Our team was nominated for an Anti-Slavery Award | News

Partnership colleagues from the Focus Homeless Community Mental Health Team attended the National Anti-Slavery Awards ceremony on Tuesday 17 October at the Houses of Parliament.

The team, based in Camden, were nominated by Pawel Zabielski (above left), the service manager at Olallo House which is a safe house for victims of modern slavery. The team supports Olallo House’s residents with severe trauma-based mental health issues resulting from their experiences as victims of modern slavery.

The team was the only NHS team of the four nominees in the statutory category, with the other three belonging to the Police.

Pawel gave the following as part of a supporting statement for Focus’s nomination:

“The input and support provided for the Olallo House residents by the Focus team has enabled them to either overcome or significantly alleviate their negative mental health and mood-related symptoms, facilitating their recovery. 

“The collaborative approach between Olallo House and the Focus Mental Health Team has helped to ensure a holistic approach to care, which has resulted in positive, life-enhancing outcomes for many of our victims of modern slavery.”

The awards ceremony

The awards ceremony was held in The Speaker’s House at the Houses of Parliament. The evening started with a speech from the Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle and the awards were presented by Yvette Cooper MP, the Shadow Home Secretary.

Focus Homeless Community Mental Health Team Manager Mark Worsley (above centre) attended the ceremony with the team’s Duty Coordinator Victoria Thorpe Jones (above right).

Although the team did not take home the award on the night, being nominated is still a significant achievement.

Mark shared his thoughts on his team’s success:

“This is an achievement and accomplishment to have been shortlisted for such a prestigious national award of which I think we can be justly proud.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all members of the Focus team for our work in supporting victims of modern slavery.

“Alongside our work with the homeless population, we continue to support a demographic of some of the most disenfranchised people in society. This nomination is a recognition of that work.”