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Homeless Link announces winners of inspirational community awards
Yesterday (5 February 2008) representatives from all areas of local and central government and the voluntary sector came together to recognise the tremendous contributions of homeless people and day centres to the communities in which they live.
The Michael Whippman Award and the John Laing Charitable Trust Day Centre of the Year Awards are award schemes with a difference. They focus on the contributions of homeless people and day centres to their communities – aiming to challenge false stereotypes about people who are homeless and to show clearly that anything is possible.
The award ceremony, organised by Homeless Link, took place in the grand setting of Portcullis House. The awards were presented by Iain Wright MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Communities and Local Government; Grant Shapps MP, Shadow Minister for Housing, Conservative Party; Lembit Opik MP, Shadow Minister for Housing, Liberal Democrats; and Mick Hamilton, The John Laing Charitable Trust.
Jenny Edwards, Chief Executive of Homeless Link, the national umbrella organisation for frontline homelessness agencies, said: “We are delighted to be associated with both these fantastic award schemes. They really do show that, given the right support, anything is possible for people who are homeless. Communities see real benefits and, for the people involved, seeing their work making a real difference is a key step towards ending homelessness.”
Mick Hamilton, Secretary of the John Laing Charitable Trust, said: "John Laing has been providing support for Day Centres either directly or through Homeless Link for nearly 15 years. With all of our donations we try to ensure each one "Makes a Difference". The amazing entries to these awards illustrate that this type of funding has made a substantial difference to the individuals, the organisations and the local communities of each of the Day Centres that entered the competition."
ENDS
About the Michael Whippman Award
The Michael Whippman Award is an award scheme with a difference, it focuses on the contributions of homeless people themselves – aiming to challenge stereotypes about homeless people and to show staff and other homeless people that anything is possible. When Homeless Link launched the Award they aimed to uncover inspiring examples of how service users were helping change and improve homelessness services.
In 2008 the theme of the Award is recognising the contributions of homeless people to the communities they live in. The aim is to show that homeless people help and support communities. The winners (Individual and Group) receive a certificate and a cheque for £500. Special Achievers receive a certificate and a cheque for £250.
The winners of the 2008 Michael Whippman Award
Individuals
Aggrie Chikiwa (Winner) – nominated by Vera Cohen (Canning Town and Custom House Community Forum)
Aggrie led the Anchor House residents involvement in street clean ups working alongside the Police and Local Authority and played a part in establishing a Healthy Living fun day. He also developed a programme of literacy and numeracy, pre employment skills and citizenship courses for Anchor House and the local community. Aggrie organised his fellow residents’ participation in the Lea Valley Regeneration Project, and helped to inform the local community about the benefits of the 2012 Olympics. He also led a group of homeless residents on an Outward Bounds Personal Development week.
Kris Mumford (Special Achievement) – nominated by Hannah Bermingham (Shelter)
Kris regularly volunteers his time to deliver Peer Education sessions to young people. The Peer Education project aims to prevent and mitigate youth homelessness in Gloucestershire, by the volunteers who go into youth centres and schools to talk about their personal stories, answer questions, and facilitate activities to the young people. Where young people have housing concerns or immediate problems, they can contact us to receive peer support from the volunteers.
Groups
The Gareth Lloyd Maintenance Group (Winning group) – nominated by Anne O’Marah (Chester Aid to the Homeless)
This group includes a number of homeless men, staying at the night shelter who undertake a programme of voluntary work in the local community. This includes regular maintenance work at a riding school for the disabled, and decorating and maintenance services across a range of voluntary sector organisations in Chester. The group have worked incredibly hard even when they have not felt 100% themselves and have been praised by others who have claimed that the group have made a real different to the disabled riding centre. The Gareth Lloyd Maintenance Group has raised the profile of homelessness and have been superb ambassadors for the homeless community of Chester.
Project Avame (Special Achievement) – nominated by Stephen Bell (Tyneside Cyrenians)
The Project consists of seven homeless people, together with three members of staff from Tyneside Cyrenians who set out for Ghana, West Africa last year. For two weeks the group provided vital manpower to build a school and also worked to understand, compare and contrast the difference in material wealth of ordinary people in both the UK and Ghana. In the months prior to the project the group participated in a wide range of community and team building events in order to raise the funds for their activity in Ghana.
About the selection process
Nominations were accepted from service users, staff or managers at homelessness services or people from the community. We received 18 nominations. These were divided into two categories: Groups and Individuals. The nominations were short listed and the finalists were invited to meet with a panel of Judges including: Jenny Edwards (Homeless Link), Andrew Dick (Timebank), Cameron Watt (Centre for Social Justice) and Constance Whippman.
About the John Laing Charitable Trust Day Centre of the Year Awards
The John Laing Charitable Trust Day Centre of the Year Awards are about celebrating excellence in day centre service delivery. There are two awards: one for large day centres (turnover of more than £100,000 per annum), and one for small day centres (turnover of less than £100,000 per annum). This year, the theme centred around showing how day centres and their staff and service users have contributed to their local communities. This is the first year that the awards are being presented, but we hope to be able to continue recognise the outstanding work being done by day centres on an annual basis. The two candidates from each category who most impressed the judges have been invited to the Homeless Link Parliamentary reception where it will be announced who in each category has won the award – for which there is a £500 prize – and who is the runner up – for which there is a £200 prize.
The winners of the John Laing Charitable Trust Day Centre of the Year Awards
About the selection process
Nominations were made by staff, service users from the homelessness sector and from representatives of local community groups or services. From the nominations, four day centres were selected for interview in each category based on the information in the nomination form and how well it met the criteria of community involvement, service-user involvement and the contribution of its work to the community. Candidates then travelled to Central London from around the country for an interview with our panel: Mick Hamilton, Secretary of John Laing Charitable Trust, Rebecca Sycamore, Homeless Link’s Director of Regional Development, and Richard Cunningham, currently the lead for rough sleeping at Communities and Local Government, and previously the manager of several day centres.
If you would like more information on Homeless Link, the Michael Whippman Award winners, the winners of the John Laing Charitable Trust Day Centre of the Year Awards, pictures of the event, to speak with a policy expert or details of case studies, please contact: Gill Perkins, Head of Communications at Homeless Link on 020 7960 3025 or 07881 921476 gill.perkins@homelesslink.org.uk