From the Same Chairs She Once Sat In — Sharon Munroe Named Merseyside’s Inspiration Woman of the Year
There are stories of community leadership, and then there are stories like Sharon’s.
On Friday, Sharon Munroe — CEO of Equilibrium North West CIC and the heart of Livingstone Street Community Centre — was named Merseyside’s Inspiration Woman of the Year. It is a recognition that means everything, not just because of what Sharon has built, but because of where she started.
As a child, Sharon came to the Livingstone Street Community Centre looking for food, refuge and hope. The centre gave her all three. Years later, when the opportunity arose to take over and run that very same building, Sharon didn’t hesitate. She walked back through those doors — this time with a business plan, a vision, and an unshakeable understanding of what the families of Birkenhead truly need.
Because she has been one of them.
In just five years, Sharon and her team have served over 7,000 free meals, welcomed more than 12,000 families through the doors, and run holiday clubs that give between 60 and 100 children a day somewhere safe, warm and full of life during Christmas, Easter and the summer holidays. Twelve community groups run every week from the centre. In 2024, Livingstone Street was formally recognised as a Family Hub.
She has done it while overcoming challenges that would stop most people in their tracks. A random assault left her requiring surgery on both eyes. She sat her college exams during recovery. She went on to complete a degree at LJMU, train as an entrepreneur, win a start-up grant, and build Equilibrium from a single coffee morning into one of Birkenhead’s most essential community institutions.
But ask Sharon what drives her, and she won’t talk about any of that. She’ll talk about the children at the holiday club. The families who shop in the community store with their dignity intact. The people who walk in feeling alone and leave feeling part of something.
She’ll talk about a conversation she had years ago — at this very centre — with a woman who helped her understand that the difficult circumstances of her childhood were not her fault. That moment changed everything. And now, every day, Sharon and her team create those moments for others.
Merseyside’s Inspiration Woman of the Year. We can’t think of anyone who deserves it more.
Congratulations, Sharon. From everyone at Equilibrium North West — we are so incredibly proud of you.