Examiner Community Awards 2015 — check out the nominees for the Friend of the Year award

The countdown to the Examiner Community Awards 2015 has begun! A panel of judges will choose a winner in each of the 14 categories.

The awards will be held at the John Smith’s Stadium on Wednesday, June 3, hosted by ITN newsreader Nina Hossain and between now and then we'll be profiling all the nominees by category.

Today we're featuring the nominees for Friend of the Year, the category sponsored by Locala Community Partnerships.

They said: "We’re a social enterprise with employee and local community members helping to shape the way we provide district nursing, health visiting, dental, continence, GP and many more community health services in and around Kirklees.

"We’re driven by our values such as ‘Support, care and respect’, ‘Be inspirational’ and ‘Build great communities’ and colleagues regularly go that extra mile to make a difference. They offer integrity, reliability and a high quality service in health centres, GP practices and in people’s homes.

"That’s why it’s completely appropriate for Locala to sponsor the Friend of the Year Award. We are very proud to do so and look forward to meeting the winner who we know will have done so much to selflessly help others."

Here are the three people who have made the shortlist:

Kaukub Asia

When life gets tough everyone needs a friend they can turn to for help.

And when they have become crime victims vital support is provided by Kaukub Asia.

She has worked as a volunteer for Kirklees Police for around five years, liaising with the victims of hate crime.

And Kaukub, who is visually impaired, has also been a volunteer for the charity Victim Support and a project called Surviving Trauma After Rape for nine years.

Kaukub, of Crosland Moor, is a victim liaison officer with the Youth Offending Team in Dewsbury and has just qualified as a social worker.

Multi-lingual Kaukub – who speaks both Urdu and Punjabi – has been nominated by Anne Rollinson from West Yorkshire Police, who said: “Some of these victims have needed extra attention and Kaukub has gone the extra mile to accommodate them.

“An example of this is when a lady with visual impairments was being ostracised by neighbours to the point where she left her home and stayed with different friends until re-homed.

“Kaukub met up with her, offering her support both emotionally and also in relation to assisting her with a house move. She was so grateful for everything that had been done for her.

“Kaukub also contacts victims on our behalf in her own time by telephone.”

Anne added: “Kaukub has also been essential to the proactive work of our Disability Working Group. These are held usually every six weeks and the aim of the group is to promote and raise awareness of disability hate crime with the community and offer facilities to report hate crime. Kaukub has assisted this greatly by creating materials in braille for victims, such as victim personal statements and keeping safe booklets. Her contact within the visual impairment network has been essential in developing relations with other people with visual impairments and ensuring the police have a link for them in relation to support and accessibility.”

Anne added: “Kaukub speaks various languages which is excellent in giving those people in our communities that extra special consideration and allowing them to speak more honestly about what their issues and problems are, as well as being able to fully update them. She also assisted other departments with this. Kaukub has been a great asset to our unit.”

Operation Tavernhouse

Human trafficking means abject misery and total exploitation for the victims – but a pioneering joint effort by the police and two charities has helped to save many from the criminal gangs.

These victims were friendless – but that was to change dramatically and all are now safe.

Running under the codename Operation Tavernhouse, a large scale human trafficking investigation began in the summer 2013 when the charity Hope for Justice brought a Hungarian man to the police who had been trafficked into the country to be exploited for his labour.

It quickly became apparent there was a previously unknown serious organIsed crime problem in Dewsbury with a large number of Hungarian men being brought in to be exploited in this way.

The Salvation Army, which houses human trafficking victims, also became involved.

Det Sgt Paul Simm from West Yorkshire Police’s Human Trafficking Unit and Det Con Joe Aspinall from Kirklees CID worked closely with Andy Clough, Investigation Team Leader from Hope for Justice to identify more than 30 Hungarian victims with many working in factories up to 20 hours per day yet being paid just £10 per week. They were also forced to live in severely overcrowded and squalid terraced houses, up to six to a room and, in some cases, 30 to a house. The victims suffered intimidation and threats from the traffickers who were taking their wages from the employers, but only paying a tiny proportion to the victims. During the investigation £58,000 was identified as being sent to Hungary by the suspects, proceeds of this trafficking. In May 2014 two men pleaded guilty to human trafficking and money laundering and were jailed for five and three years.

Det Insp Andy Leonard from Kirklees CID, who nominated the team, said: “Det Sgt Simm and Mr Clough forged new working relationships together not previously used in West Yorkshire to allow a free flow of necessary and relevant information between the agencies and to ensure that all victims were safely re-housed and safe from physical harm. The difference to the lives of the rescued victims is immense. This operation has led to further intelligence being received regarding other members of the crime group which is now being investigated and will lead to an international enquiry into the recruiting suspects with the National Crime Agency in Hungary.”

Ann and Jacky Beaumont

Loneliness and a feeling of isolation can be the greatest fears for elderly people ... and that’s where two women have vowed to make a difference to people’s lives.

For Ann Beaumont and her sister-in-law Jacky set up the Chimes Group for people aged over 60 in Lindley which has gone from strength to strength over the last six years.

It started with just 15 members yet now has 82 members aged from 60 to well into their 90s – and there is a waiting list.

The group meets at Lindley Liberal Club every Tuesday from 11am to 1.30pm. The average attendance is 60 to 70 and the group has quizzes, games, beetle, Zumba, speakers, singers, raffles and bingo.

The cost is just £1.50 and with that includes a warm drink and a biscuit. Sandwiches can be bought at a reduced price.

Trips out are organised to places such as the theatre in Penistone, shopping trips to places like York or Liverpool and places of interest like the Eden Camp in North Yorkshire.

Ann and Jacky were nominated by Margaret Fryer, who said: “They work hard both on the Tuesday and behind the scenes to ensure everyone has a good time. Without this club some of the members would not get to go out or to socialise with anyone – it is often the highlight of their week. I and all the members of the group would love Ann and Jacky to be recognised for all her hard work ensuring this group is the success it is.”

Ann, of Gledholt, is married to Michael and they have one son. Jacky and husband Brian live in Marsh and they have three daughters, 12 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Ann said: “Chimes has really raised the issue of living in isolation and some of our members have been on their own for a long time. They come here to see familiar faces and meet new friends and it’s really blossomed.”

Ann is also the Secretary of the Lindley Liberal club and works hard to ensure this is a very well supported club with more than 2,000 members, greatly enhancing life in Lindley.

Margaret added: “In this role she organises the Christmas trip of the older members of the Liberal Club that is free and is always fully subscribed.”

Coming tomorrow: Services to Charity nominees