Stephen was born in the heart of Liverpool 1. Duke Terrace, where he was born, was the last row of back-to-back houses in Liverpool. A stone’s throw away from Chinatown and minutes away from the docks and Liverpool’s shopping centre – city centre living before it was fashionable!
He was born into an Anglo-Chinese family. Mum was a local girl and dad was a Chinese seafarer from a small village just outside Canton. Loy worked for the famous Blue Funnel Line and came to Liverpool in the late 1920s. He was away for long periods at sea and like many Liverpool families, Stephen’s mum Betty was the dominant figure in his family. Stephen comes from a large family – 6 brothers and a sister.
Duke Terrace was an amazing place to live, despite having only 6 rooms for the whole family, no bathroom and no running hot water. Stephen was brought up in what could be classed as a disadvantaged environment, although he was surrounded by a loving and caring family. These early experiences certainly had an effect on him re: his decision to set up the children’s charity, KIND.
The Yip family were always clean, tidy and fed, but there were no extras like holidays, new toys or new clothes etc. The family even received a Christmas food hamper one year from their local church. Again one of the reasons why Stephen has always organised a Christmas Appeal for families in need.
Stephen went to Pleasant Street County Primary Board School (the oldest in Liverpool). He was only one of three pupils to pass the 11-Plus and went to Quarry Bank High School – an entry into a new world. It was here that he began his charitable work, volunteering with the NSPCC due to one of his best friend’s dad being a senior NSPCC inspector.
Part of volunteering included taking children to Wales as a volunteer. In 1973 the NSPCC had to stop their annual breaks for children to Wales and so Stephen and the other volunteers stepped in to fund and organise the trip that year. KIND was born and was registered as a children’s charity on Christmas Eve 1975. From then until the present day, Stephen has committed his life and that of his family to making a difference in the lives of disadvantaged and unlucky children.
The work of KIND over the last 50 years has always had the child at the forefront of everything that they do. The organisation wants to show children that life can be different. On a personal note, Stephen is married to Trish, they have three children and four grandchildren, all of whom are actively involved in the work of the charity. He has always lived in Liverpool 1 and is still actively involved in working with the children who come to KIND.
One of the main highlights of his life, apart from his marriage and children, was when he was granted the Freedom of the City – the first person of colour to have been given this honour by the City of Liverpool. The next highlight will be Everton winning the Premier League!
Stephen was commissioned as a Deputy Lieutenant in 2011.
