Honour for homeless charity founder

Monday 23 March 2015

A gravely ill man has been honoured for his community work supporting homeless and isolated men at a special ceremony at Government House.

Colin Taylor was too ill to attend an event at Buckingham House in London, so a special ceremony was arranged in the Island on Friday, at which he was formally presented with the British Empire Medal by Lieutenant Governor, General Sir John McColl.

Mr Taylor set up the Sanctuary Trust in 2011 to provide shelter and support for homeless and isolated men because he was concerned that not enough was being done to help people who fell through the cracks. Today, the trust runs two shelters looking after men who need support, helping to house 24 people, and running an outreach service and a weekly soup kitchen at All Saints in The Parade that is open to all.

Mr Taylor said that he was honoured by the award, but said that the success of the trust was down to hard work by many supporters, not just him.

“I’m delighted,” he said. “This community work is so important, and I’m so pleased that people have got behind it.”

You can find out more about the work of the Sanctuary Trust here.