THIS Friday, November 8, we will celebrating the eighth annual Pride of St Helens Awards.
In this week's paper (out now in shops for just 50p) we published a 16-page supplement profiling each of the shortlisted nominees for this year's ceremony.
Throughout this week and last week ahead of the event at the Totally Wicked Stadium, we will be sharing our categories of nominees with you.
Here are your nominees for the 2019 Family of the Year Award sponsored by Paramount Digital.
Shana Begum and her children
MUM-of-three Shana Begum arrived in the town with just her three children and a pram after fleeing honour-based domestic violence but says that coming to St Helens has been her families “lifeline”.
Shana was scared and alone after fleeing her home with her children in a bid to have a better life away from domestic violence.
It was then she was rehoused to part of Moss Bank just before Christmas 2018.
Shana was scared of what she faced.
She said: “I carried with me nothing but the trauma,
the fear and pain.
“I moved into an unknown area, but this community have become my lifeline and we are proud to always call St Helens our home.”
She now does all she can to help victims of domestic violence in St Helens.
The family of Adam Ellison
Yesterday, Monday, marked the second anniversary since the murder of Adam Ellison, n, a 29-year-old man full of life, who was
stabbed in the neck with an unknown weapon as he walked home in Prescot.
On Saturday, November 4, 2017, his families lives changed forever as he died from his injuries.
His killers have still not faced justice.
Despite this, his brave family have focused their grief into ensuring Adam’s name lives on and raising awareness of knife crime.
They have taken part in numerous events calling for an end to knife crime, joining forces with other victims’ families to share their stories in a bid to help prevent others facing their devastating loss.
They have also established ADAM, a charity in Adam’s memory which helps give back to the Prescot community who supported them.
The family of Kaycee Bradshaw
SIX-YEAR-OLD Kaycee Bradshaw from Sutton has Batten disease.
Children with the disease rarely live past 12 and it causes patients to have seizures, muscle spasms, dementia, visual impairment leading to blindness, loss of speech and mobility.
A treatment slowing the disease’s progression was offered to some children such as Kaycee on a trial, but due to cost was not available on the NHS.
However, Kaycee’s family, all five of her siblings and her parents Claire and Gregg stopped at nothing to raise awareness of the condition and the petition calling for this to be made available to children such as Kaycee.
In September they learned that this treatment, thanks to them and other families across the UK, will be made available for all on the NHS.
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