Riverside ECHG - ECHG: Finalists for National Drugs Awareness Awards

Home Office Minister Alan Campbell has announced that The Quays Hostel, in Sittingbourne, run by English Churches Housing Group, part of social landlord Riverside, has been shortlisted for a national award at this year’s Tackling Drugs Changing Lives Awards.

ECHG’s team has made it through to the final, to be held on 9 December in London, in recognition of its outstanding community cohesion work as part of this year’s National Tackling Drugs Week.

The Awards, now in their fourth year, recognise and celebrate the unsung heroes who go over and above the call of duty in tackling drug use in communities across the country.

As part of this year’s National Tackling Drugs Week, The Quays organised an Open Day and invited members of the local community into the hostel to increase understanding of how the 84 residents are supported by the team there. The event was a huge success and went a long way to dispelling any myths surrounding the hostel.

Over 150 people from the local community attended the Open Day, including 40 pupils from the local college, and were treated to entertainment courtesy of hostel residents as well as a huge paella cooked up by local community chef, Mike Spackman. Local treatment agencies also set up stands to answer any queries about their work and the Mayor of Swale attended to lend his support to the day.

On the back of the Open Day, The Quays has been at the centre of community action on a number of other important issues such as hosting an International Domestic Violence of Violence Against Women workshop with Zena Briggs of Zena Foundation was a Key speaker. The Community Chef launched ECHG’s new kitchen facilities at the Quays and is now working on a six week programme with cooking on a budget at the project.

Donna Lee, ECHG’s Manager at the Quays, said: “I’m absolutely thrilled for the team to get this recognition and be named as a national finalist. The dedication and caring approach of our staff makes a real difference to our residents and ensures they receive the support they need to help turn their lives around.

“The Quays is an important part of the wider community and that’s why the Open Day was such a fantastic way of engaging with local residents and ensuring they got an insight into hostel life. This transparency has helped us show people how we’re providing residents with the skills necessary to lead a completely independent life at the end of their time with us – my personal motto is ‘Nobody sleep walks through The Quays for two years’ and I hope the community now understands this to be the case.”

21-year-old resident Natasha Elgar played a big role in making the Open Day a success – writing and performing a song in front of the gathered audience of 150 visitors. She has been resident at the hostel for around 12 months and is full of praise for The Quays team who have supported her through difficult times.

She said: “The Quays is not just a place to live it’s a small community where there’s always someone to support you. The team has helped me to the point where I’m now hoping to get my own settled flat and save enough money to go to university to study forensic science.

“I nearly died performing in front of all those people – but I’m really glad I did it. It was excellent to be a part of the Open Day and now I want to do more things like that to support the hostel, which is why I’m helping to set up a Young People’s Forum at The Quays.”

Home Office Minister Alan Campbell said: “This year we received more than 200 nominations for drug workers and teams who work tirelessly every day to help tackle drug misuse and change lives.

“Drug use and drug related crime have fallen in recent years. Such impressive results could not have been achieved without the dedication of the many professionals and volunteers. Their work helps reduce drug related crime in our communities; increases the number of drug misusers entering and finishing treatment and ensures that there is tough enforcement of the law.”

Two national winners will be announced on 9 December in London who will each receive £10,000 for their organisation to spend on furthering the work of their project.

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Notes to Editors

ECHG is the award-winning specialist provider of sheltered and supported housing within The Riverside Group. Riverside is one of the UK’s leading social housing and regeneration organisations in the UK, owning or managing around 50,000 properties from Carlisle to Kent. Riverside is the current holder of the national Social Landlord of the Year.