Month: November 2015

Lee Winter is a familiar face to anyone who visits the Forum arts centre and theatre in Barrow, he’s always smiling as he goes about his work there as the Technical Officer.

Lee holds down this full time job and also cares for his wife Joanne. He also balances that with looking after their lovely son Oliver who has autism.

Lee is described on the form as “Very caring and hardworking.”,  the person who nominated Lee anonymously also tells us that they had read Lee’s blog and it “really touched me the dedication he has to looking after his family.”

You can read Lee’s blog about his family and running hobby (slightly more than a hobby) at http://hesnotmental.blogspot.co.uk/

Lee has also raised money for charities including the NAS furness branch through his running.

A worthy nominee, Lee is typical of many Love Barrow Awards nominees – “I’m just a carer” he said when we contacted him! I’m sure there;s a few people who think you’re a bit more than that Lee!

I like to think I keep my finger on the pulse locally, but then in this job, when you get to see the nomination forms, sometimes one jumps out about someone or a group doing amazing work that you know absolutely nothing about! How many of these unsung heroes, heroines, carers, volunteers, groups etc are out there locally doing amazing work quietly without any fanfare? Do you know of any? I’m sure you might, get them nominated and give them the opportunity to be recognised!

Here’s a fine example – the Well Recovery Group in Barrow, less than a year old but doing amazing things, I’ll let the nomination form do the talking….

“The Well are an emerging and successful grass roots recovery group led by people in recovery from an addiction for the benefit of those who wish to recover from addiction and their families.”

“Led by senior worker Carl, The Well in Barrow have really developed a recovery network of people who wish to support one another in their recovery journey, they offer opportunities for people to give back to their local community, they offer volunteering opportunities and much more. The Well are working to help people be well, recover and repair the harm caused by addiction to their health, family relationships, support reintegration into the local community and to break down the stigma associated with addiction as well as providing people with drug related offences the opportunity to gain vital work experience to support steps towards employment”

Brilliant stuff and fully deserving of a nomination!

“A great group of passionate, inspiring people who care about people affected by addiction.”

Here we go with news of some more nominees in the 2016 Love Barrow Awards – with less than a week until nominations close on Sunday the postbox is getting busy!

S.A.F.A are a local group that support, raise awareness and quite often are a lifeline for those who self-harm. S.A.F.A. stands for Self-harm Awareness for the Furness Area – and the service is very well used. Self-harming is one of those taboo subjects that lives under the radar of lots of people, but it is very real and support networks are a much needed resource to those who self-harm or have family and friends that are affected.

To give an insight into how highly they are thought of locally as a support team, I’ll quote one of the service’s users, who has taken the time to nominate the team –  “SAFA  are patient , kind, dedicated, non judgmental team, you are put at ease the second you walk through those doors. They are simply amazing.I honestly couldn’t say enough good things about them. ”

S.A.F.A made it to the finals of the 2015 Love Barrow Awards for their work locally, which they continue to provide despite fighting funding battles every day. Great to see them nominated again and good luck in the judging process!

While we’re on the subject of S.A.F.A. – we have another nomination in the postbag for the Courage award category – for Cindy Daltioni – and here’s the connection, straight from Cindy’s nomination form –  “Cindy started SAFA in 2006 as a result of past personal experiences , I think courage comes in all forms and I think that self harm is massively misunderstood, it took Cindy’s bravery and determination to step forward and say look this needs addressing… more can be done and I can do this. It took courage to step forward and the countless people that have been helped due to her bravery is just amazing !”

Do you know of a local group of project, or indeed someone who exhibits courage that deserves recognition? Nominations close Sunday 8th November!