The Andy Ludlow Homelessness Awards

St Giles Trust win £10,000 top prize at the 2007 Andy Ludlow Homelessness Awards

The St Giles Trust works to support ex-prisoners avoid re-offending. One in three discharged prisoners will have no home to go to when they leave prison; and three out of four will have no job. This is a problem because homelessness and unemployment are the two factors most likely to lead an ex-prisoner to re-offend.

For three years the St Giles Trust has worked to address this by training serving prisoners to provide advice and guidance on housing, employment and other issues on the inside – and it was this innovative work that led to its first Ludlow Award in 2004.

Three years on, and the Trust’s S2W programme employs trained ex-prisoner advisers to meet newly-discharged prisoners at the prison gate to offer advice and support them into employment.

Chair of the Andy Ludlow Homelessness Awards judging panel 2007 Councillor Jamie Carswell said:

“The strength of entries to this year’s Andy Ludlow Awards made the job of picking just one overall winner an exceptionally hard task for the judges. This speaks volumes for the level of commitment, across the full range of public agencies and voluntary organisations, to finding solutions to homelessness. We would like to congratulate the St Giles Trust, along with the other shortlisted entries, for the exemplary work they are doing for some of the most vulnerable members of our society.”

The award was presented by broadcaster Jon Snow. Presenting with him was special guest Minister for Homelessness, Iain Wright MP.

Don Wood, one of the London Housing Foundation directors, was a member of the selection panel. Reflecting on the awards scheme and the success of St Giles, he commented:

"It's a pleasure to participate in the judging panel for these awards. There is so much good work out there that needs to be acknowledged. Personally, I am particularly pleased to see St Giles Trust win a second time - their peer support work is excellent and deserves the recognition."

Runners up

The runners up were each presented with prize money of £5,000:

• Brent Homeless User Group and the West London Partnership – Mystery Shopping project uses innovative ‘mystery shopping’ scenarios to assess frontline housing services in the west London boroughs.
• The Singles Homelessness project, Hammersmith and Fulham is a homeless prevention service that has placed 150 people in supported accommodation and provides education outreach to 600 children. The project is based in Hammersmith and Fulham.

UR4Jobs, Upper Room is a frontline charity providing advice and access to work for those new to the capital, working principally with those from the Polish community.

About the Andy Ludlow Homelessness Awards

These are the country's leading homelessness awards and they are open to all agencies preventing and tackling homelessness and supporting homeless people in London, along with local authorities and housing associations. Prize money totalling £25,000 is available to be won each year.

The London Housing Foundation has been sponsoring and supporting the event since 2003. Co-sponsors include London Councils, who organise and promote the event, Communities and Local Government (CLG) and Shelter. For details of last years awards, read on. For more about the Andy Ludlow Awards, visit London Council's website.

Find out more about this year's winners

Straight to Work

The St Giles Trust works to support ex-prisoners avoid re-offending. One in three discharged prisoners will have no home to go to when they leave prison; and three out of four will have no job. This is a problem because homelessness and unemployment are the two factors most likely to lead an ex-prisoner to re-offend. For three years the St Giles Trust has worked to address this by training serving prisoners to provide advice and guidance on housing, employment and other issues on the inside and it was this innovative work that led to its first Ludlow Award in 2004. Three years on, and the Trust's S2W programme employs trained ex-prisoner advisers to meet newly-discharged prisoners at the prison gate to offer advice and support them into employment.

Watch the video

The Streetwise Community Law Center

The only law centre in England specifically for young people, the Streetwise Community Law Centre has grown from strength to strength since being set up in 2000. Last year the centre provided legal advice for more than 1,000 young people in Bromley, Sutton and Croydon. With a client group aged 11 to 25 years-old, Streetwise provides a vital and specialised service to homeless young people and those at risk of homelessness.

Watch the video

Drive Ahead

An employment training project that combines IT, interview and communication skills along with the very attractive prospect of driving lessons has proved to be a winning combination for the DePaul Trust. Over the last three years 161 young homeless people have been through the Drive Ahead programme, with 64 going on to further training or education and 42 into direct employment.

Watch the video

Hammersmith and Fulham – Singles Homelessness project

Established in 2005 the Singles Homelessness Project was set up to provide a comprehensive approach to tackling the growing levels of singles homelessness and rough sleeping in the west London borough. The project draws together a wide range of partners, from the council’s housing and support team and the primary care trust, to Threshold housing advice and the Mental Health Trust, to ensure single people receive timely and effective advice and assistance. Rather than being hide-bound by statutory requirements to house, the joined-up approach involving a range of service providers allows individually tailored solutions based on a holistic assessment of real needs. One result has been a reduction of the number of single homeless people in B&B; from 125 in March 2005 to 73 in March 2007.

Watch the video

UR4Jobs

Frontline charity the Upper Room has been providing meals and services to homeless people in London since 1990 and has traditionally had strong associations with the Polish community in particular. Faced with a dramatic increase in demand for its services as the rate of immigration from eastern Europe increased in recent years, the charity decided to pilot a support scheme to help more clients find the legitimate employment that would provide a more sustainable solution to their needs. The result, UR4Jobs, provides advice and guidance about living and working in the UK alongside volunteering and training opportunities, including free on-site ESOL classes and bi-lingual training in computing, health and safety and food hygiene. The charity has developed links with a range of partners including JobCentre Plus and the Big Issue to help an anticipated 400 beneficiaries this year alone.

Watch the video

Mystery Shopping

Brent Homeless User Group (B.HUG) and the West London Partnership – Mystery Shopping project Jointly commissioned as a sub regional initiative by seven west London boroughs (Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hounslow, Hillingdon and Kensington and Chelsea) the project involved five former homeless ‘mystery shoppers’ putting each of the boroughs’ homeless services to the test across a range of housing scenarios. Using mystery shopping techniques allowed the project to identify weaknesses and best practice across all of the providers. The resultant report’s findings and recommendations highlighted a number of areas where boroughs could improve their services to homeless people; from simple physical changes to housing receptions to more detailed analysis of training needs to deliver consistent and effective services across the sub region.

Watch the video

Find out about previous winners

Read about last year's Andy Ludlow Awards here.

29 November 2007