A BARNSLEY drugs worker dedicated to helping addicts kick their habits has been nominated for a national award for going the extra mile.
Julie Sutton, who works for the Barnsley Drug Intervention Programme, could win £10,000 to fund drug misuse prevention or treatment programmes if she wins the award.
She has been nominated for a Tackling Drugs Changing Lives award for raising the self-esteem of people struggling with heroin and cocaine addictions and encouraging them to stay clean.
Julie was nominated by colleague Jenni Upperdine, who said many of the people she has helped refer to her as a friend.
"Julie makes extra effort to know clients and still offers support to individuals once they have moved on from her, without neglecting her current workload," she said.
"In the past she has given diaries to her clients to help them keep their appointments - it's a small thing but important to people who have been living very unstructured lives."
She is one of 10 regional finalists up for the award. The winner will be announced at the end of the year during a ceremony in London.
Last year Sheffield outreach worker Vicky Ward, who works for Turning Point, won the award for her efforts to get homeless people into treatment.
She said: "Winning last year was a real privilege and contributed towards promoting Turning Point's Adult Drug Treatment Service both locally and nationally.
"The £10,000 we received from the Home Office helped enormously as it funded a six-month outreach worker post. The additional street-based support meant we could help more vulnerable drug users in Sheffield receive harm reduction advice and treatment support."
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