London Social Justice 2009

For London based campaigners tackling poverty and its root causes. This award is geared towards providing solutions and opportunities to the problems facing the capital and its communities.

This award is sponsored by City Parochial Foundation.

Winner

Renuka Bhakta

‘Save Amardeep’- Kindred Minds Project, Southwark Mind

In June 2007 South London and Maudsley NHS Trust closed the South-Asian only drop-in session run by the Amardeep Community Mental Health Team – which had been the only culturally sensitive mental health day provision for the local South Asian communities.  Renuka is working with others on the ‘Save Amardeep’ campaign, which was set up by a number of mental health service users to re-instate the one day a week drop-in which had been running for over 12 years. 

Finalists

Samuel Akpabio

‘Cifer -Creating Innovation from Experience’, Service Users Network  

Sam is campaigning for the voice of those who are or have been homeless to be heard at all levels.  The campaign seeks to bring together service users to design a Homelessness Agenda formulated by the homeless themselves, to feed into wider policy debate and target key stakeholders at local, regional and national levels.  The campaign is underpinned by a strong belief in the importance of the customer voice – especially of those who are labelled ‘homeless’ – being central in the shaping of policy and services. 

Jerome Phelps

‘Detained Lives’, London Detainee Support Group

The Detained Lives campaign aims to end indefinite immigration detention, through initiating a wider public debate and enabling detainees’ voices to be heard. It highlights the human cost of incarcerating for long and indefinite periods asylum seekers and other immigrants who cannot be deported. Having seen detainees being detained for longer and longer periods and who are increasingly despairing of ever being released, Jerome has become involved in campaigning to tackle this injustice.

Award judges

Bharat Mehta OBE

Bharat is Chief Executive of the City Parochial Foundation, a funding body established in 1891 to benefit the poor of London. He is also a trustee of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Prior to this, he was Chief Executive of the National Schizophrenia Fellowship (renamed RETHINK). He has also worked for the Medical Research Council (MRC), the National Council for the Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and was a non-executive director of the North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust.

Maggie Baxter

Maggie is a freelance consultant advising two charitable foundations as well as developing a series of animated films alerting women around the world to being tricked into being trafficked. Last year she founded Rosa, the first UK Fund for women & girls. Previously she was Executive Director of WOMANKIND Worldwide, Deputy Chief Executive and Grants Director at Comic Relief. She is Chair of Rosa trustees, and is a Trustee of City Parochial Foundation, Trust for London, Hilden Charitable Fund, Women for Refugee Women, Dance United and Green Belt Movement International.