The Andy Ludlow Awards celebrate innovation and good practice in tackling homelessness. There were 45 submissions for awards in 2003 (the fifth year of the scheme), with five award winners.
The overall winner and recipient of a cheque for £8,000 was the Working Women's Crack Project in Lambeth. Led by the Lambeth Crime Prevention Trust and supported by the Stockwell Project, St Mungo's and Lambeth Council's substance misuse team. This project makes contact with and actively engages homeless crack-using female sex workers who have been displaced because of crack house closures or who are vulnerably housed. It is achieving remarkable success: of the 102 female sex workers on Lambeth police's books, 56 have been helped by the project. The scheme also receives referrals from hospitals, care workers and other charities. The women are assessed and receive help with accommodation, health and access to training.
The second place award of £5,000, provided by the London Housing Foundation, was made to St Mungo's for its housing advice service for short-term prisoners at HMP Pentonville. Set up in November 2000, the service has given advice to 1900 remand prisoners and prisoners serving less than 12 months in the past year. Three workers help prisoners maintain tenancies while inside, and to find accommodation on release. The prize money will go towards a skills training programme.
An award of £2,000 was made to third placed Mosada Centre for single women in East London. This is a self-help organisation for single and homeless women in hostels, launched in July 1999. It offers one-to-one job searches, group support sessions and training programmes to help women develop writing and communication skills. There are also programmes on sexual health awareness and weekend trips out of London. The prize money will be spent on a confidence-building adventure weekend.
Awards of £1,000 were made to the Depaul Trust and the London Refuge for Runaway Children. The Depaul Trust received the award for their 'Digital Streets' project. Since its launch last July this has helped 24 young homeless people learn web-design and maintenance. The £1,000 will go towards an online music station and securing free access for homeless people to the Trust's site at internet cafes and telephone booths across London.
The London Refuge for Runaway Children has been run by St Christopher's Fellowship and the NSPCC since April 2001. It is a direct-access emergency refuge for runaways and homeless young people. Last year it helped 205 children - almost half of these were re-united with their families and a quarter found homes in local authority care. The eight-bed unit has 24-hour care and users can stay for up to two weeks, while staff mediate with families or carers. The prize money (donated by the London Housing Foundation) will be used in the refuge's outreach programme for children and their families, after the children go home.
The awards were selected by a panel of judges comprising:
Cllr Tony Newman (chair of London Government housing panel)
Shaks Ghosh (chief executive of Crisis)
Stephen Clarke (director of housing in Haringey)
Don Wood (chief executive of London & Quadrant Housing Trust and board member of the London Housing Foundation)
In making their selection the judges looked for evidence of work that:
o improves services to homeless people or vulnerable groups
o prevents homelessness
o tackles disadvantage caused by homelessness.
