A Brighton charity has been recognised with a Queen’ Award for Voluntary Service for its work to improve the lives of troubled men and their families.
The award – given to A Band of Brothers – is the highest award for voluntary groups.
It is due to be presented this evening (Monday 20 July) at the Corn Exchange by the Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex Peter Field as the Queen’s representative.
The charity was started six years ago. It said that it had “a remarkable success rate”.
It had “prevented more than 80 per cent of young men from reoffending by applying mythodrama and contemporary rites of passage as a process for building awareness and understanding”.
It added: “This process enables young men to regain their true identity and discover their sense of community purpose.
The government estimates that the financial cost of troubled families is £9 billion each year, £8 billion of which is spent purely reacting to the problems caused and experienced by these families.
“By comparison, an estimated £1 billion (just 11 per cent of total expenditure) was being spent on targeted interventions to help families address their problems long-term.
“A Band of Brothers is now recognised by the government for its innovative approach in tackling the issue, which has now seen the organisation grow from a small Brighton charity into a national social enterprise working with the criminal justice system and other government agencies.”
The Lord Lieutenant said: “A Band of Brothers is an exciting charity that is delivering real positive transformation to the lives of troubled men – especially young men.
“The Queen’s Award is a very special award for community service and I was pleased to make the presentation on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen.
“This is the highest honour a voluntary organisation can receive and it is equivalent to a group MBE.”
The charity, which is based in East Brighton, looks to be on course to become one of the leading organisations working within the criminal justice system to prevent young people from reoffending.
Brighton and Hove City Council leader Warren Morgan said: “The success of A Band of Brothers is truly inspirational and they have done so much to turn around the lives of young men in the area I represent and across the city. I hope for many years of continued success.”
The charity’s chief executive Nathan Roberts said: “This is a great honour to be recognised for our work but to receive the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service is a real privilege and testimony to the hard work of all the men who give their time to help build positive communities.
“I’m deeply grateful for their commitment to this very important cause. We want to build resilient communities but in order to do that we need to reimagine the role of men and fundamentally change men’s roles and responsibilities in the world beyond the hero stereotype that’s commonly perpetuated.
“By bringing generations of men together to collaborate in a meaningful and common purpose, A Band of Brothers acts as a catalyst for creating social capital at a local level.
“Our work is only just beginning and this is a great achievement but we’ve got a long way to go.
“We need more men willing to step up and help transform the lives of young men by being constructive role models and mentors. Together we can make a huge difference.”
For more information about A Band of Brothers visit: http://abandofbrothers.org.uk.
