The national Tackling Drugs Changing Lives Awards, now in their second year, recognise, reward and celebrate the unsung heroes who go over and above the call of duty to tackle drug use in communities across the country. Ten regional winners have been announced for the individual award and ten for the team award.
Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said:
"This year we received over 400 nominations for drug workers and teams who are working tirelessly every day to tackle drugs and change lives. All the nominations in the South West were outstanding but Jan Hooper stood out for the remarkable work she is doing in her local community."
"Drug use and drug related crime have fallen in recent years. This is in part because of our enforcement, education and treatment strategy, but we could not achieve such impressive results without the dedication of the many professionals and volunteers in England and Wales."
"These awards celebrate the great contribution they make in helping individuals overcome addictive and harmful drugs, which in turn helps their families and communities."
Jan was overjoyed when she heard the news. She said:
"I'm honoured to be regional winner of the individual award. We spend a lot of time building strong supportive relationships with clients on compulsory treatment orders, dealing with difficult issues, so it especially rewarding to have won the award after being nominated by a client."
Two overall national winners will be announced on 12 December 2007 and each will receive £10,000 for their organisation to spend on prevention or treatment of drug use.
The Tackling Drugs Changing Lives Awards will be held in London on 12 December. Full information on the Awards 2007 can be found via the link below.
