A PCSO from Gloucestershire Constabulary's Harm Reduction team has been announced as a joint winner of the Stagecoach Community Heroes awards.
PCSO Trevor May from the Aston Project was recently named as the joint Community Hero for the Stagecoach West region after being nominated as part of their 40th anniversary celebrations.
Stagecoach received hundreds of nominations which recognised unsung community heroes and Trevor's nomination was submitted by a family that he has been working alongside after they deemed him to be a vital part of the Aston Project.
Trevor helps to run the Aston Project which was set up in September 2011 in memory of former officer Lynn Aston who passed away after being diagnosed with cancer.
The project's aim was to build upon Lynn Aston's ability to identify young people, aged 9 to 17-years-old, who were engaging in nuisance behaviour and to link them with an existing resource or activity within the local community to move them away from being drawn into criminal activity.
It involved partners and communities working together to reduce harm, crime and anti-social behaviour by inspiring young people to meet their potential in a positive and rewarding environment.
The work of the project has since evolved and now also involves opportunities for those with adverse childhood experiences and young carers so that they can have opportunities that they may not have had access to otherwise.
Trevor's work with the Aston Project includes organising opportunities for those who attend which are community based and can include gardening, discipline based such as a sport or skill, character/team building and vocational which includes working towards achieving employment by volunteering or undertaking work placements.
When asked about how it felt to be nominated and awarded as a winner Trevor said: "This award came totally unexpected as I didn't even know that I had been nominated.
"I am both honoured and embarrassed in equal measure to be named joint Stagecoach Community Hero for Stagecoach West.
"I would like to thank the family who nominated me for the work I do on the Aston Project and the public who voted for me, however in my eyes the young people I work with are the real heroes.
"I work to support them and their families and give them guidance but ultimately they are striving to become the best version of themselves."
Inspector Sarah Blake from the Community Harm Reduction team praised Trevor’s work saying: "Trevor’s commitment to his role is outstanding and a community award is the ultimate testament to all of the hard work and dedication he puts in to each and every one of the young people that he works with.
"We are all very proud of Trevor and the work he does to support the Aston Project and the Constabulary’s aims of keeping people safe. He is a great advocate for the Constabulary and I am pleased to have him on my team."
More information on the Aston Project and the work they do with local teenagers can be found here: https://www.astonproject.co.uk/
