The shortlisted projects for the Community Inclusion Award were:

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.  Their Family Liaison Officer works with the children’s parents visiting homes, liaising with social services and supporting access to training.   

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.

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.

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.

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 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.  

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. The centre was founded by a partnership of local churches and 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. 

The shortlisted projects for the Faithworks Members Award for Community Commitment were:

Colchester Nightstop
This project provides emergency accommodation for young people aged 16-25 who would otherwise be sleeping on the streets. Volunteer host families welcome young people into their own homes for 1 to 10 nights providing time to find more permanent solutions or family mediation, thus preventing the long term homelessness cycle. Hosts have accommodated 37 young people in this first 12 months of the project’s existence.  They take referrals from Connexions, YMCA and the Probation and Social Services.  Volunteers house those in need at their own expense, as such the project as a whole has a turnover of just £500.

Making a Difference – Tameside Ltd
Making a Difference aims to assist people with chronic and enduring mental health problems by providing one-to-one and group workshops.  The emphasis is on giving access to a wide variety of creative activities such as pottery, personal health and computer skills.  These provide opportunities for individuals to work alongside others, build relationships, handle conflict and gain confidence.  They receive referrals from PCTs, GPs, the Community Mental Health Team, Connexions and many more.  This Christian motivated project is run entirely by volunteers and receives students from the local University and hospitals on work placements.  Their turnover is just £7,000.

Ness Youth Centre
This project is a response to the need for a local, safe and social place for young people in this remote area of the Isle of Lewis to spend their evenings. It serves 14 villages in a remote district, where the nearest similar facility is 30 miles away.  The café and sports centre were originally set up on a small grant in 2004, following a community survey where teenage boys asked for a place to play sport and girls said they were looking for somewhere to chill.  The project now has a turnover of £1,100.  It is a joint initiative between two churches with 12 volunteers from various churches.  They are seeking to provide an environment both attractive to the young people as well as a place where a good Christian example is set.

Samaritan Network
The Samaritan Network serves around 150 vulnerable people on the streets of the West End district every week in all weathers. The team of Christian volunteers have been faithfully serving this community for 3 years through the provision of soup, refreshments and basic counselling. They also help those they serve with a more sustainable existence by providing information and signposting to organisations that can provide advice and support on gaining housing, employment and support with health issues. The project is run with a turnover of £3,500 in individual donations with food donated by Sainsbury’s.

St Andrews Memory Club
This project has served the needs of people suffering from memory loss and Alzheimer’s for over 3 years.  Memory loss sufferers often feel embarrassed and excluded because of their condition.  St Andrews aim to serve this community of people in a holistic way by using therapeutic methods to both stimulate memory as well as enhance confidence and self esteem.  St Andrews has strong links with outside organisations, some providing referrals and others linked with service providers whom they direct their members to. The centre is run entirely by volunteers, supplemented by trainee professionals from local colleges on work placements. Funds are generated by sale of meals at meetings and various donations and fundraising exercises which last year created a turnover of around £7,000.   

Yarls Wood Befrienders
This befriending service works with detainees at an Immigration Removal Centre in Bedford. The individuals requesting visits often feel isolated, rejected and nearly all suffer from depression.  The befrienders visit at least once a week for the duration of the detainees stay. They provide emotional support as well as ensuring individuals receive medical and legal assistance where necessary.  They also seek to affirm the staff who are under tremendous pressure.  The service has rapidly grown in its 6 year operating period to having 35 volunteers, a committee of 9, and a turnover of £19,000. 

The shortlisted projects for the Community Excellence Award were:

Cornerstone Trust (Bishop’s Stortford)
A charity, operating in Essex and East Hertfordshire, which seeks to provide disadvantaged people with the skills and resources to recognize and maximize their potential, improve their quality of life and make a contribution to society.  The charity does this by providing training courses, advocacy and a decorating service.  All team members working with people on a one-to-one basis are active, local Christians.

Halifax Street Angels
This team of mainly Christian volunteers provides a safe presence in Halifax town centre between 9pm and 3am every Friday and Saturday night.  The team responds to the needs of vulnerable people ensuring that the elderly, those underage, those who have drunk too much or had their drinks spiked get home safely.  The project works closely with the council, nightlife businesses and the police who have reported a 42% reduction in violent crimes since the Street Angels launched in 2005. 

Hull Churches Home From Home Hospital Service
This free service, provided by 92 volunteers, is given to those returning home from hospital.   The service includes 6-8 weeks of support consisting of 2-3 visits per week to undertake shopping, listening, changing anti-embolism stockings, assistive technology and anything required to support a healthy recovery and return to independence.  A total of 1469 older clients were assisted to independence through convalescence in the past year.  The volunteers, from a range of churches across Hull, are all trained to NVQ level and are accompanied for 6 weeks initial mentoring and fieldwork experience before being given their own clients.  The charity has service level agreements with Hull City Council Social Services and Hull Teaching PCT. 

Open Door International Language School
This Christian motivated language school, based in Plymouth, supports and enables Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Migrant Workers to fully participate within their local community.   It teaches English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) to 360 students each week from 64 different nations as well as providing free childcare for students, vocational training, social interaction, pastoral support and teacher training.  The project also seeks to influence local, regional and national policy in the area of asylum and is the only faith organisation involved in the DfES Citizenship Pilot. 

The Terminus Initiative
This Christian motivated social enterprise, which was shortlisted for the Community Excellence Award last year, aims to serve the Lowedges estate in Sheffield with an accessible community café and second hand shop.  It provides volunteering and befriending opportunities for asylum seekers, the unemployed and other disadvantaged people. The café is a focal point for vulnerable people within the community who currently contribute 110 voluntary hours a week to the organisation.  The initiative is used as a collection point for Sheffield Credit Union and a base for a Healthy Living Programme and Conversation Club. The project has received the Duke of York Community Initiative Award.   

WHCM (West Ham Central Mission) Counselling and Support
This well established Christian charity provides accessible counseling to children, young people and adults who feel isolated, excluded or marginalized through personal, emotional or mental health difficulties.  In 2007 it counseled 1,007 people and yet the waiting list never dropped below 100.  The majority of clients are not wage earners, and almost half are below the age of 25.  The charity works from three centres in East London and Essex, and recently celebrated its centenary year.