Two former homeless Burnley women honoured at glittering celebrity awards ceremony

Sally Coupe and Jade Hargreaves were among six recipients of the star studded Centrepoint Awards in London.

Now in its fourth year, The Centrepoint Awards are held to recognise the achievements of young people who have been helped by the charity and its partners across the UK.

Centrepoint provides homeless 16 to 25-year olds with support to find work and tackle physical and mental health problems, in addition to providing a safe place to stay.

Singer Tallia Storm and comedian Hussain Manawer attended the glittering event and other celebrity guests included Downton Abbey stars Matt Barber and Daisy Lewis and hairdresser Errol Douglas MBE.

The winners – recognised for their success in areas such as education, personal development and life transformation - were selected by a panel of the charity’s staff members. The individual awards were supported by organisations including The Co-operative Bank, FirstPort and Selfridges.

Sally, who was supported by Stepping Stone Projects, a partner charity of Centrepoint across the North West, was presented The Rising Star Award by TV chef and food writer, Ching He Huang.

Sally' story is both moving and inspirational. She sofa-surfed for years as a teenager and had experienced abuse from family.

Suffering from depression she developed dependencies on alcohol and other substances. Since going to Stepping Stones she has overcome these dependencies and broken the cycle of abuse. She has returned to education and recently went overseas to complete a VSO programme. She wants to become a support worker and help other young people.

Jade Hargreaves, who was also supported by the Stepping Stone Projects in Luton was presented with the Personal Development Award by Downton Abbey actress Daisy Lewis.

Jade tragically lost both her parents when she was young through separate circumstances. Despite the enormous challenges this led to in her life, she has worked really hard to turn all the negative experiences she’s had into positive ones.

She now works as a homelessness prevention worker, has a stable home, and has started a family.

Centrepoint, which has been supported by HRH The Duke of Cambridge as Patron since 2005, supports over 10,000 homeless young people every year with direct services in London, Manchester, Sunderland and Yorkshire, and through partner charities across the UK.

Seyi Obakin, CEO of Centrepoint said: "We are extremely proud of the achievements of all the young people nominated for this year’s Centrepoint Awards.

"They have shown great strength of character to overcome the obstacles in their paths, despite their different experiences of homelessness. As the rate of youth homelessness continue to climb, it’s crucial that we help even more young people tap into the resources they need early on to feel safe and transform their lives for the better.”

Tallia Storm, who presented the Inspiration Award described the award winner as a 'inspiration' saying: "They are a beacon of hope to other vulnerable young people who are experiencing homelessness and feel that they have nowhere to turn.

"I wish them all the best for the future and hope that Centrepoint is able to support the thousands of young people in need for many years to come.”