The 2023 Sense Awards

Welcome to the Sense Awards 2023, celebrating some outstanding achievements of people living with complex disabilities, their families and the people who support them.

We’re celebrating 20 years of the awards, so we’re excited to share these inspirational stories and moments of joy with you.

The awards, hosted by disability campaigner, author and presenter Samantha Renke, will take place on Thursday, 23 November, at 6pm. #SenseAwards https://www.sense.org.uk/sense-awards/

Who are we?

Sense is for everyone living with complex disabilities. For everyone who is deafblind. Sense is here to help people communicate and experience the world. We believe that no one, no matter how complex their disabilities, should be isolated, left out, or unable to fulfil their potential.

To find out how we can support you visit https://www.sense.org.uk/

No one left out of life.

I think the stce award is brilliant I was nominated for best campaigner I didn’t even know how to feel to be honest I just felt why me so why do you think you were you were picked as a winner because I like me I put nominated

For a S award because of the fundraising I did I was recognized enough for someone to nominate me but good winning inward makes you um feel wanted important it helps build your confidence a bit just think is it’s great to make everyone feel a part of something and

Knowing that what they’re doing is important and just amazing well hello lovely people and welcome to the sense Awards 2023 my name is Samantha Rank and I am delighted to be your host for this very special ceremony for 20 years the sense Awards had celebrated the amazing achievements of people who are death

Blind or who have complex disabilities as well as those members of our communities who are helping to create a more inclusive world for disabled people on behalf of s I’d like to thank everybody who took the time to make a nomination we’ve been overwhelmed by incredible stories and today’s Awards

Can only recognize some of the wonderful achievements taking place thank you also to our judges who have had the challenge of reviewing all the nominations and picking our winners this year our judging panel consistent of TV chef and presenter briany Williams influencer Lauren Gilbert paralympian sioban Fitzpatrick children’s author Dan White

Singer Alise Ena and sense chief executive Richard Kramer throughout the ceremony we want to hear from you you can tweet using the hash sense Awards to tell us how you’re enjoying it and to share your Heroes now without further Ado let’s start the Sens award 2023 person of the

Year the person of the year award recognizes an individual who has had an exceptional 12 months and achieved something amazing the nominees for this year’s person of the year are Jade cotton Jade cotton has had an amazing year securing her first ever paid job Jade 36 has been

A driving force in sense’s campaign for job centers to better support disabled people into work sharing her story in the news and campaigning for the government to do more now Jade who has several poy is non-verbal and registered blind has proven just how valuable good support can be when looking for work as

Jade has herself recently found a job working for the NHS Jade isn’t just passionate about supporting more disabled people into work she’s also Champion sense’s campaign to help people with complex disabilities through the cost of living crisis too Jade is a truly Fearless campaigner Paige Barnes Paige Barnes

Lives with Usher syndrome and is passionate about educating the public about death blindness it was a huge shock to Paige when she found out she had Asha age 17 however Paige was determined to keep seeing friends and going to college she now says she wouldn’t change anything about her life

She’s working at an airport is in a romantic relationship and is living life to the fullest Paige says her goal in life is to be proud of her identity and help others feel proud of theirs too so she has shared her story in the news to inspire others she has also visited

Parliament and spoken to MPS about what it’s like to be de blind and ran the London Marathon to raise over £1,000 for sense’s work despite the challenges of training to run with limited Vision Dan Hudson this year Dan Hudson won an impressive three medals at a special olym Olympics in Berlin Dan is

Autistic epileptic and has a learning disability and has had the opportunity to try a range of sports through Special Olympics Sheffield Dan has competed nationally at Athletics and equestrian events then nine years ago he started temping bowling and really took to it this year he competed in the sport

Internationally for the first time despite the challenges of a busy and at times overwhelming schedule Dan won medals in all three of his events his mom says she couldn’t be prouder of him and the winner of this award is Paige bonds first of all just want to say

Being having me part The Experience doing the l math on going to different events to help raise awareness raise money for everyone’s support and KN in those such an amazing thinging that upon personal the year 2023 award I couldn’t be any more grateful for my family my friends my boyfriend

And support since 2023 definitely changed my life in a good way you all helped me grow to theing spirital personing as everyone says if you thought Me 2 years ago that I would be where I am today I wouldn’t be you so I just want to say thank you for everyone’s support and

Award next up is the young person of the year award which recognizes someone under the age of 25 who has had an incredible year they may have been particularly creative overcome adversity or made a positive impact in their Community the nominees for young person of the year are Thomas Cordon s college

Student Thomas Cordon spent much of his childhood unconfident but now 21 Thomas has really built his self-confidence through his love of Music Thomas who has autism and speech and language difficulties has passed his grade 8 piano exam and his level three music course both with distinction and is

Sharing his journey on his YouTube channel where hundreds of subscribers listen to his piano Renditions of pop songs musicals and hymns he wants to challenge himself to try all aspects of music including conducting composing and learning the drums Chloe Taylor Roberts Chloe Taylor Roberts who’s just turned 6 years old

Has autism sensory processing disorder and Global development delay she struggled in mainstream nurseries and her parents felt very negatively about her future for years Chloe didn’t speak and wouldn’t acknowledge her brother’s existence or the presence of other people however Chloe has become a different person since attending census

Play sessions at sense touch base pairs after getting to know sense staff and working hard to get involved in the sessions Chloe is starting to speak use makaton and join in songs she’s achieved so many Milestones that might be small to others but are huge to Chloe’s family

Like starting to laugh Chapman shim 13-year-old Chapman schim is an exceptionally talented pianist achieving a distinction in his grade 8 exam by age 11 and now playing at music venues across the country Chapman was born blind and has speech and learning difficulties he struggled to make friends over the years but he

Has found comfort and confidence through playing the piano and recently has made a strong connection with his new friend Gabby who Chapman was matched with through sensor’s virtual buddying program the pair have bonded over their shared love of music and even performed on BBC breakfast together showcasing

Their music skills and the power of friendship and the is Chap sh thank you s for giving me this Awards this is amazing I hope my experience can inspire people who are also facing difficulties cuz if I can do it you can do it too lastly I want to thank my bud

G for the weekly online session I really like it thank you says thank you so so much Hi I’m Richard ker chief executive of sense and sense International sense exists to support people with complex disabilities and those with death less to take part in life and enjoy the meaningful connections that spark Joy but thousands of disabled people are still missing out on the vital support they need the

Pandemic and now the cost of living crisis has made things harder it’s made existing barriers worse and exposed new issues that’s why it sense we’re working on improving the support we offer we’re delivering more support in local communities services like sense Hub lfra which open this year are supporting more

Children and adults where they live we’re scaling up our online provision so people can benefit from programs like virtual buddying helping to tackle isolation and loneliness and we’ll never stop campaigning to change from more financial support for households during the cost of living crisis to securing further investment in rest bite

Services we believe everyone should be able to take part in life and we’re aiming to reach more people than ever on behalf of everyone at sense thank you for your continued support young sibling of the Year siblings play huge role in the lives and well-being of the disabled brothers and sisters the

Nominees for young sibling of the year are FIA Nisbet FIA Nisbet has turned six and is already helping her parents look after her little brother Troy Troy is two and was born with charge syndrome for fear her brothers arrived during lockdown was a big upheaval she was

Unable to meet him for 6 months and lived in a room in a Ronald McDonald House near the hospital Troy has been through multiple life-saving operations which was stressful for the whole family and he now needs 24-hour care feia never complains but instead helps her parents by letting them know when she thinks

Troy needs suction or swiftly bringing swabs and generally always being a great big sister FIA says that she loves her little brother and her favorite time is when the PA play hit the balloon together Georgia Ross Georgia Ross was a devoted sister to Oliver 17 who was diagnosed with an untreatable brain

Tumor in July 2021 and very sadly died in August this year forced to mature quickly to support her big brother and deal with the painful understanding that he would not not get better Georgia focused on Oliver he became her world she helped fund raised for his immunotherapy treatment

In Germany and traveled there with him reassuringly holding his hand throughout treatment she fundraised for Oliver’s bucket list and made photo frames of his experiences as Oliver’s condition deteriorated Georgia regularly slept in his room to give her mama a break and also provide Oliver with Comfort she has

Been a consistent and wonderful source of emotional and practical support for the family Eevee barisford Eevee barisford is 10 years old and an amazing sister to her disabled big brother Matty 23 in fact she is his favorite person in the whole world Eve learned to use makaton keyword signing to communicate

With Matty who is deaf and supported at s touch face pairs now she has been teaching it to other children during special assemblies at her school and at a beaver Scouts meeting kind and compassionate eeve always stands up for the disabled people she meets and will

Make sure that they feel noticed in a world that can sometimes ignore them the winner of this category is Thea nisbit with I’ve got some good news your sibling of the year how do you feel about that very proud oh you’re proud yes yeah yes and how do you think Troy

Feels about you being his big sister very excited is he excited about you look how happy he is for you that’s great news isn’t it yeah next up is Our Family carer of the Year this award is so important because it recognizes the best of human nature caras hold families together enable

Loved ones to get the most out of life and make a huge contribution to society the nominees for family carer of the year are Julie proud Julie proud is an amazing carer who has inspired everyone at sense with her huge desire to make positive changes for family carers her adult daughter

Natalie is partially cited and has several pausy and learning disabilities a mom of three Julie and her husband work Round the Clock to make sure Natalie has a happy life despite the challenges Julie always focuses on what her family can do rather than what they can’t she also found time to support

Senses give care as a break campaign even giving live radio and TV interviews to help raise awareness of what it’s really like to be a family carer Carla Alderman Carla Alderman is Mom to 10-year-old Cameron who lives with Nori disease he was born blind has Progressive hearing loss and has faced

Multiple surgeries Carla worked tirelessly to support him and fight for every opportunity to improve his quality of life after completing intervenor training to better understand what life is like for de blind people she wanted to use these skills alongside caring for her son so Carla applied to work for

Sense as an intervener for adults she now works in the community with a de blind person her family said Carla faces every challenge with so much strength because she wants to make a difference we’re very proud of her Darfield Daren field was already a full-time paid care for his mom Barbara

Who has numerous conditions including fibromyalgia and chronic kidney disease when his dad Jack became ill so 15 years ago Darren voluntarily took on caring for his dad too despite all the extra unpaid work this involved his parents who nominated him for a sense of what to

Say thank you admit they do not know what they would do without Darren’s help his mom said Darren has remained constant in his quest to ensure we are not suffering he never thinks of himself at all he is always cheerful and does not let life get himd down

I can announce our family carer of the year is Julie proud hello just got back from collecting Natalie from uh her day set at s petsburgh to discover that I’ve won family care of the year that’s wonderful thanks very much really happy with that very kind um but I accept this on behalf

Of all how we car is in sense well everywhere and um thank you very much it’s great thank you I think you you need support like every person would need support if they are caring for someone especially 24/7 you do need a break you do need some sort of sanity W

Mia is nonverbal but she does show off a lot of of love she really speaks through her eyes and we do have a really special bond when Mia became nail by mouth and was tube fed um I quit working so I could become her full-time carer from

The moment she WS up to the moment she goes to bed I feed her dress her carry her around everywhere give her a medication but it doesn’t really stop when she does go to bed she does have insomnia so I’ve always got to be alert at night listening out for

Her when I do get a break when she’s at school 2 days a week I’m always catching up on life admin doing bits that I can’t do with meia you know food shop or popping to the chemist making sure that she’s stocked up on her feed 14 15 16 17

18 19 the time goes so quickly and before I know I’ve got to pick her up again which is um a long and lengthy process in itself true rest bite would mean um you know a night or like a small break a couple of nights away where Mia

Is looked after by someone that can care for a properly and I can just spend those nights having full night sleep and not have them to be woken up cuz we need time to almost recuperate and gain energy again while waiting for support a rest

By um I’ve just got to get on with it um make her the happiest I can and give her the best care possible y you got two in one one in five family carers can’t remember the last time they had a break join us in calling for more support for carers sense.org

Do/ give carers a break sense no one left out of life sense.org we now move on to our campaigner of the Year award those shortlisted have championed the rights of people living with complex disabilities at a local or national level and the the nominees are Lowry James Larry James’s daughter Mia

Is non-mobile and nonverbal requiring 24-hour care and specialist equipment having left her full-time job to become Mia’s kater Larry struggles with the intensity of care and feels like it never stops even when Mia is at school despite her patch schedule Lowry shared her story for sensei’s give

Katers a break campaign including in the Charity’s powerful campaign video the video is one of cti’s highest performing ever and her experiences made a big impact on the campaign transport for All Transport for all is a disabled Le group striving to improve access to transport and Street space across the

UK it has played a leading role opposing proposals to close many of the UK’s ticket offices at sense we know that access to public transport can be a barrier preventing people with complex disabilities playing a full part in their communities transport for all are doing incredible work to shine a light on the

Negative impacts of these proposals anat tesel Ana tesel is a mum of three whose eldest Charlie has a condition that means he can’t regulate his body temperature this has had a huge impact on Anna’s energy bells and overall costs during the cost of living crisis Anna’s own experiences spurred

Her to campaign with sense to raise awareness of the extra cost disabled people face since bravely sharing her story in the media she’s become a regular campaigner including attending Westminster and number 10 to share her experience and hand in sensei’s cost of living petition and live vlogging her experience campaigning for

Sense our campaigner of the year is Anna tesda good evening and um I just wanted to say a huge thank you um even the nomination for me was it blew me away we got involved with sense because we got a grant um and I wanted to give something

Back to them um for me it’s really important to support my son to have a voice um otherwise it would be lost um and I wanted to be able to say this isn’t good enough um and I hope I am able to support sense and give my son a

Voice at the same time um I just want to say massive thank you and um this award is in memory of Lawrence and Jack two very important people that we’ve lost this year unfortunately um so thank you volunteer of the Year sense wouldn’t be able able to do

What it does without the charity volunteers from shop volunteers helping to raise vital income for the Charity’s work to the volunteers on sense holidays delivering incredible experience to disabled people this award is for the people who use their time to do amazing things the nominees for this award are

Owen Graham 82-year-old Owen Graham began volunteering in the sense Sheffield shop when it opened four years ago and it’s become more than his full-time passion described by his workmates as the backbone of the shop he often Works seven days a week when the store is short staffed in his free time

He takes children’s toys and watches home to test and fit with batteries he buys himself so he is sure they’re ready to use a retired dispensing in optician who has hearing loss in one ear he says sense as a charity stands for all the things he believes in the local

Community hugely appreciates the work Owen does and customers are always quick to ask when he’ll be back if he does take a rare day off Mark Jessman Mark Jessman was suffering badly from post-traumatic stress disorder after a severe motorcycle accident when he first began volunteering in his local sense staple

Food shop four years ago his confidence low he preferred to stay hidden at the back of the store stickering books but the staff made him feel welcome and he gradually felt able to take on more now he serves customers Works to teal and his proud colleagues say he pretty much

Running the shop he’s a deeply valued team member Heidi Proctor Heidi Proctor first volunteered to go on a sense holiday in 2017 because she wanted to practice using British sign language as she was about to start a PhD research in its structure but as well as improving her

Signing she found a love for the people sent supports and has volunteered every summer since truly committed Heidi is also Al learned the death blind Manual Alphabet to support more people who attend our holidays and this year she was interviewed for a film encouraging others to become skilled BSL volunteers

Too and the winner is Owen Graham thank you for supping me sense volunteer the year a passionate supporter of sense I’ve worked in the optical profession all my life so census principal me a want to me I hope this inspires others to volunteer at St Sheffield and give it back

That it’s an incredible honor and I say thank you to everyone who Voted Chloe loves rainbows and the only way I can explain is that she’s used the bridge from music and she goes over the rainbow into our world it’s helped her find that link between the TU where she can be herself but show everybody else who she is at the same

Time Chloe has Global developmental delay uh sensory processing disorder and and autism we was always told that she might never talk and then two weeks later she came out with a sentence she was told that she’d be almost trapped in our own world but the music has released

That we were very scared to be honest we didn’t know much about it I life in the family uh when we were at the start was it was very hard Chloe was going through a very frustrating time she was trying to communicate but we didn’t understand any other form of

Communication other than the spoken word I’d heard of sense but not that they doubt in sort of children with complex disabilities the lady I spoke to was able to almost understand fully Chloe’s needs and what groups would be best for her to join her Chloe’s a different person since calling

Her we came to a session at sense and Tim was up in his playroom where we are today and he was doing a music session and from that moment on she connected with him we know she’s enjoying the sense music sessions as she can focus she relaxes and she calms really well

Music is an extension of her it’s kind of opened up a a Gateway since com to sense her relationship with her brothers it’s increased tfold my boys have found away a few music to connect with Chloe Chloe’s had quite a few breakthroughs we was doing Head Shoulders Knees and Toes and she copied

Me from start to finish that was a very big moment we see the pro progress every day with the how per sense and the way she’s progressing scull is the limit and we’re going to be there for the ride sense will be here with us Too Influencer of the Year our next category celebrates influencers who are using social media to raise awareness about disability and promote inclusion across Society through their audiences the nominees for influencer of the year are fats Timbo fats Timbo is a Creator comedian author and educ Ator who has risen to prominence with her

Quick wit and advocacy now reaching more than a quarter of a million Instagram followers and almost 3 million on Tik Tok fats who has a condr plasia and is 26 years old pulls no punches in her comedy confidently and shamelessly finding fun in stories of her own life and the world around

Her Jeffy Smith Jeffy Smith is a content creator and disability activist who uses her social Med media channels like twitch and Instagram to raise awareness of the challenges disabled people can face her content often tackles difficult topics like disability hate crime discrimination and ableism and aims to educate people Jeffy who uses a

Wheelchair recently shared her experiences of coming out as qu and how dating another disabled person has opened her eyes to the ways homophobia and ableism intersect test daily Beauty influ a test daily uses social media to share her love of clothing and makeup and to stand up for people with disabilities who

Don’t often see themselves represented in the Beauty World as her spinal muscular atrophy type 2 and does her makeup using a robotic arm capturing the attention of hundreds of thousands of social media followers Tess says that growing up she never saw anyone who looked like her in the fashion or beauty

Industry and she wants to change this the winner is Jeffy Smith thank you so much to everybody at sense I’m really grateful and I never would have imagined that my platform would be recognized in this way I started using my account to talk about my experiences of disability as a way to

Hopefully connect with more people and I feel really lucky to have the online community that I do it was amazing to be nominated alongside the other incredible creators and the wonderful pass winners let alone to have and now I can’t wait to repeat this speech and show every my trophy at every

Opportunity fundraiser of the year the fundraiser of the Year Awards celebrates an individual or group who have gone out of their way to support sense’s work the nominees are gny Suri gny Suri has been supporting sense by raising money through challenge events since 2018 including ridgewalk temps path challenge sense 100 and ride

London he has been a committed fundraiser despite some medical challenges this year he took on both ride London and senses Snowden By Moonlight challenge event which were just a week apart raising over £3,700 he has raised around £18,000 in total for sense since 2018 and continues to take on new challenges each year

Being a huge cheerleader for sense he also has two gorgeous dogs one of which took part in the 2018 ridgewalk with him Summer Clark Summer Clark is a young woman who has faced many health problems and has multiple disabilities including blindness and hearing loss however she hasn’t let these stop her being an

Active volunteer and fundraiser for sense she most recently shaved her head on a charity shop floor to raise money for sense and the charity dog Squad in advance of her life-changing brain surgery this is a big challenge for summer who is autistic and doesn’t like to be touched but one she was determined

To do she raised over ,000 through the head shave and Shar shared her experience in the news and on the radio raising awareness of disability and the charity Zachariah hack Ali Zachariah hack Ali is 13 and has multisensory impairment autism and ADHD to show his support for sents who have supported him

To take part in climbing and other activities he loves Zachariah and his family signed up for a 5 km run at parallel Windsor Zachariah stepped out of his comfort zone to take part in the event and fundraise as new things can be unnerving for him he showed great enthusiasm and independ and raised

Hundreds of pounds for cents our fundraiser of the year is Summer Clark thank you for the nomination I didn’t expect to win I just believe that every little bits a big difference than you [Applause] [Applause] I’m so glad I decided to run with sense just an awesome charity to run for everybody’s been so welcoming and really really nice they’ve been fantastic and the support today is well was great the cheering on the on the route has just been incredible one of my niece is are

Disabled and that’s a reason why I have taken up this particular hard sense has a bit of a personal connection and I was very pleased to be able to run sense in the end py of support from sense had the webinars the training days everybody’s been super responsive VI email and

Anything that I needed great charity and no wor to really say it but brilliant come and run Trek or cycle of sense to support people who are deathline or have complex disabilities join team sense by visiting sense.org do/ events on with our Awards and the next category is celebrity of the year which

Recognizes the trailblazing disabled celebrities who are advocating for disabled people everywhere the nominees for this award are Ellie Simmons Ellie Simmons has become synonymous with Paris sport and is an incredible Ambassador for it she competed in four par Olympic Games and has taken home eight medals five of

Which were gold she started on the British power swimming team when she was only 12 years old her turn on Strictly Come Dancing last year was a real step forward for representation and Ellie’s also been involved in some really thoughtful documentaries showcasing her intelligence compassion and dedication

To making a positive impact on the world Sophie Morgan Sophie Morgan has had an accomplished career in TV she’s made documentaries had her own prime time travel show fronted Live Events and is a regular panelist on itv’s loose women she has presented at every par Olympic Games since

2012 and is now training the next generation of disabled onscreen talent for the US par Olympic broadcaster NBC she recently founded making space media a disabled and female Le production company they are co-producing a featurelength documentary for Channel 4 about her campaign writes on flights the campaign is leading the charge for

Improved accessibility and respect for disabled people by Airlines Lenny Rush Lenny Rush who is 14 is a talented young actor who has a rare form of dwarfism he has had an amazing year picking up a bafter for best male performance in a comedy two Royal television Society program Awards and a

Breakthrough award at the National Comedy Awards he was the youngest ever winner of many of these Awards Lenny has used his appearances in the media to talk about being disabled and how important it is for disabled actors to have the same opportunities to go for roles as non-disabled actors and the winner

Is Lenny Rush hi everyone I just wanted to say how thankful I am and how honored I am to won this cental for celebrity of the Year 2023 I can’t say how much I appreciate winning an award um because of my disability and I think it shows but even

Though you have the disability and still achieve anything anything you want so once again thank you so much it really means a lot thank you partner and Community partner of the Year these Awards recognize the amazing businesses and organizations that have dedicated time resources and skills to

Improve the lives of people with complex disabilities sense works with so many Partners in the community the nominees for Community partner of the year are Chase Town civil engineering Chase toown civil engineering has been working closely with sense to create a new accessible sensory garden at sense touch base pears in

Birmingham the New Garden will benefit hundreds of people who use the charity services in the Midlands and will be used for a whole host of activities including sense college sports days meditations and picnics and as a space people can enjoy have their lunch breaks and relax the difference Chase town has made

To disable people in the Midlands will be with us for many years to come get set for tennis get set for tennis is a tennis provider working with sense to deliver accessible sensory tennis to disabled people across London and hartfordshire their person centered approach means people who are death blind and who have

Complex disabilities can get involved in the sport meet new people get active and have fun the sense active team say they feel lucky to work with such an inclusive and passionate partner who have not only supported sense individuals with sessions but have now Incorporated sensory tennis into their

Own Community program at their home venue to cater for individuals in the community with complex disabilities National Trust National Trust partnered with sense Arts for the internal Garden project to help visitors with disabilities experience National Trust sites in an accessible engaging way and to teach the general public about death

Blindness the partnership ran a series of audio installations in the Gardens at whitewick Manor and kro as well as easyread maps of each of the Gardens at these two sites and others 0 National Trust staff and volunteers received death blind awareness training from sense to help support visitors for years to

Come the sites have continued this work with their own spin-offs such as sensory touch tours at Mosley old Hall and free entry to the people sense supports at attingham Park and the winner of the community partner of the Year award is Chase toown civil engineering thank you very much for

Awarding us the community partner award it means a huge amount to the Sween family and Chown civil engineering to be awarded this um this this award um to be involved with the sensory garden uh here at touchbase PS um this it’s a fantastic honor and um and all we hugely um

Appreciate so thank you very much on behalf of everyone at Chase toown and the the whole Sweeny family and for our partner of the Year award I’m delighted to announce that the winner is PayPal hi my name is Frank I’m the operations lead for PayPal giving Fund

In the UK and Ireland and on behalf of ppgf I happily accept this award here at PayPal giving fund we aim to make giving a part of Everyday Life by meeting donors where they are and we do this by partnering with major internet businesses such as PayPal to develop new

And innovative ways to give and we’re proud through programs such as give a checkout to support amazing Chari such as sense to help you in continuing your great work we would like to thank everyone of the charity for this recognition and we look forward to working with you again in

2024 the next award is for journalism of the Year this award recognizes the work of a journalist media Outlet or program in raising awareness of the challenges disabled people face and promoting positive change the nominees are the BBC access all team Nikki Fox the BBC’s disability Corr respondent and

The whole BBC access all team put disabled people at the heart of their reporting the diverse topics covered range from the experiences of disabled people across the world to the challenges of air travel access to sport mental health and ableism and the Show recently shown a much needed Spotlight

On The Chronic loneliness facing many people with complex disabilities Nikki herself uses a wheelchair and has muscular distrophy one of just a few high-profile disabled journalists her thoughtful and measured reporting is great to see on Prime Time television Reuben reuter previously a regular face on CBBC

As a cast member of the drama The Dumping Ground Reuben ruar is now a Cornerstone of channel 4 news as a young man with Down Syndrome Reuben has brought a new dimension to the show since joining in 2021 putting the challenges faced by disabled people sent

A stage and given a voice to communities often unheard in mainstream news programs one of Ruben’s key interviews last year was with Oscar winning actor and filmmaker James Martin who also has Down syndrome the pair talked candidly about disability funding cut fears he has also tackled the impact of covid on disabled

People and co-presented a documentary disability and abortion the hardest Choice with actor and campaigner rof midley Nikki leam Nikki leam says she lives and breathes chzo radio a local station serving the South and Southwest of England where she’s the voluntary station controller and presenter producer she lives with fibromyalgia and

Osteoarthritis and often produces stories about her own disability struggles alongside reporting on local issues during the covid lockdown Nikki self-funded and qualified as a freelance journalist while she shielded now she uses that same determination to produce at least two stories a day for the radio station if necessary from her bed when

Her long-term conditions flare up and the winner is Ruben reuter hello to everyone nonsense thank you so much father lord I can’t believe I’ve won it’s so much to be thank you thank you I feel really lucky to be part of a great team at Channel 4 the Commissioners and the

Producers you support supp me and allow me to do my job as disbled people we have important and interesting stories to tell I feel privileged to help share them with a r TV audiences looking to the future I hope to carry on making reports which explore untold stories and highlights some of

The issues I feel strongly about like biodiversity and creating healthier planets you’re never too SM to make a difference chice of the Year wow thank you and just like that we’ve reached the final Award of the evening and this one is for parliamentarian of the Year this award recognizes the work of a

Parliamentarian who’s fighting for change to make life better for the millions of disabled people in the UK and the winner of this award is Maran fellow Marian fellow MP serves as the SNP spokesperson for Disabilities and regularly stands up for the rights of disabled people she is a vocal Champion

For sense and people with complex disabilities and has regularly brought senses research and campaigns into Parliament she has recently spoken out about changes in work capability assessment rules and put forward a debate on the impact of the cost of living crisis on disabled people that

Sadly brings us to the end of the sense Awards 2023 I know I’m absolutely devastated too thank you so much for tuning in to celebrate the amazing achievement of our sense Award winners I truly hope you’ve enjoyed finding out more about the incredible people making a real difference in their communities

And to disabled people across the country from me a massive congratulations again to our winners and everybody who was nominated we will absolutely see you next year for the sense Awards 2024