“Full of Practicality and Humanity”: Judith Moran on 150 Years of Quaker Social Action

Some organisations claim to be rooted in community. Quaker Social Action actually is, and has been for over 150 years. In this intimate and refreshingly honest interview, Judith Moran, QSA’s director, reflects on the charity’s long history, her own working-class upbringing, and why listening is still the most radical tool in social justice work.

Growing up in a pit village in the northeast, with a mother battling severe mental illness, Moran became a young carer long before she had the language for it. That early understanding of precarity has shaped everything since, especially her belief that people experiencing hardship are the real experts on poverty.

Today she leads one of Britain’s oldest independent charities, originally founded in 1867 when Quakers arrived in the East End and refused to look away from its suffering. They responded with practical compassion, and Moran is determined to preserve that ethos: “At heart, it’s full of practicality and humanity.”

But the context has shifted. Poverty is deeper, hope is thinner, and more families feel one setback away from crisis. Moran speaks candidly about the “poverty of hope” she sees now, and why QSA’s innovation, from funeral-cost support to a mobile library for people experiencing homelessness, matters more than ever.

What sets QSA apart is a willingness to admit mistakes, rethink assumptions, and start again. Moran’s leadership is guided by a simple Quaker principle: think it possible you may be mistaken. It’s an approach that rejects blame and embraces curiosity; something she believes the entire charity sector needs more of.

This feature offers a rare, human look at a leader shaped by adversity, propelled by integrity, and quietly transforming social action from the inside out.

Read the full story in The View 15.

Order the View 15 here: https://theviewmag.org.uk/product/the-view-magazine-issue-15/ 

Opinion article by The View.

Image source: Quaker Social Action