A St Albans drug and mental health worker who turned his life around has won a national award.
Tony Frankin is an ex-offender and ex-addict and has now been clean for 20 years. The team leader of a successful rehabilitation programme, he has now won a national award for his work.
Tony was awarded Rehabilitation Worker of the Year at the national Inspire Justice Awards 2024, recognising his work as the team lead for his reoffending project TurnAround.
Speaking to St Albans News, Tony said: “It was amazing to win; I never thought I would.
“My job is so rewarding as it is – I get the reward from seeing the participants in their journey and how far they have come but this is just the cherry on top of the cake.”
Tony has worked with HARCO for 14 years, a Herts-based grant-funded charity which works with people who have got on the wrong side of the law and gives them the tools to turn their lives around.
The TurnAround project provides a wide range of activities, courses and enrichment opportunities for released offenders including fishing, carpentry, boxing, music, cooking and much more.
Tony added: “There is a problem that if you feel so far from the community; it is then easier to take from that community.”
HACRO’s Matt Cannon, who nominated Tony for the award, said: “He relates to participants in a way that energises their personal resources and makes them want to change their lives.”
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