Since 2017, we have proudly organised the ILLY Practitioner of the Year Award to highlight the hard work and dedication of individuals within the Public Health Sector.
This year, in recognition of the outstanding team effort that all services have demonstrated in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we decided it would be more appropriate to organise a Team of the Year Award.
The standard of nominations for this year’s ILLY Team of the Year Award has been incredibly high, as services have had no issues demonstrating best practice and innovative working to support their clients. As a result, we decided to categorise the award into a single Gold Award for the winner and Silver Awards for those worthy teams who were shortlisted for their hard-work and dedication.
We are delighted to announce that the winner of this year’s Gold Award is the Recovery Near You Service in Wolverhampton for their excellence and devotion in the Public Health Sector. Helen, Carl and Abigail from the service very kindly spoke to us about the amazing work their team has done this year:
Here is a short video of some of the day’s highlights:
Big thank you to all our Silver Award Winners!
Developing Health & Independence – South Gloucestershire Drug and Alcohol Team
“I am so proud of the DHI team and how well everyone has adapted and innovated in response to the Covid pandemic. Not only did DHI services remain open, but we expanded our services to offer new and creative ways of supporting individuals in recovery. The South Gloucestershire team have modelled the DHI behaviours of self-direction, stimulation and zest for life, throughout the pandemic response and I’d like to thank every worker, volunteer and peer for their dedication during this time.”
Rhiannon Holder – Integrated Service Manager
The Edge – West Berkshire
“The Edge are a small team of dedicated and committed staff delivering excellent work with young people in West Berkshire. In the past 18 months the team have pioneered a drug diversion scheme with Thames Valley Police, this scheme diverts young people caught with simple possession of any drug away from the criminal justice system into an education and harm reduction programme consisting of six sessions.”
Dave Wraight – Service Manager
North Somerset Substance Advice Service
“I believe in the work we provide, the differences we see in young people’s lives and when you work for a team where your values are upheld. I came into this line of work to make a difference and I believe the work we provide at the Substance Advice Service delivers.”
Charlotte Beale – Drugs Worker
NGAGE with Aquarius
“I’m incredibly proud of how our team has pulled together during the pandemic and how innovative they have been in making myCarePath a useful and youth friendly addition/tool to be used with our client group.”
Ali Mills – Service Manager
South Kent Coastal Dover Team – Forward Trust
“I have been incredibly impressed with the Dover Team this year, as we have continuously supported each-other and our clients during a particularly challenging period for our community. As a team, we always go above and beyond to make a difference and this has shone through during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Debbie Hagger – Drug and Alcohol Practitioner
The Grove Drug Service – Haringey
“We are very proud of our Team at The Grove, as they responded quickly and positively to the huge changes in service delivery that were required at the start of lockdown. Testament to the dedication of the team is the fact that 90% of opiate users in treatment in the lockdown period were retained in treatment or successfully completed/transferred.”
Alison Hart – Performance Manager
Catch 22 Hampshire 247 Team – Inclusion
“I couldn’t be more proud of the team in Hampshire – this has shown just what amazing work they do to support young people, no matter what challenges they face, even a global pandemic!”
Julie Poling – Service Manager
Thank You!
At ILLY, our mission is to make a positive social change through the use of technology and data, and we are incredibly lucky to be partnered with so many passionate organisations who work with us to turn this into a reality!
Once again, thanks for making it such a special event.
Next Steps
Our Client Services Team will be in touch to gather feedback from the day and arrange any actions going forward.
If you have any questions regarding the above, please don’t hesitate to contact us and we’ll be happy to help:
0207 749 2222 
clientservices@illycorp.com