Blight Award | Dark Cornwall

The JT Blight Award

The JT Blight Award is a new Dark Cornwall initiative dedicated to recognising professionals in the field of mental health.

From the outset, this award exists for one clear purpose: to honour those who help individuals living with depression, trauma, anxiety, and other complex mental health conditions navigate the daily realities of their struggle.

The JT Blight Award places mental health professionals at the centre of the story.

The JT Blight Award is intended to be passed from one recipient to the next each year, becoming a living vessel of shared purpose. As it moves between honoured mental health professionals, it gathers stories, memories, and the weight of the lives touched along the way. The will carry the collective dedication of those who have received it before. In this way, the award becomes more than an object of recognition. It becomes a continuity of care, shaped by many hands and sustained by a shared commitment to protecting the inner wellbeing of others.

In Cornwall, we often speak of landscape, heritage, and folklore. Yet some of the most important work happening in our communities takes place quietly behind clinic doors, in counselling rooms, in hospitals, in community centres, and in private practice. It is the work of trained professionals who choose, every day, to sit with pain and guide others through it.

This award shines a light on them.

Why JT Blight

The award is named after John Thomas Blight, the Cornish antiquarian and artist known for documenting ancient monuments, churches, and sacred sites. His illustrations remain an important record of Cornwall’s historic landscape.

Yet Blight’s story also includes personal struggle. He experienced serious mental health difficulties and spent time in Bodmin Asylum. This part of his life is often left out of summary accounts, but it is foundational to our understanding, today, of Cornwall's history and culture.

By naming the award after JT Blight, Dark Cornwall recognises both his contribution and his vulnerability.

His life reminds us that creativity and suffering can coexist, and that mental health challenges do not diminish the value of a life.

What the JT Blight Award Represents

The JT Blight Award recognises mental health professionals who demonstrate:

Compassion grounded in evidence-based practice
Long-term commitment to patient well-being
Advocacy that reduces stigma
Ethical and dignified care
A measurable, positive impact on individuals or communities

This award is not based on popularity or public profile. It is based on substance, professionalism, and meaningful impact.

The Craft of the Award

The physical JT Blight Award has been carved by Steve Hazelton from a single piece of rare wood.

Steve’s connection to JT Blight is personal and deeply rooted, and this connection shaped the creation of the award itself. Rather than producing a manufactured object, Steve chose to carve the piece by hand from one continuous section of rare timber. There are no assembled parts, no joins, no composites.

The result is a singular form that represents resilience, continuity, and integrity.

Steve approached the carving with reverence for Blight’s life and a clear understanding of what the award stands for. His craftsmanship reflects patience, care, and respect, mirroring the qualities embodied by the mental health professionals the award recognises.

The award is therefore not only a symbol of recognition, but a work of meaning in its own right.

Recognition

Recipients of the JT Blight Award are selected with care and intention. The focus remains firmly on professional excellence, ethical practice, and tangible contribution to the well-being of others.

Mental health work is often unseen. Its impact, however, is profound.

The JT Blight Award exists to formally acknowledge those who safeguard the inner lives of individuals and families. In doing so, it honours both the legacy of JT Blight and the craftsmanship of Steve Hazelton, whose carved work gives this recognition a lasting physical form.

If you know a mental health professional whose work deserves recognition, we welcome thoughtful suggestions. Please use our Contact Us form to share their name, role, and a brief outline of why you believe they embody the spirit of the JT Blight Award. All submissions are considered with discretion and respect.

As one, we rise.