A bricklayer and nurse have won a poetry and photography competition by the Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BCHFT). 

Launched in March, the Give the Gift of Hope contest invited submissions on the theme of hope from across the Black Country region.

Entries included service users, patients, carers, and Trust staff which were judged by a panel of staff, governors, and people with a lived experience of mental health before the winners were chosen from shortlisted entries.

Conor Hill, a bricklayer from Kingswinford, took the top spot in the poem category for his piece ‘The Stranger on a Windswept Day’ which is written from the perspective of a father living with dementia during an encounter with his son.

Conor, 19, said: "I'm very honoured to be recognised for my writing but even more so from such an organisation as the NHS.

"I write my poetry not for myself but for the hope that I can send out into the world."

The winner of the photography competition was Vilma Jureviciute who lives in Dudley, a Community Learning Disability Nurse at BCHFT, with her winning image capturing an evening on Southport Pier.

She said: “The picture was taken on a very windy and cold evening by the Southport Pier. The sunbeams represented hope, and even though I was absolutely frozen, I had to frame the moment.

“Photography, for me, is therapy—an escape into a magical world where I can capture not only what I see but also what I feel."

David Stocks, judge and suicide prevention community inclusion worker at BCHFT, said: “Hope, the greatest gift of all, can be perceived in so many different ways. This is why we launched the competition as a means of spreading the positive message of hope, so it can be understood by as many people as possible.

"The entries into this competition are outstanding, covering all age ranges and the broadest possible viewpoints.

"Judging was incredibly hard because of this, moving me to tears at their sheer quality."

A number of the poems will be collated into a ‘Gift of Hope’ book of poetry, photography, and art, set to be published later this year.

In addition, these creative works will be on display at various Trust sites.

To view the shortlisted entries and find out how to contribute to the ‘Gift of Hope’ collection, go to https://tinyurl.com/2j5xu7zw.