St Martin's Challenge
A philosophy graduate, Jose Aguiar is a teacher training lecturer and educational consultant who has worked in prison education, teaching and developing educational projects for the last 13 years. He is a passionate and untiring advocate of education in prison. In 2018, he received an Inspirational Educator Award by The Worshipful Company of Educators.
At HMP Pentonville, a Category B male prison with 1200 prisoners, Jose has established a range of programmes and events. He is a distance learning co-ordinator for PET. In 2016 alone he encouraged and supported 48 prisoners to be awarded funding for PET distance learning courses, despite the constraints of prison regimes.
St Martin's Award for Prison Support
Aim: to recognise the positive contribution a former prisoner who is actively giving back to society.
Recipient: Paula Harriott
Paula Harriott is Head of Prisoner Involvement at Prison Reform Trust (PRT). She leads on integrating prisoner voice and experience into the work of PRT, influencing policy, design, delivery and evaluation of services that affect those in the criminal justice system and seeks to ensure that all policy and advocacy positions and recommendations from PRT are informed by lived experience insights. She leads the Prisoner Policy Network. She is a Trustee of the Community Chaplaincy Association. She was previously Head of Involvement at Revolving Doors Agency 2015-2107, Head of Programmes at User Voice 2010-2015. Her current passion for working with excluded members of the community on a diverse range of issues stems from personal experiences as a prisoner 2004-2012 and she promotes the values of lived expertise throughout the social justice sector; linking inclusion in design, delivery and workforce to issues of power privilege and control.
December 18, 2020 (ceremony scheduled for 2021)
St Martin's Award (for support towards Borne charity and premature birth research)
Recipients: Will and Caro Greenwood
Will Greenwood MBE is an English former rugby union player who played for Leicester Tigers and Harlequins. Capped 55 times by England, he was a member of England’s 2003 World Cup winning team. Both Will and his wife Caro Greenwood have worked tirelessly to support the work of Borne in honour of their son Freddie and other families affected by pre-term births.
St Martin's Lifetime Achievement Award
Recipient: Bobbi Riesel
Bobbi Riesel has been volunteering for Bereavement Care for over 30 years, helping those who have been bereaved, training visitors in skills to help the bereaved, fundraising and latterly acting as Trustee and Vice Chair. She is also a trained Counsellor helping abused women.
St Martin's Award for Prison Governance
Aim: to recognise the positive contribution of a UK prison governor towards the prisoners and staff in his or her care.
Recipient: Pia Sinha, HMP Liverpool
Pia Sinha qualified as a chartered psychologist and started her prison career in 1999, working in London’s Holloway women’s prison. Her primary focus as a psychologist was working with offenders with personality disorders and setting up services within the custodial environment that helped offenders address serious self-harm and violent behaviour.
Having worked as a psychologist, in many of the London and Surrey prisons, including Wormwood Scrubs and Wandsworth Prison, in 2009, Pia was selected on a fast-track scheme. Through this scheme Pia had to train and work as a prison officer and received operational training. Following a number of senior management positions, Pia came to the North-West on promotion to Deputy Governor for HMP Liverpool in 2012. This was followed by her first Governorship at HMP Thorn Cross in Cheshire and then HMP Risley two years later. Pia has been Governor at HMP Liverpool since November 2017. This appointment was a managed move in response to the poor and high profile inspection that took place in September 2017. HMP Liverpool’s re-inspection is imminent and Pia and her senior team have been working on a number of complex projects to deliver improvements on all the ‘healthy prison tests’ as identified during the inspection.
December 6, 2018
Lacon House, London
St Martin's Award for Prison Education
Aim: to recognise the positive contribution of an individual working to improve Further and Higher Education within UK prisons.
Recipient: Jose Aguiar FRSA
May 9th, 2019
Embassy of Lebanon in the United Kingdom
St Martin's Lifetime Achievement Award
Aim: To recognise the life and outstanding contribution of an individual in the field of humanitarian work
Recipient: Terry Waite CBE
Award: St Martin’s Lifetime Achievement Award presented at a reception at the Lebanese Embassy, jointly hosted by His Excellency Ambassador Rami Mortada and Dr Lewis Owens, in May 2019.
On Thursday May 9, 2019, the St Martin’s Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Terry Waite CBE at the Lebanese Embassy in London. Please click here for a selection of photos from the evening.
"Although it is an honour for me to receive the St Martin's Award, I am conscious of the fact that there are many other men and women who have done far more than myself to aid those who have suffered misfortune in life. What gives me particular pleasure is that this award will be given at the Lebanese Embassy in London. The people of Lebanon have suffered greatly over the years and have demonstrated considerable resilience in the face of extreme hardship. I trust that the award will give encouragement to people of all faiths in Lebanon and beyond who work for peace and reconciliation." Terry Waite CBE
Terry Waite has had a varied career which has encompassed negotiating for the release of hostages to being a hostage himself. Throughout his life he has worked for those who find themselves on the margins of society - the homeless, prisoners, and young people in poor countries who have few opportunities in life. He continues to freely give his time to this work and earns his living by writing and lecturing.
St Martin's Honorary Award
Aim: To recognise outstanding contribution to services for frontotemporal dementia
Recipient: Lynne Ramsay
Award: St Martin’s Honorary Award
For over 20 years, Lynne Ramsay has supported patients and families with Alzheimer’s and frontotemporal dementia. During this time she has been the Chair of the Alzheimer's Society Research Lay Panel and an external reviewer of research. In a voluntary capacity she has appealed many employment dismissal cases involving unexplained changes in employee behaviour often related to neurodegenerative conditions. As
a result of her campaigning, several cases have been reopened enabling the obtainment of medical pensions protecting homes and families.
Lynne has written about the need to raise awareness of the necessity of diagnosis and appropriate nursing and has been a Magistrate for more than 20 years in South East London. During this time she developed training for judges and magistrates on mental health, diversion and legislation which has been used nationally and internationally. For several years she was oncall for Brixton Prison.
November 6, 2019
Arboretum, London
St Martin’s Lifetime Achievement Award
Aim: To recognise the life and outstanding contribution of an individual in the field of humanitarian work
Recipient: Ingrid Betancourt
“I am delighted and honoured to receive a St Martin’s Lifetime Achievement Award, previously awarded to Terry Waite CBE. Like many others, I have suffered the darkness and despair of long captivity. I learned that any difficult experience can be transformed into hope and resilience. It was also for me an opportunity to learn forgiveness. I am also aware of the many people who still suffer in so many ways, and it is my sincere hope that these St Martin’s Awards will continue to recognise and support all people that endure in silence and solitude.”
Ingrid Betancourt.
Born December 25, 1961, in Bogotá, Colombia, Ingrid Betancourt was a politician and presidential candidate celebrated for her determination to combat widespread corruption. In 2002 she was taken hostage by the FARC, a terrorist guerrilla organization. For more than six and a half years, the FARC held her hostage in the Colombian jungle. She was rescued on July 2, 2008. She has received multiple international awards, including the French National Order of the Légion d’Honneur, The Prince of Asturias Prize of Concord, The Prize Grinzane Cavour, and was nominated to the Nobel Peace Prize for her commitment to democratic values, freedom and tolerance. She is now writing a thesis on theology at the University of Oxford.
Read here about Ingrid Betancourt receiving St Martin's Award and click on this link to see the photos from the event.
October 20, 2019
Royal Academy of Music, London
St Martin's Honorary Award
Aim: To recognise outstanding contribution to services for mental health and addiction
Recipient: Tony Adams MBE
The 2019 St Martin's Awards were presented at a special fundraising concert for the National Brain Appeal at the Royal Academy of Music, featuring acclaimed pianist Colin Stone. We were very proud to have raised over £6,000 in total for the National Brain Appeal. Please click here to see some photos from the event including Tony Adams and Lynne Ramsay receiving St Martin's Awards.
“On average, 125 people a week in the UK commit suicide, many as a result of struggles with mental health and addiction. We need to change this by talking about our thoughts and feelings in a safe space. I am deeply honoured to be awarded this St Martin’s Award, which seeks to support people on the margins of society. It is my hope that these Awards will continue to encourage people to feel they can talk openly and receive the support they need.” Tony Adams MBE
Tony Adams made his debut for Arsenal in November 1983 and played his last match in May 2002. During this time, he competed in 669 matches and became universally recognised as the most successful captain in the history of the club. Born in Romford, Tony joined Arsenal on associated schoolboy forms in 1980; four years later Terry Neill gave him his first full contract. On New Year's Day 1988 at the age of 21, he became the club's youngest ever captain. In just over a year and under the guidance of new manager George Graham, Arsenal would enter one of the most successful periods of their proud history, winning four top flight division titles, three FA Cups, two Football League Cups, a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, and three FA Community Shields with Tony captaining a title-winning team in three different decades. Tony went on to play in 66 matches for England, captaining his country on 15 occasions scoring five goals in the process. He played in World Cup and European Nation matches and had the honour of leading his country in the final match ever played at Wembley Stadium against Germany in 2000.
In 1996 Tony also had the courage to deal with his addiction to alcohol. He told his own story in his autobiography 'Addicted' published in 1998. The proceeds from this book and his commitment to helping others in sport saw the creation of Sporting Chance in the year 2000. It is now the largest provider in the world of education and treatment for sports professionals. Tony has cited this as one of his greatest achievements.