Deservedly, John received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Sevenoaks District Awards Making it Happen. 17th February 2023 marked the 20 Year anniversary of John working for Kent’s leading rehabilitation charity, Kenward Trust, including 16 years as Sevenoaks Substance Misuse Outreach Worker.

“I remember my first outreach session in 2005, during Halloween at Greatness Park. In 2010 I became manager of the Youth Service, which has now grown as a team and we deliver high impact intervention and prevention educational presentations in schools and colleges around Kent.

I’m thrilled to have received this award, I am truly honoured and I am proud of the work that has been achieved over the years. The Kenward Trust Youth Services Team make a huge difference to families, helping young people to make the right choices.

Once promoted John helped develop the Drug and Alcohol intervention programme in Sevenoaks, and delivered this to young people who were caught with low level substances and this gave them the opportunity to attend a course. In addition to this he developed the interactive resources Kenward still uses today in schools and in outreach work, so that there were different styles of learning and taking in information. This model of work was then carried out across other areas of Kent including Malling, Tonbridge and also Maidstone.

John has worked with partners such as Police, KCC youth projects, SAYT, House in the Basement and many more. He trained Youth Workers, assisted parents with talks and support and has worked closely with any parish councils. In total, John has made a big difference to families, even moving through the generations by mentoring individuals and maintaining connections.

If you are a school in Kent, and would like to book Kenward’s Youth Team’s invaluable talk, please contact christy.bishop@knewardtrust.org.uk or see more https://kenwardtrust.org.uk/services/youth-work