Adults facing Chronic Exclusion (ACE) Project wins Support/Care Team of the Year
Tuesday 18th May 2010 - The achievements of the unsung heroes of the social housing world were honoured at a glittering awards ceremony in London on Friday, hosted by adventurer and TV presenter Ben Fogle, and organised by Inside Housing magazine and the Chartered Institute of Housing.
The Cyrenians beat stiff competition from around the country to win the Support / Care Team of the Year. The Adults facing Chronic Exclusion (ACE) Project supports chronically excluded people who do not use existing services or for whom existing services are insufficient - due to multiple, complex needs.
Set up initially as one of twelve pilot projects funded by the Cabinet Office’s Social Exclusion Task Force to test innovative ways to reach out to chronically excluded adults, the outreach team is made up entirely of ex-service users. They establish contact with rough sleepers, get to know them, build up trust and connect them into services, such as The Cyrenians’ Day Centre, housing provision or local mental health and drug abuse services.
Following the highly successful pilot, ACE has received permanent funding through Newcastle Primary Care Trust as part of the innovative Alcohol, Care and Treatment Service (ACTS) and Newcastle City Councils’ Adult and Culture Services Directorate, becoming central to established systems in Newcastle.
The Editor of Inside Housing, Stuart Macdonald, said:
“The housing sector is characterised by the commitment, passion and flair of the people who work in it. They are dedicated, innovative and creative individuals and teams. That’s why we run these awards – to shine the spotlight on those ‘unsung heroes’ so others can learn from them. I was amazed by the number of entries we received this year – more than 300 – and the overall calibre. The standard was really high.”
Stephen Bell said:
“We are delighted to receive this Award. The ACE Team has redefined the term ‘support’ and has evolved a highly effective service through innovative thinking and total commitment. We are immensely proud to have been recognised in this way and, as a Pathway nominated organisation we are looking forward to helping others understand our work more fully in order that it may be adapted for use in other parts of the country
The 2010 Housing Heroes Awards was sponsored by Campbell Tickell, The Hire Standard, United House, Asset Skills, EMA, Insight, Tribal, Kinetics and Xmbrace.
Around 800 guests gathered for the celebrations at the prestigious London Hilton Hotel on Park Lane on 14 May and enjoyed a terrific presentation by Ben Fogle.
The judges included some of the most respected people in the social housing sector, including Roy Irwin, the Chief Inspector of Housing at the Audit Commission, Elaine Elkington, the Director of Housing at Birmingham City Council, David Grayson, Chairman of Housing 21, Tom Nicholls the Group Director at L & Q, Simon Chatfield from The Hyde Group and Cora Carter from TAROE.
For more information about the awards visit Inside Housing’s website – www.insidehousing.co.uk. where details of the judges, sponsors, pictures and details of all the other finalists shortlisted for the various awards are available.
