A Hackney teenager has been named as Young Leader of the Year for representing the voices of young people to the local authority.

Jordan Isaacs, 19, of Hackney Quest, won the London Youth Awards award for Young Leader of the Year for her leadership role in the Hackney Wick Youth Voice project. This project ensures that young people’s voices are heard by stakeholders and senior Hackney Council decision-makers.

Luke Billingham, youth and community worker for Hackney Quest, who nominated Isaacs for the award, told Eastlondonlines: “Jordan made a significant difference to a large number of young people’s lives.”

Billingham added: “She doesn’t delight in public speaking in front of large or intimidating audiences, but hasn’t shied away from powerfully speaking her mind in front of senior local officials”.

Hackney Quest was started in 1988 to provide a wide range of positive activities for the community’s young people.

Croydon Drop In charity was also awarded for Youth Social Action. The charity, established in 1978 and based in Upper Norwood, supports young people between 11 and 25 years old and their families.

They provide counselling and advice in a number of areas including young parents services, alcohol and drug use, and emotional health and wellbeing.

The charity also runs a talkbus, which provides a drop-in counselling service in Croydon.

Angela Ben-Arie, 56, outreach services manager for Croydon Drop In, said the award recognused the hard work of the youth group working with the charity:

“It was really wonderful to see and hear the recognition they have been given in a London-wide way”.

The award for Volunteer of the Year was won by Stephen Tomkins, of the Royal Society for Blind Children (RSBC), based in Shacklewell, Hackney. RSBC has been supporting blind children and their families for over 150 years.

“We are there for them from the moment they are told they have lost their sight, guiding them and their families on their journey through sight loss” said a RSBC representative.

They also offer an employability course which helps young blind people to develop crucial skills for the workplace, as well as improving resilience and independence.

RSBC also provides research for Wayfindr, a navigation system for visually impaired people, helping them to travel independently using a smartphone.