Turning Tides: The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service presented to West Sussex charity for the homeless

By Elaine Hammond
Published 1st Sep 2021, 17:37 BST
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Turning Tides, a community-led charity with a mission to end homelessness in West Sussex, has been presented with The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest honour given to voluntary groups in the UK.

The award was made by the Queen in 2020 but due to Covid-19, could not be presented to the charity until now.

Mrs Susan Pyper, Lord-Lieutenant of West Sussex, presented the award on behalf of the Queen to John Holmstrom, chief executive, in front of invited guests at the Littlehampton Community Hub on Wednesday afternoon.

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Mrs Pyper said: “You are a group of very special people. Very few actually get awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, so it is a very prestigious award. You have set the bar very high.”

Mrs Susan Pyer, Lord Lieutenant of West Sussex, presents the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service to Turning Tides chief executive John Holmstrom. Picture: Steve Robards SR2109011Mrs Susan Pyer, Lord Lieutenant of West Sussex, presents the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service to Turning Tides chief executive John Holmstrom. Picture: Steve Robards SR2109011
Mrs Susan Pyer, Lord Lieutenant of West Sussex, presents the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service to Turning Tides chief executive John Holmstrom. Picture: Steve Robards SR2109011

She introduced Deputy Lieutenants Peter Webb and Simon Knight, who had acted as assessors.

Mrs Pyper said: “They went into everything, paperwork, safeguarding, finances, and they got know the organisation very well. It can be quite a formidable experience.

“You are a group of ordinary people doing extraordinary things and in this case, I really, really mean it.