By Jill Stocks
A much-loved face will be missing from the streets of Horsforth from next week as PCSO Julie Richardson leaves her role for a new chapter of her story.
Julie has been a PCSO for almost 20 years, and has brought a reassuring presence and a smile to the town for nearly 17 of those years.
The much loved PCSO will be a great miss in Horsforth and particularly with the regulars and staff at MHA Communities Horsforth activities at Central Methodist Church on Town Street.
Julie was often at their Tuesday bacon butty club, and at the monthly social afternoon run in collaboration with Home Instead, and always enjoyed joining in to have a good boogie.
Nicky Morris, one of the coordinators at MHA Communities Horsforth, said: “Julie will be massively missed. She’s an asset to our community. It’s always a pleasure when she’s in. She’s always smiling.
“It’s not just us that will miss her, it’s the members. It’s that peace of mind that she’s here. If anyone’s got any questions they know that we don’t even need to ring and say to Julie to come in because she’s just a familiar face and she’s here to speak to anybody and she always gives the time of day to help when she can.”
Julie often joined the group on their Friday walks in Horsforth Hall Park. Nicky continued: “Amount of times Julies joined us on our Friday walk, on her bike cycling next to us, and we can’t even walk a hundred yards without somebody saying ‘Hi Julie’. Everybody wants to say hello and everybody wants to see her and everybody’s got something to tell her and she’s just there. They don’t need to go out of their way to see her, she’s just there.”
Katherine Sharp from MHA added: “I’ve absolutely loved watching Julie when she comes into the entertainment and she gets everyone up dancing. She’s got that amazing aura about her. Everybody just wants to spend time with Julie and we’re all absolutely massively going to miss her.
“We’re going to miss her smiley face. She’s one of those people that’s just really special. We’re really going to miss the ball of energy, the stories, the fun. We’re really going to miss that joy.
“She’s the epitome of community spirit.”
Julie told us: “After 19 years and 11 months within West Yorkshire Police it’s time to move on to a new role working for Leeds City Council. I’m going to be working with the Anti-social Behaviour Team as a caseworker based in East Leeds. Monday to Friday role, so gone are the shifts!
“Still dealing with similar situations but it’s the things like this that I’ll miss. MHA’s been a massive part of my life for the years I’ve been coming.
“I’ve loved what I’ve done over the years and especially working alongside MHA, dropping in as and when I can.That’s more to me than tackling shoplifters and doing other stuff that we actually do. This means more to me. It’s a massive part of my role and I will miss it. Not just the staff, it is the members. And the community as well. Seeing the smiles on their faces.”
Julie was keen to praise the work MHA do in supporting the local community. She said: “Even when I first started coming I just felt so welcome. I think it’s like that for all the members. They can walk in and they know that it’s such a friendly place to be. I’m really going to miss them all.”
Julie is just over halfway on her 2k a day running challenge raising money to support MHA activities in Horsforth. She told us: “I’m running 2k a day in September raising money for MHA. I’ve reached £600 already and that will go a very long way. Absolutely amazing support from everyone that’s donated money. Obviously there’s still time to sponsor. If there’s one last thing I can give them, it’s raising money for them to keep smiles on people’s faces.”
Nicky said they are grateful for her support: “She’s doing 2k a day which is absolutely amazing and she’s smashing that. It’s very much appreciated to support the scheme.”
During her time with West Yorkshire Police Julie has also been a regular in the Great British but sadly will no longer be able to play for them upon leaving her PCSO role. Nonetheless she is rightly proud of what she has achieved and the opportunity it gave her.
Businesses and individuals in the community showed their support for Julie by sponsoring her trip to France with the team for their upcoming European tour, She said: “I’m going to France with the Great Britain team on Friday 2nd October and then obviously from there with me leaving the force I’m going to have to stop. Obviously it’s always been my dream to play for Great Britain and I’ve achieved that.”
Julie wished the Horsforth community a loving farewell saying: “Please send my farewell to everyone in the community. I wish them all the best and stay safe.”
You can sponsor Julie for her 2k a day challenge here and you can read more about the many activities that MHA Horsforth Communities offers for over 55’s on their website and facebook page.