02/09/2026
🌟 MEET HOLLIE - DEPUTY MANAGER 🌟
What is it really like being Deputy Manager of Poppy Cottage Supported Living Service? ❤️
Honestly? No two days are the same — and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Being Deputy Manager gives me the best of both worlds. The geek in me genuinely enjoys the paperwork, the policies, the planning and all those little behind-the-scenes details that keep a service running safely and smoothly. But then there’s the carer in me, and that part of me still needs to be right in the middle of it all — getting stuck in, supporting the team and, most importantly, spending time with the people who call Poppy Cottage home.
And I think that’s what makes this role so special to me.
Over the time I’ve been at Poppy Cottage, I’ve built such strong and meaningful relationships with the people who live here. They aren’t just the people we support. They become part of your life. You celebrate their achievements, share their laughter, support them through difficult moments and get to know all the little things that make them who they are.
Somehow, somewhere along the way, they start to feel like family. ❤️
Social care isn’t always glamorous. There are challenging days, difficult conversations, endless paperwork and plenty of things that happen behind the scenes that nobody ever sees. But those parts matter too. They are part of making sure the people we support receive the best possible care and are able to live the lives they choose.
I actually love the challenge that social care brings. It pushes you, teaches you and constantly reminds you that every person is different and that sometimes the smallest things can make the biggest difference.
At Poppy Cottage, we pride ourselves on creating a real home-from-home environment. Somewhere the people we support feel safe, comfortable, respected and, most importantly, at home.
And I think that should apply to our staff too.
We spend so much of our lives at work, so I want Poppy Cottage to be somewhere people feel comfortable being themselves, where they feel valued, supported and part of something.
I feel incredibly lucky to have a role where I can use both sides of myself — the organised, paperwork-loving geek 🤓 and the carer who just wants to be there, get stuck in and make a difference.
It can be exhausting. It can be challenging. It can be emotional.
But it can also be incredibly rewarding.
And when you walk through the door and see the people you care about smiling, laughing, achieving something they once found difficult, or simply enjoying being at home…
That’s when you remember exactly why you do it. ❤️
Proud to be part of the Poppy Cottage family. 🏡
