Rachel Peek is an occupational therapist at the Together Trust and though she’s only been in post for a little over a year she’s already made her mark in her field, having recently had an article published in Occupational Therapy News magazine about the eating disorder Pica.

Pica is characterised by a tendency to eat substances that provide no nutritive value such as soil, chalk, hair or paper.

“As a medical condition it’s been diagnosed in pregnant women, in those with and iron deficiency and in patients who have a mental health condition” Rachel explained.

In 2020 the Together Trust is celebrating 150 years of continuous service to children and families in the North West of England.

We’ve come a long way since 1870, when Leonard Shaw and Richard Taylor founded a ‘Night Refuge for Homeless boys’ on Quay Street in Manchester.  In the 150 years that followed we added new homes, opened our doors to girls as well as boys, went through names changes, added new services for our communities and opened schools, training and emigration schemes and a fostering service.