The Home Office Awards recognise, reward and celebrate the people on the front-line who are working to tackle drugs and change lives every day.
Two awards are available, one for an individual and one for a team, each winner will receive £10,000 for their organisation to spend on the prevention or treatment of drug misuse.
The closing date for nominations is 30 August 2008 so there is still time for people to put forward the unsung heroes are making a real difference in the local community. Anyone can nominate a drug worker or drug team whether they are a friend, family member, colleague or service user.
Last year's regional team award winner was Northamptonshire's SWAN Partnership - a small multi-agency team with a range of skills and experience working with generic drug services on a daily basis, when dealing with substance using sex workers.
SWAN Co-ordinator Samantha Benfield, said:
"For us, winning the award was about achieving national recognition for the work we do to help vulnerable women in crisis across the county.
"It has really helped raise the profile of SWAN within the industry and with stakeholders, and as a result, we were able to secure funding for this financial year, which was fantastic.
"It's really important that our work continues, because if we didn't do it, women from this most marginalised sector of society would have no support at all. I would strongly encourage any agency that works in the drugs field to consider applying for these awards."
The range of services SWAN offers includes street outreach services, flexible and fast access drug treatment and support, free sexual health materials and help with accessing housing and benefits, and supported accommodation. They also help with general and sexual health advice and information, including registering with health services, support with criminal justice issues, personal safety client information, support with the police and accessing victim support, as well as training programmes for professionals on a wide range of issues.
Issued on behalf of the Home Office by COI News & PR East Midlands,
