Andy Winter

Andy Winter (born 21 January 1960 in Cape Town, South Africa) is a newspaper columnist for The Argus..https://andywinterbn1.wordpress.com/2022/04/13/stepping-into-the-shoes-of-a-legend/ in Brighton, England. He was the chief executive of the housing and homelessness charity, BHT Sussex, formerly Brighton Housing Trust between 2003 and 2023 https://www.bht.org.uk/news/bht-sussex-chief-executive-to-retire/ Brighton and Hove News https://www.brightonandhovenews.org/2022/03/03/long-serving-bht-sussex-chief-executive-to-retire/ Retrieved 29 December 2022. 
Educated at Bishops Diocesan College, he was a conscientious objector and left South Africa in 1979 in order to avoid conscription into the apartheid army https://www.sussex.ac.uk/news/article/59856-i-understand-recovery-and-giving-people-hope Retrieved 27 January 2023. He was an elected councillor on Brighton Borough Council (1985 to 1987 and 1988 to 1992) where he campaigned against the introduction of the Poll Tax. He was the first-ever Labour Party councillor for the sea-front Regency Ward and the first non-Conservative ever to represent the area at any level of government.
==Career==
Between 1983 and 1985 Winter was employed as a support worker at St Dunstan’s Home for Blind Ex-Servicemen (now Blind Veterans U.K.), working primarily with veterans of the First World War. In 1985 he became a hostel worker at Brighton Housing Trust before becoming its senior manager for alcohol, drug and mental health services in 1987 and its chief executive in 2003. He retired in January 2023 https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/housing-chief-retire-37-years-charity/management/article/1794053 https://www.brightonandhovenews.org/2022/03/03/long-serving-bht-sussex-chief-executive-to-retire/ Retrieved 29 December 2022. 
During his time at BHT Sussex, Winter pioneered the use of converted shipping containers to provide accommodation for rough sleepers https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/council-spending/9852259/Brighton-and-Hoves-homeless-could-be-housed-in-shipping-containers-by-summer.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2521879/Shipping-containers-open-temporary-accommodation-homeless-Brighton.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/contain-yourselves-new-housing-scheme-to-go-live-in-brighton-8635211.html https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/landlord-acquires-shipping-containers-for-housing-33939 https://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/05/business/could-micro-homes-housing-solution/index.html. This was not without controversyhttps://www.vice.com/en/article/gq8jyq/i-spent-the-night-in-brightons-homeless-shipping-container-housing-project but which Winter has continued to defendhttps://andywinterbn1.wordpress.com/2014/05/12/bhts-container-homes-project-my-response-to-an-inaccuate-and-sensational-article-in-vice-magazine/ as did an independent review by the University of Sussex https://containercabins.co.uk/brighton-shipping-container-homes-an-overwhelming-success/.
Winter was also partly responsible for setting up a branch of the homelessness choir, the Choir With No Name, in Brightonhttps://www.choirwithnoname.org/blog/weve-joined-forces-brighton-housing-trust-launch-choir-no-name-brighton https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/16183902.choir-no-name-launch-brighton/ .
==Awards and Recognition==
In 2014 he was named Inspirational Leader of the Year“Achievements of the Housing Heroes Recognised” https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/insight/achievements-of-the-housing-heroes-celebrated-40560 Retrieved 11 May 2021 at the Housing Heroes Awards organised by Inside Housing magazine and the Chartered Institute of Housing for his leadership in the construction of the UK’s first shipping container homes development at Richardson’s Yard“Brighton shipping container homes an 'overwhelming success'” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-28035388 Retrieved 11 May 2021
He was the winner of the prestigious Outstanding Contribution to Sussex Award awarded by the Argus newspaper and sponsored by American Express“Community Stars Award” 14th November 2015. https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/14032209.community-star-awards-2015/ Retrieved 11th May 2021. Previous winners included the writer Peter James, cricketer Mushtaq Ahmed and astronaut Tim Peake. 
On his retirement in January 2023, Winter was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the University (honoris causa) by the University of Sussexhttps://www.brightonandhovenews.org/2023/01/26/university-to-honour-long-serving-brighton-charity-chief-today/ Retrieved 27 January 2023 https://www.sussex.ac.uk/news/article/59856-i-understand-recovery-and-giving-people-hope Retrieved 27 January 2023. 
==Personal Life==
Winter married Jean Calder in 1990. They have a daughter, Clare Calder, who was the youngest candidate to stand for election to Brighton and Hove City Council“Youngest ever candidate picked for Brighton and above council elections” Brighton and Hove News, 1st April 2011. https://www.brightonandhovenews.org/2011/04/01/youngest-ever-candidate-picked-for-brighton-and-hove-council-elections/ Retrieved 11 May 2021. 
Winter is the nephew of Bishop Colin Winter who was Bishop of Damaraland in South West Africa, now Namibiahttps://andywinterbn1.wordpress.com/2022/12/07/rabbi-lionel-blue-the-perfect-antidote-to-many-of-todays-religious-and-political-leaders/ Retrieved 29 December 2022
Winter has Type 2 Diabetes. He was born with Poland Syndrome.
Category:1960 births
Category:People from Cape Town
Category:South African people