A DOWN’S syndrome support charity and a teenager battling with mental health issues are among the Gwent nominees shortlisted for this year’s Welsh Government’s St David Awards.

The finalists of the awards, which acknowledge the achievements of people in or from Wales, were announced yesterday by first minister Carwyn Jones.

Monmouthshire-based charity 21 Plus, which is run by three mothers who each have children with Down’s syndrome, has been shortlisted in the Citizenship Award category for “going from strength to strength over the past 10 years”.

Katharina Barker, one of the mums, said: “We are very excited about this wonderful achievement which recognises the work we are doing with the charity.

“We want to raise awareness of the work we do. We are based in Monmouthshire, but we support families from all areas. Everyone is welcome.”

The charity runs speech and language therapy groups and education conferences, among others.

All the work is carried out by volunteers, mainly the three founders and five more volunteers.

Volunteer Savannah Lloyd, 19, from Crumlin is shortlisted for a Young Person Award.

Miss Lloyd, who is studying early childhood studies at Oxford University, has been battling mental health problems since she was 11.

She uses her experiences to reach out and help others in similar situations.

She said: “I was overwhelmed when I realised I was shortlisted for the awards but I am grateful as more people will be able to see my work and hopefully get the help they need in terms of their mental health.”

The Welsh Members of TeamGB Olympics and Paralympics, Rio 2016, have also been shortlisted for the Sport Award.

Among others, these include cyclist Becky James, a 24-year-old from Abergavenny who got two silver medals in the Rio Olympics, and Philip Pratt, a basketball player from Rogiet who overcame an extremely rare condition as a child and played in the basketball Paralympics quarter-finals.

Announcing the finalists, first minister Carwyn Jones said: “The St David Awards, now in their fourth year, are all about celebrating people who have gone the extra mile to make a difference to someone else’s life, overcome adversity or achieved something truly inspirational.

“Once again, the St David Awards finalists are an exceptional group of people. Every single one is a credit to Wales – it is going to be tough to choose the winners!

“I look forward to celebrating their outstanding achievements at the awards ceremony on March 23.”