'Selfless' Good Shepherd worker wins national award for charity work in Wolverhampton

Paul was honoured at the awards at London's Royal Lancaster Hotel, celebrating the outstanding impact and achievements of individuals and organisations throughout the country.

Having grown up in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, including witnessing a murder, Paul previously suffered poverty and several spells in prison, but, since turning a corner himself, has channelled all of those experiences into helping others.

Good Shepherd CEO Tom Hayden said: “When I think of the Good Shepherd, and people who have played a huge part as the real core of the charity such as Helen Holloway (business & finance manager), Paul Burns is right up there amongst them.

“He is completely selfless and has an unstoppable drive and desire to help people who have found themselves broken, however difficult their circumstances."

He added: “They say that to help one person turn their life around is an amazing thing to do - well, Paul has done that a hundred times over.

“We felt it was important to nominate him for this award because he is an inspiration to our staff, volunteers and service-users alike – he really is our unsung hero.”

Paul, who also spent many years working at the Goodyear factory in Wolverhampton, started volunteering at the Good Shepherd in 2016 before becoming a member of staff a year later.

He now provides individually tailored help to previously entrenched rough sleepers with complex issues to help support them in their own accommodation.

He said: “I really love my job, it feels like what I am meant to be doing, and I look forward to every single day.

“It is often very challenging, but we all work together as a team, and I feel proud and privileged to have picked up this award on behalf of everyone at the Good Shepherd."

He added: “Receiving awards or praise is certainly not why we do the job, but it was such a special day for all of us who were there, and it actually made me quite emotional.”

The judges praised Paul's work ethic, continual self-improvement and his desire to help others.

They said: “Paul Burns is someone who continually goes above and beyond in his unstinting desire to help others. He draws on experiences from his own background, never judges people and never turns them away.

“He gives people hope and in our current climate, I think that is so special.”

The Good Shepherd is a charity providing free-to-access food and support services from its premises in Waterloo Road, now in its 51st year after the Little Brothers first arrived in the city to support people experiencing homelessness back in 1972.