The shortlisted projects for the Community Inclusion Award are:

Big Buzz Club
The Big Buzz Club provides fun and educational activities for children in Everton, the third most deprived ward in the country.  It gives children the opportunity to develop new skills and abilities, build ambition and self-confidence.  Many of the children come from low income homes with complex problems, living in streets with boarded up houses. 

The Big Buzz Club offers different activities every weeknight all presented by trained and experienced play workers.  This includes crafts, reading, dance, drama, music and sport along with excursions and performances.  

Their Family Liaison Officer works with the children’s parents visiting homes, liaising with social services and supporting access to training.  In the past three years they have worked with 160 families and they have found that this has a positive impact on the development of the children who come to the club.  The staff and volunteers are motivated by the principle of loving your neighbour and enabling people to know their worth in Jesus.  They work closely with Breckfield and North Everton Neighbourhood Council, local housing trusts, Sure Start and the Early Years Partnership.
 

Boaz Trust
The Boaz Trust provides a holistic service to eradicate destitution amongst asylum seekers in Greater Manchester.  This includes providing accommodation, food parcels, friendship and advocacy, while campaigning to change government policy. 

The project offers asylum seekers the opportunity to integrate with their community by doing practical voluntary work such as gardening and craft making, as well as accessing educational courses and leisure activities.  Their service delivery is based on a dual approach – addressing the real needs practically and challenging the injustice of the asylum system.

Boaz Trust partners with a whole range of voluntary agencies and has set up the National No Accommodation Network of practitioners providing accommodation for destitute asylum seekers.  They are supported by many churches and their Christian faith, and in particular the command to love foreigners as yourself (Leviticus 19:33) underpins all they do. 

Groundswell Trust
Groundswell provides home based support for people living with HIV in Southampton and its surrounding area.  They provide free and confidential practical care giving those that they visit psychological and emotional support as well as helping them to access other services.   The practical care includes gardening, decorating, providing transport, prescription collection and advocacy.

Many of their clients face social exclusion as a result of poverty, racism and sexual orientation intensified by their life limiting condition.  The project seeks to give people living with HIV a voice, empowering them to overcome social isolation, improve self esteem and gain independence.

They work closely with other statutory and voluntary agencies including Hampshire County Council’s Adult Services, the PCT and City Council to share information and resources in order to understand and meet the need.   Their ethos comes from a desire and motivation to express Christ’s love and this shapes the organisation.

The Imago Project
This project seeks to reintegrate people with minor mental illness and social isolation back into society.  It is based in the epicentre of East Belfast which has been identified as a ‘targeting social need’ area and is ranked in the top 10% of wards in terms of deprivation and unemployment. 

It doesn’t use therapy but works on an early intervention approach, with referrals from GPs and Community Psychiatric Nurses.  It provides befriending, training, awareness-raising and support services, helping to prevent a spiral into major ill health.

The Imago Project works closely with health professionals and social workers as well as a local advice centre, to link people into debt and benefits advice when this is a cause of the problem.  It is part of the Christian Fellowship Church’s social action work and exists as a practical demonstration of God’s love.  It has been so successful that after initially being funded partly by the Belfast Regeneration Office, it is now funded completely by the Eastern Board of Health and Social Services.

St Luke’s Advice Service
This project based in Brighton, provides free and independent legal advice and representation on issues of personal debt and welfare benefits.  They support those who appear to have been incorrectly refused benefits, enabling them to appeal and be heard at tribunal.  They have a high success rate, and the amount of money involved makes a significant impact in the life of the client.

They also help people to complete welfare benefit forms correctly.  The project supports those who are particularly at risk from social exclusion and empowers them to feel more in control of their life.  

They work in partnership with local agencies and the council as well as MIND and the Disability Centre who refer refused Disability Living Allowance cases.  They seek partnerships that contribute to a holistic approach to solving the client’s problems.  Their faith is intrinsic to what they do, and they see it as practical Christianity meeting social justice needs. 

West Harton Churches Action Station Ltd
This advice and educational centre seeks to combat loneliness, depression and bereavement by providing a wide range of services including a community café, vocational courses, work placements, free debt advice and advocacy.   The local community, a former coalmining town in South Tyneside, has high levels of unemployment, poor health, high levels of debt and addiction.  The Action Station aims to respond to these issues in a flexible and effective manner.

It currently serves 26,000 users per year.  The centre is well linked in to local networks and works closely with local schools, the local authority and other local agencies.  As well as being a social hub, the Action Station houses an advice centre, a credit union, the Workers Educational Association, the Acumen Development Trust and TEDCO’s Enteprise Champions.   

The centre was founded by a partnership of local churches.  They seek to see Christ reflected in all they serve, thus affirming their worth and helping them to fulfil their God given potential. 

Awards Criteria

All projects applying for an award need to demonstrate the extent to which they are:
· responding to a local need
· impacting on the local community
· forging relationships with local government and other agencies
· receiving coverage in the local media
· demonstrating a distinctive Christian ethos

Please note: Projects applying for an award must already be in operation, delivering services