John, who was the first member of staff and founding director of SYHA, started the organisation in 1972 with nothing but a second-hand typewriter and the use of the local, Bolton-on-Dearne, telephone box. John went on to work at the association for 23 years – growing the housing stock from nothing at all into 3,500 affordable homes for local people.
Russell Wright a member of SYHA staff said: ‘I count myself privileged to have worked with John Belcher for almost 20 years and both I and many of my colleagues were inspired by him. He instilled in us, his passion for housing society’s most vulnerable people and established values which we continue to hold dear to this day. The positive impact John made is still remarkably relevant today, to both SYHA residents and people throughout the wider Sheffield City Region. John loved us, and we loved him.’
John had been so moved by the 1966 BBC drama ‘Cathy Come Home’; the plight of the homeless, those affected by it and also the lack of solutions offered at that time by the welfare-state – that he was compelled work for the housing organisation. With the help of the housing charity Shelter and the local authority, John bought run-down properties in Sheffield, and then improved them for letting to homeless families at prices they could afford.
Speaking in 1992, 20 years after SYHA started, John said: ‘We have been able to bring to light those who never appeared in any official statistics, who were not eligible for any council waiting list and whose difficulties were shamelessly exploited by some private landlords. These are the ‘hidden homeless’, who have been the predominant category of those we have housed over the years.
Although ‘Cathy’ was a fictional character, down all the years she has remained the epitome of all that being homeless means. Her living counterparts are all too real a presence in layer generations – her children and grandchildren. Until they have ‘come home’ no other mission for South Yorkshire Housing Association can be contemplated.’
John’s successor (and the current Chief Executive at SYHA), Tony Stacey, reflected:‘John’s original vision continues to guide us today. Regrettably, the need for good quality affordable housing for people who can’t buy their own home or afford spiralling private rents is as great today as it was when John retired. His memory and mission live on.’
