difficult time for the organisation and for the people we support and there are challenges ahead.
“In addition to supporting the statutory inquiry, I’ll start by listening to everyone with a stake in what we do and understanding their views, and review that alongside the work that’s already been done.”
She added: “Key areas for me to focus on are ensuring that we understand our future direction and have the right people, right culture, right systems and processes to enable us to achieve that.
“I’m not going to promise to resolve all of those challenges between now and the end of March.
“Instead, in 100 days’ time, I want to know that we’ve identified the root causes of our challenges, have a clear plan in place and are starting to address them in a prioritised way.”
Stoner signed off by saying: “Thank you for putting your trust in me. Now, let’s get to work.”
In October the National Lottery Community Fund announced it was “pausing” a grant to Mermaids pending the outcome of the commission’s work.
Mermaids is also waiting to hear the outcome of its legal case challenging the registration of another organisation, the LGB Alliance, as a charity.