Local Hero Award forOpen Door founder

Anne Steele launched the Open Door drop-in centre at Lower Main Street in 2014.

The facility opened as a place of comfort and refuge for homeless people and people suffering from depression.

Speaking at the opening, Anne told the Times: “We want to open a cross-community drop-in centre. It will be run by volunteers and our aim is to empower and enable people in our community.

“It will be a community resource where individual needs will be addressed in a caring atmosphere with refreshments being served.

She added that Open Door Ballymoney will be a community resource which will be open to all ages from school children through to the elderly, disabled people, ethnic minorities and lonely or isolated people.

The drop-in centre also provides signposting to various courses for anyone who is interested by providing leaflets and information.

Lidl shoppers were asked to nominate individuals from their local community who merited recognition.

Conor Boyle, Regional Director, at Lidl Northern Ireland, said: “At Lidl we take great pride in supporting the communities in and around our stores and we’re thrilled to have been able to recognise all our ‘Lidl Local Heroes’ at this special event. Each person nominated plays an incredibly important role in their local community and we’ve been humbled by their stories.

“We would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to all who have helped make Lidl’s campaign a resounding success.”