The awards, now in their third year, recognise and celebrate those unsung heroes who go over and above the call of duty in tackling drug use in communities across the country. Ten regional winners have been announced in total for the individual award and ten for the team award.
Home Office Minister Alan Campbell said "This year we received over 360 nominations for the drug workers and teams who work tirelessly every day to tackle drug misuse and change lives. All the nominations in the North East were outstanding but Families First and George Wake stood out for the remarkable work they are doing in their local community.
"Overall drug use among adults and young people is at its lowest level in more that ten years. Such impressive results could not have been achieved without the dedication of all the many professionals and volunteers in England and Wales working to ensure that our communities are free of drug-related crime, that drug misusers enter and finish treatment, that there is tough enforcement of the law.
"These awards celebrate the great contribution they make in helping individuals overcome addictive and harmful drugs, which in turn makes a huge difference to their families and their communities."
Families First by was established two years ago by Middlesbrough Council. Its ethos is to help families stay together and prevent children from being taken into care because of parental substance misuse
"This award is a credit to the families we work with and the hard work and dedication of the multi-skilled team that is brought together to help each family," said Suzy Kitiching, Families First Team Manager. "We work with some of the most disadvantaged families in Middlesbrough who have reached crisis point due to parental substance misuse We do everything we can to keep children with their families where it is safe and possible to do so. The skills of the whole team, across the children and adults side, come together to work with the whole family"
David Jackson of Middlesbrough Council nominated Families First for Tackling Drugs Changing Lives Award. He congratulated the team on their success and said "We have had excellent feedback from an independent evaluation of the work that Families First does, but more importantly, from the families themselves, many of which wouldn't be together without the intense support that is on offer by the team. Well done to all involved."
Searching church yards, railway arches and alleys at the crack of dawn or late at night for rough sleepers is all in day's work for retired policeman George Wake, for a job he regards as a vocation and has carried out with a passion for the last five years.
George had been a police officer for 30 years, and during that time, he came across families who wanted help to get their children off drugs and so he came to understand what help and support was available. When George retired he decided to continue with this type of work.
Firstly with Turning Point and now, as a drugs worker with Tyneside Cyrenians funded and supported by the Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) George adopts an incredibly flexible approach to his task of helping people get off and stay off drugs and thinks nothing of early starts, late finishes and working at weekends.
"Building trust with people is essential," said George, "not everybody is ready to give up when I first meet them. By getting to know them and them getting to know me and know that they can trust me, when that point comes, we can do whatever it takes to help somebody become ordinary again. I'll go where they go so that when they are ready to make that change they know where to find me."
Two overall national winners will be announced on 10 December in London and each will receive £10,000 for their organisation to spend on prevention or treatment of drug misuse.
