Best company health and well-being initiative 

The Ferry Project is a homelessness charity in rural East Anglia that supports more than 300 people each year through trauma-informed accommodation, 24/7 personalised support, and a holistic approach to health and well-being. With 53 beds across a range of housing types, the project empowers individuals to rebuild their lives with dignity, offering pathways into stable housing, employment, and improved physical and emotional well-being. 

 

But the Ferry Project’s work extends far beyond accommodation. It also operates the Queen Mary Centre, a community hub hosting NHS services, well-being programmes, and social activities that prevent homelessness and strengthen community cohesion, as well as a cookery school and gallery space housed within the project’s hostel. 

 

Staff work collaboratively with healthcare providers, local authorities, arts organisations and specialist partners to deliver innovative, person-centred initiatives that address the complex health inequalities faced by people experiencing homelessness.

 

One example is the Ferry Project’s partnership with a local GP surgery, which sends a nurse practitioner and a health and well-being coach into the charity’s premises once a week to hold a drop-in clinic for residents. The Ferry Project also works with the East of England Cancer Alliance to help break down the barriers its clients can face in accessing specialist healthcare, as well as with smoking cessation programmes and creative well-being activities. 

 

The judges said:

“This is an impressive, values-led initiative addressing severe health inequalities among people experiencing homelessness. The strength of the partnerships – particularly around GP access, cancer research and smoking cessation – is notable”