Nightstop Devon wins prestigious national award

We are delighted to be able to announce that Nightstop Devon who are affiliated to Depaul Nightstop UK have been awarded the Guardian Newspaper Charity of the Year Award for 2011. One thousand charities entered the awards this year so for Nightstop to win is great recognition for the local voluntary sector as a whole.

Judges included actress Jane Asher, Dame Suzi Leather (head of the charity commission), Baroness Howarth of Breckland OBE and Lynne Berry OBE, associate of Civil Exchange. Prizes include £6,000 and tailored packages of support from the Media Trust and the Foundation for Social Improvement. Dame Suzi Leather said

"Nightstop Devon is an absolutely brilliant project and we wanted to recognise the fantastic match of public generosity for this really vulnerable group of people"

Nightstop Devon has a team of volunteers who provide a room for the night to youngsters (aged 16-25) who would otherwise be facing a night on the street. Most young people who use the scheme are homeless due to family breakdown and have never been in a similar situation before. Nightstop aims to provide the practical support that vulnerable young people need at this crisis point. This helps to ensure that they do not get sucked in to a cycle of rough sleeping and the increased risk of mental and physical health problems, isolation, drug and alcohol use and crime that being homeless can bring. In the last year, Nightstop arranged over 500Nightstop placements for 171 young people in the local area.

Nightstop Devon staff and volunteers attended the Awards Ceremony at the Guardian offices on Thursday December 15th, where they were presented the award by actor Jonathon Pryce. Kevin Hunter, Nightstop Project Coordinator, said "We are all very proud to have won this award. It is recognition of the amazing work our volunteers have done over the last 10 years. Our referrals have more than doubled over the last few years, and with increased financial pressures on families and individuals, we are expecting this trend to continue in the coming year. Winning this national award is also a reflection of the important role the voluntary sector plays in the South West. Small charity projects like Nightstop Devon work with marginalised young people and show that issues such as homelessness and poverty unfortunately exist in Devon as much as they do anywhere else in the country"

Nightstop have a number of hosts in the Exeter area. Volunteer hosts Ken and Iain from Exeter said "We have been hosting for Nightstop for over nine years. We have found the young people grateful and pleasant, almost without exception. The most memorable was a young woman who made a tiny bird for us before our very eyes from a sheet of paper. It is, she told us, an Asian symbol of hospitality. It was a moving gesture and we still have it years on."

'Julie' a 19-year old who has stayed on Nightstop, said ""I can't believe that people actually volunteer to take in people like me. I think the people who do this are wonderful. I'd like to help people like this when I'm older. If it hadn't been for Nightstop, I don't know where I'd be now"

To see a video about Nightstop Devon go to The Guardian Charity Award Winners 2011