Turning Tides shortlisted for the Charity Awards 2025

May 2025

Turning Tides is delighted to announce that it has made the shortlist for this year’s national Charity Awards, the longest-running and most prestigious awards scheme in the charity sector. The organisation has been shortlisted in the ‘Social care, advice & support’ category for its Housing First model, which aims to provide clients with a stable home first, alongside person-centred, holistic support with no specified end point.

All 30 shortlisted charities this year have been judged by an independent panel of sector leaders as having demonstrated best practice in leadership and management.

In the UK, homelessness is on the rise; the number of people sleeping rough is estimated to have increased by 19% between 2023 and 2024. Traditional methods of addressing homelessness are through what is known as a staircase method: people are contacted, they move into supported accommodation, then into lower-support “move-on” accommodation before finally securing their own property and leaving the service. However, in many other countries such as a the USA, Canada, Finland and France, a Housing First model is used.

Turning Tides adopted a Housing First model in 2020, providing people with housing ‘first’ – a stable home from which to start rebuilding a life. The only requirement is a commitment to a tenancy; no other conditions are imposed. The Housing First team has worked with 37 people since it began across Worthing, Horsham, Mid-Sussex and Crawley. 22 of these people are now supported in permanent accommodation.

The 10 category winners will be announced at a black-tie dinner on Thursday 3 July, held at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London. The evening will be hosted by BBC news presenter Asad Ahmad, who will be joined on the night by a host of celebrities, representatives of the shortlisted charities, and leaders from Britain’s best loved charities.

Matthew Nolan, chief executive of Civil Society Media which organises the Charity Awards, congratulated Turning Tides on making the highly-coveted shortlist. He said:

“At a time when the sector is struggling with higher costs, shrinking donations and ever-increasing demand for its work, it is reassuring and inspiring to see the extent and quality of charitable activity that is still going on across the country.

“We offer our heartfelt congratulations to all the charities on this year’s shortlist; we know that times are tough and you should all be very proud of getting this far. We wish Turning Tides the best of luck on the night.”