Step Forward Tees Valley wins the Health and Wellbeing Business Award at last night’s Civic Community Awards at the Middlesbrough Town Hall.
The employability support programme, which is funded by the European Social Fund and The National Lottery Community Fund, has also been highly commended in the Helping People Learn and Improving Our Neighbourhoods categories.
The award and commendations recognise the outstanding contribution that the programme makes in and around the Middlesbrough area, supporting local people to improve their health and wellbeing, learn new personal and work skills and improve their local neighbourhoods through community volunteering opportunities.
Since the programme began in October 2016, it’s supported more than 3,500 people across the Tees Valley, and it’s thanks to the programme's partnership working that they’ve been able to help these people overcome a range of barriers to training, volunteering and work.
In Middlesbrough, Step Forward Tees Valley works in partnership with Groundwork North East & Cumbria, Changing Lives, Pioneering Care Partnership, Middlesbrough Voluntary Development Agency, Mental Health Concern and Middlesbrough Citizens Advice to provide tailored support for people.
Middlesbrough resident Nicky is one person to recently benefit from the programme’s support, after being left devastated by the sudden loss of her eldest son. Unable to cope with life and experiencing depression and anxiety, Nicky couldn’t see a way forward. That was until she started working with Step Forward Tees Valley.
Nicky received tailored support from Groundwork North East & Cumbria, Changing Lives, Pioneering Care Partnership and Middlesbrough Voluntary Development Agency to address her individual needs. This included working closely with Liz Godfrey, Learning for Health Coordinator from the Pioneering Care Partnership, who worked with Nicky in sessions that built on her health and wellbeing,
Nicky said: “This project and the wonderful people that I have had the privilege to meet and work with have helped me to start to reclaim my life, and for that thank you will never be enough.”
Nicky joined members of the Step Forward Tees Valley Team at the awards ceremony on Monday evening, including Vikkie Wilkinson, Step Forward Tees Valley Programme Manager. Vikki said: “We were over the moon to hear that we’d been shortlisted for three awards, so to win the Health and Wellbeing award is an incredibly proud moment for everyone at Step Forward Tees Valley.
"We were also delighted to be highly commended in the Helping People Learn and Improving our Neighbourhoods categories.
“Thanks to funding from the European Social Fund and The National Lottery Community Fund, and support from all our delivery partners, we’re able to make a real difference to the lives of people like Nicky”.
Pioneering Care Partnership and proud to work in such a transformative partnership, whereby all partners have the same goal to allow communities to take a step forward in their lives.