London: Homeless residents shine at awards ceremony

Mgr Armitage with Lee

The Caritas Anchor House Awards Ceremony was celebrated in style on Thursday 13 March. Once a year, the Catholic homeless charity, based in Newham, holds this event to recognise the hard work and achievements of its residents and staff.

Guests were treated to stunning performances from local schools St Angela’s and St Bonaventure’s Sixth Form choir, double act Two Different Roads and staff member Femi and his band.

Resident Lee gave a poetry recital, which was especially moving as Lee was illiterate before coming to Caritas Anchor House. She thanked her Lifestyle Architects James and Eve for all their support and gave a special mention to her mentor from Clifford Chance, Corina Foster, who has been helping her learn to read.

The awards were presented by Director Keith Fernett and Monsignor John Armitage, Chair of Trustees. Keith praised the achievements of all the residents over the past year, and was delighted to present 40 residents with certificates for their hours spent volunteering, with special awards going to Sammy, Francis, Elzbieta, Rahel, Alan, Robert and David, who have been especially active in the volunteering programme.

Lee won the award for Most Inspirational Resident for her active role with the Education, Training and Employment Department and her commitment to improving her literacy this year and Best Contribution to Caritas Anchor House went to Josephine. Josephine undertook the role of Recovery Café Manager this year, cooking healthy meals for the Café every week and supporting the various events that have taken place.

Khulisa were named as Best Community Partner, with Robin Lockhart collecting the award on behalf of the organisation. Khulisa works with offenders and those at-risk of crime and have been delivering Face It training to Caritas Anchor House residents.

Monsignor John Armitage closed the ceremony, congratulating all the winners and reflecting on the achievements of the charity over the past year. He spoke of how far the charity has progressed since its beginnings as a seaman’s mission, and emphasized the important of continuing to act as a community.

“I’m extremely proud to be able to celebrate so many achievements by our residents,” said Director Keith Fernett. “These awards have really made it clear how much they do on a daily basis and we really want that to be recognised. The fact that some residents have done over 1000 hours’ worth of volunteering, for example, is truly astonishing and we’re very proud. ”

To find out more about the charity and what they do, please visit their website at www.caritasanchorhouse.org.uk. Alternatively, if you would like to make a donation towards their work, please send a cheque payable to Caritas Anchor House to 81 Barking Road, London E16 4HB.