We’re looking forward to introducing you to Michelle Smith. Check out our conversation below.
Michelle, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What are you chasing, and what would happen if you stopped?
As the founder and CEO of Mpower People CIC, I am constantly chasing secure and sustainable funding. For over 15 years, we’ve been providing life-changing, often life-saving, support to people in Merseyside who are struggling with their mental health. Yet every year, the challenge of securing long-term financial stability becomes harder. The applications, the short-term grants, the uncertainty — it never ends, and it weighs heavily on me not only as a CEO, but also as a front-line support worker and as the person who first set up this organisation out of deep concern for our community.
If I were to stop chasing funding, it would mean the end of Mpower People CIC. And that is unthinkable. It would mean no more one-to-one crisis interventions for people in the depths of despair. No more suicide prevention support for those at their most vulnerable. No more peer groups offering connection, healing, and a safe place away from isolation. No more creative outlets like our Art for Mental Health programme, which gives people the chance to rebuild confidence, learn new skills, and rediscover joy.
The truth is, our financial situation is already precarious, and the demand for our services has never been higher. If we were forced to close, the ripple effects on our wider community would be devastating. That’s why I keep going, despite the exhaustion, the stress, and the uncertainty — because I know what’s at stake. I’m not just chasing funding. I’m chasing hope, survival, and the chance for people to live lives where they feel supported, valued, and never alone.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Michelle Smith, founder and CEO of Mpower People CIC, a not-for-profit social enterprise I created in 2009 to support disadvantaged families in Merseyside. What began as a way to help parents build skills and young people access creative opportunities like dance workshops has grown into something much bigger: a lifeline for some of the most vulnerable people in our community.
Mpower People has grown into much more than just a support service — we deliver one-to-one crisis intervention, suicide prevention, peer support, creative programmes, and safe spaces for people who are often invisible and unheard. What makes us unique isn’t just the variety of what we do, but how we do it — deeply personal, rooted in lived experience, and always community-centred. We believe healing happens when people feel seen, understood, and supported to find their own strength.
Over the past 15 years, we’ve supported thousands of people across Merseyside — from helping over 900 people into work, 230 into volunteering, and 147 to start their own business, to supporting more than 1,700 people to improve their digital skills. Today, our focus is strongly on mental health: one-to-one crisis intervention, advocacy, suicide prevention, peer groups, and creative therapies such as Art for Mental Health. We also run life skills programmes — cooking, gardening, and anxiety management workshops — to help people live healthier, more independent lives.
Every day I wear many hats: founder, CEO, frontline support worker, cheerleader, and often the one breaking down barriers. I’ve seen what despair feels like, and I’ve seen what hope can do. I’ve also seen how fragile everything can be — especially when we’re constantly battling to keep funding going, to maintain staff, and to innovate under pressure.
What makes Mpower People CIC unique is the heart behind it: we are grassroots, person-centred, and driven by values of inclusion, empowerment, and dignity. Our clients are disabled people, carers, older vulnerable people, victims of domestic abuse, people with learning difficulties, those facing poverty, homelessness, and poor mental health. And yet despite all of this, they find hope, healing, and skills with us.
Our vision is simple but urgent: to ensure vulnerable members of society enjoy their full rights, opportunities, and participation in life. Every day, I fight to sustain and grow this work, because I know what’s at stake — people’s lives, their confidence, their chance to belong and to thrive.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
The part of me that I know must eventually be released is the constant fear of failure — the worry that if I falter, Mpower People CIC, and the people who depend on us, will suffer. For years, this fear has driven me to push myself to the limit, taking on every responsibility as founder, CEO, and frontline support worker. It has kept me vigilant and committed, but it has also come at a cost to my own health and wellbeing.
I haven’t been able to release it yet — because the need is still so great, the demand for our services still growing, and there is no one else to carry the weight. But I recognise that holding onto this fear forever isn’t sustainable. Learning to acknowledge it without letting it consume me is something I hope to achieve one day, so I can continue to serve our community with the focus, energy, and clarity they deserve.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering has taught me a depth of empathy that success alone could never provide. Working closely with people struggling with mental health challenges, learning difficulties, poverty, or homelessness has shown me that the pain we carry is often hidden behind smiles, politeness, or bravado. You can’t always see it at first glance, and sometimes it takes time, patience, and listening with your whole being to truly understand what someone is going through.
That understanding shapes how I approach solutions. It’s not about quick fixes or one-size-fits-all interventions — it’s about seeing the person behind the struggle, recognising their unique strengths and needs, and finding ways to help them reclaim control, dignity, and hope. Suffering has given me the perspective to create services and support that genuinely meet people where they are, rather than imposing what I think they need. It has taught me that real change comes from understanding, compassion, and the courage to confront the raw realities of life alongside those we serve.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a cultural value you protect at all costs?
A cultural value I protect at all costs is simple: “don’t be a dick.” For me, it’s shorthand for something deeper — that kindness, respect, and integrity are non-negotiable. No matter how stressful things get or how high the stakes are, there’s never an excuse for treating people poorly.
At Mpower People CIC, we work with people who are often at their lowest, carrying heavy burdens and just trying to get through the day. The last thing they need is bureaucracy, judgement, or unkindness. Our role is to offer support, humanity, and hope. So while the phrase might sound blunt, it’s really about holding ourselves to the highest standard of compassion, accountability, and respect — because that’s what people deserve.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
When I’m gone, I hope people tell the story that I was the one who gave them a chance when no one else would. That I was the first person to really listen — not just to their words, but to the silences in between — and that in that moment they felt seen, valued, and no longer invisible.
I hope they remember me as someone who brought a little light into dark times, who offered hope when things felt hopeless. But I also hope they smile at the memories — the laughter we shared on a trip, the joy of making something with their own hands, the pride of learning a new skill that changed what they thought was possible for their life.
If people can say that I left them with more confidence, more dignity, and a belief in their own worth, then that would be the story worth telling.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mpowerpeople.co.uk
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mpower_people_cic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MpowerPeopleCIC/
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