High Sheriff of North Yorkshire celebrates year of service with awards

At a High Sheriff’s Awards event at Allerton Castle, Dr Smith reflected on her achievements and the community organisations she championed throughout the region.

During her tenure, she took part in more than 250 events, from visiting courts and emergency services to meeting Their Majesties King Charles and Queen Camilla.

A key priority was to raise awareness of the lasting effects of domestic abuse on children.

With one in four women experiencing domestic abuse in their lifetime, the impact on children, whether directly or indirectly, is devastating.

Dr Smith, who has a long-standing career in leadership coaching and mental health support, has worked tirelessly to improve the experience of survivors and their children within the criminal justice and social services systems.

Highlights of her High Sheriff’s year

Supporting Survivors of Domestic Abuse: Leading workshops with survivors, charities, and legal professionals to improve domestic abuse victim support, resulting in 36 actionable improvements across North Yorkshire.

Raising Awareness of Trauma’s Impact on Children: Hosting a conference highlighting the profound effects of trauma on children, with 75 attendees, mainly from schools, receiving practical strategies to support young people.

Celebrating the impact of Charitable Organisations: In partnership with Two Ridings Community Foundation, Dr Smith visited many community organisations in the region supporting children and championed their vital work at the Awards evening.

The High Sheriff Award Winners

Autism Angels in Nidderdale - for their resilience work with children & young people through horses, helping them bounce back despite knock backs.

WHISH (Whitby Hidden Impairment Support & Help) - for strategic direction, focusing on developing a service that meets the needs of the children they support into the future.

Just B in Harrogate – for their trauma-informed leadership work with children.

The Wave Project – for the creative ways they use to work alongside children & young people through their innovative surf project.

The Island in York – for their reflective practice and how they use that knowledge to develop their mentoring service for young people further.

Gallows Close Centre, Scarborough - for putting children’s voice at the heart of their delivery in their busy community centre.

New Beginnings Peer Support – for the work they do to empower children and young people who have experienced domestic abuse in and around Harrogate.

A special guest at the Awards, Diana Parkes CBE from the Joanna Simpson Foundation, shared her powerful story of the murder of her daughter Joanna Simpson through domestic violence, underscoring the need for better support for children impacted by domestic abuse.

Dr Smith said: “This has been an incredibly rewarding year, full of both challenges and triumphs.

"The passion and commitment I’ve seen from the organisations here tonight, along with the resilience of the children they support, have been a true source of inspiration.

"I am proud to honour these charities and the life-changing work they do."

Celia McKeon, Chief Executive of Two Ridings Community Foundation shared her observations on the commonalities of what is moving and powerful about the work the community organisations do.

“The baseline for the work is love and care, and it is all about building relationships of trust and mutual support,” she said.

David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, added: “Like Dr Ruth Smith, I believe everyone here in York and North Yorkshire has the right to feel safe, and will ensure that people in our region continue to get the support from local community organisations, which will help to drive change and improve people’s lives.”

The event was supported by Lewis Silkin, Harrogate Family Law, Acorn Retreat, PM Management Consultants, Joanna Simpson Foundation, Drax and Harrogate and District Soroptimists who all sponsored an award.