Pictured: whg's Technical Specialist Mark Causer with Jo Perry, Julie Elwell and Connie Jennings, all members of the Regeneration Team

whg, Walsall's leading housing provider, scooped two prestigious awards at the Chartered Institute of Housing's regional awards.

The first award recognised the work of whg's Regeneration Team and its New Opportunities for Walsall (NOW) project. The second celebrated the outstanding education achievement of Mark Causer, a technical specialist working in whg's Income Collection Team.

The NOW project, which whg runs together with NHS Walsall using a grant from the Big Lottery Reaching Communities Fund, aims to set up and support community projects that help people make the most of the opportunities available to them. With a focus on promoting health and wellbeing, the NOW programme has been running successfully for three years.

At the heart of the scheme are nine community champions who are recruited from areas of Walsall, including some of the most deprived. Their role is to work with people from the ground up giving them the support they need to reach their potential.

In recent years projects developed and led by the team include a literacy project for Gypsy and Traveller communities, soccer in schools and the Step Up, Step Out confidence building programme.

At the ceremony last week, these successes received their rewards when the team collected the Making A Difference Best Practice Award from the Chartered Institute of Housing.

One of the champions, Sarah Jawad, said: "We see the difference we can make with people every day and now those successes have been recognised by this award. It is a real honour for all of us and we are proud of the work we do to help people across Walsall to make the most of their lives."

Mark Causer, who has been working for whg since its launch in 2003, received the Education Prize for Outstanding Achievement as the Best Postgraduate Student. His award marked his success in achieving a distinction in his Master of Arts degree in Housing from Birmingham City University following two years of part-time study sponsored by whg.

After receiving his award Mark said: "It is a real privilege to receive the award. Studying for my degree has been hard work but has given me a real insight into the important role housing can play in improving people's lives. whg has been fantastic in giving me the support I needed to help me attain this honour."