The John Laing Charitable Trust Day Centre of the Year Awards

The John Laing Charitable Trust Day Centre of the Year Awards are an opportunity for day centres to demonstrate their worth to communities. The good work that day centres do is often left unacknowledged and unappreciated. Day centres have been accused of helping people to sustain street living, instead of acknowledged as places where marginalized and isolated people can find acceptance and assistance, and pursue meaningful occupation within the community. These awards are about promoting the contributions of day centres in general to creating better, more sustainable communities as well as awarding a few for special excellence.

The awards are presented to day centres that demonstrate that they and their service users have made links with, and contributed to, their local communities. We are looking for day centres that work in innovative ways with their local communities to ensure that they enhance their local area.

About the competition

Nominations for the award were invited for 2 categories:

• Small day centres (with a turnover of below 100k)
• Larger day centres (with a turnover of 100k and over)

Nominations were accepted from:

• Service users, staff and managers at homelessness services
• Representatives of local community groups or services

Criteria

Finalists were selected on the basis of:

• The effect of the day centre's work on the community
• The partnership between the day centre's service users, staff and management
• The effect of its links with the community on the day centre itself

Each of the winners won a prize of £500, with £200 for each of the runners-up.

For further information please contact Janis Ridsdel on 020 7960 3010 or email awards@homelesslink.org.uk .