Charity Registratlon No. 1036555 Company Registratlon No. 2902445 (England and Wales) ADDICTION suppoirr AND CARE AGENCY (ASCA) TRusfEES ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMEMrs FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021 ADDICTION suppoKr AND CARE AGENCY (ASCA) Charity Reglstration No. 1036555 Company Reglstration No. 2902445 Trustee Report Report of the Trustees for the year endlng 31st Marth 2021 The Trustees are pleased to present their annual report together with the financial statements of the charity for the year ending 31 March 2021 which are also prepared to meet the requirements for a directors, report and account5 for Companies Act purposes. The financial statements comply with the Charlties Act 2011, the Companles Act 20[￿, the Memorandum and Articles of Association. and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice appllcable to charities preparin8 their accounts In accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard 102 IFRS1021 Chalrfs report The covid pandemlc national lockdowns made 2020121 a very dlfflcult year, not least for charlties. ASCA mana8ed the uncertalnties and changes in covid safety rules very effectively, providing a safe face to face service from August to December at Richmond. Another lockdown forced us to close again for the first 3 month5 of 2021. Slnce then no closures have been nece55ary. In the spring of 2020 substantlal roof problems had been Identified and repairs were completed at the Richmond site during the enforced closure. But at Surbiton the whole building was declared structurally unflt for use followin8 an Inspection by Kingston Council. The service there had to be closed. Staff and some volunteers and cllents transferred to our Rlchmond site. Prior to reopenlng In Au8USt 2020 the Rlchmond slte was fully cleaned includlng antiviral cleaning. Staff, volunteers and service users were reassured that all steps to make the premises safe had been taken. Staff kept in touch wlth clients who were nearly all able to return once we reopened. The Carers group moved thelr meetlngs online to become a Peer sUPPOrt group. Many thanks are extended to staff and volunteers for thelr flexible approach to working In difficult condltions, and also to enable operational times and working hours to be altered to meet service needs. To miti8ate rlsk, to avoid the service closing and to provlde face to face serrflces. staff have been workin8 in separate groups lor bubbles). During the year the board continued to meet online, and staff team meetin85 were held weekly online. The recruitment of a new board member has strengthened our governance by increaslng and diverslfylng the composition of the trust board. The governmenvs job retention scheme offset much of the staff salary reductions and reduced some costs for ASCA. Pertiaps surprisin8ly the year ended with only a small financial In year deficit of £3.222 after accounting for depreciation. Above all. despite all these difficult and sometimes impossible workin8 condttions, ASCA has come through stronger and is continuing to deliver a quality service for our clients. However. there will be challenges and uncertainties in the years ahead-_ Increased and new demands due to the pandemic including relating to mental hea￿h and addiction. Financial challenges facing the whole economy, which in turn impact the voluntary sector combined with the increasing demands on services in the complex needs of service users and numbers. ADDiclloN suppoKr AND CARE AGENCY IASCA) Trustee Report The impact of the Climate Crisis on our operations and the impart of Brexit on resources. The growing need to tackle all aspects of inequalities. In light of the challenges facing the sector. ASCA'S priortty wlll be revlewln8 our strate8lc plan for the next 3 years n response to needs and gaps in Iixal service provision. Objertlves and actlvltles The oblertlves for whlch the Company Is establlshed are to: benef￿ the public by promoting the prevention of alcohol andlor dru8 mlsuse treat those suffering from alcohol andlor dru8 misuse and those affected by someone else's alcohol andlor dru8 misuse in London or elsewhere The alms of our charlty are to: support people to reduce levels of alcohol andlor drug mlsuse support carers, family members and friends of those affected by someone else's alcohol and/or dru8 mlsuse advance public education by encouraging early recognition and prevention of alcohol and dru8 related harm and through the provision of education and training The Dirertors belleve that our aims refiect the purposes that the charity was set up to further The charit¢s aims and oblectlves are achieved by the followlng approach: focusing on early intervention, prevention, educatlon and harm minimlsatlon through assessment, counselllng, therapy group support. wellbeln8 activities, raising public awareness, training and advlce and informatlon providing a client centred and hollstlc approach to overcoming addittion and enabling our servlce users to make the best use of our resources providing a range of services which are reflective of the relevant quallty standards and address the potential problems related to alcohol and dru8 misuse offerin8 services to families. carers, friends and the wider communitywho are affected by someone else'5 substance misuse providing Opportunities for the local community to participate in some of our actlvlties to break down and ch311enge the barriers. myths and stigma associated with substance misuse understanding and acknowledging that volunteering is a valuable and crucial fartor in our work and that investing in staff and volunteer development leads to organisational professionalism, 8rowth and learning ensurin8 that our clients, need5 are met by regularly consulting with them and developing services that are flexible and meet their need5 co-operating and working in partnership with other agendes to benefrt our service users by ensuring that our services enhance and complement each other commitment to quality assurance underpinning all that we do in orderto provide the best services for our service users and partners ADDiclloN SUPPORT AND CARE AGENCY IASCA) Trustee Report challenge discrimination, increasing access to those who are socially excluded and by being open and transparent in all our transactions, we benefrt our current and future service users, volunteers. staff and partners. Our main areas of activity which help us to achieve the above strategies are: assessment; advice and information; counsellin& group therapy and support; wellbeing programme; support for family members, Carers and anyone affected by someone else's substance misuse. ASC4 focuses on providing holistic and person centred services by providlng short, medium and lon8 term therapeutic interventions to the local community. Counselllng servlces for people wlth substance mlsuse problems Counselling is our core and the most In demand sep4ice. Our aims are to support people in understandlng more about addSctlon and empowerlng them to make the changes they want to make. ASCA provldes a unlque service Sn that we offer short, medium and long term counsellin8. Inltially we offer upto 6 counselling sessions but may increase this upto a further 6 sessions. We then have the option to offer upto a further 12 sessions, whlch Is dependent on clients demonstratin8 a commltment to make change. Thls longer time counselling provides people wrth the tlme and space to identify any addltlonal underlying issues that may be contributing to their current situation. Underlying issues often addressed Include abuse, bereavement, isolation, stress, financial and relatlonshlplfamily issues. By becomlng clearer and better informed, cllents have reported feellng more motivated, resourced, reslllent and. consequently, better able to manage thelr Ilves. A large part of our Vh)rk Involves time providln8 advlce and Infomiatlon and support on the telephone. These calls range from people lookin8 for help for themselves about their addiction, some are not sure if they should be concerned about their addiction and others want to Stop their addiction escalating. Then there Is the other side family members and carers who are looking for support for themsefves andlor thelr cared for and others are professionals wantin8 to find out more about vthat we offer with a view of referring one of their service Userslpatients. The service is funded through 8rants, donations and our own income generation activities. Wellbelng programme Yoga-sense Group - these Saturday morning sessions remain popular and are informal. The group Is led by volunteer who is a qualified yoga teacher. Although the sessions are not always held weekly a strong core 8roup has developed over the years, thi5 includes recent members. and works well for everyone. The majority of the members are carers. Again the pandemic meant that there was no yoga 8roup but we will be reviewing thls takin8 Into account Covld health and safety guldance. Carers Servlce We are the only service in the borough of Richmond providin8 SUPPOrt to carerslfamily members affected by someone else's addiction. We offer both counselling and group support as well as our Wellbein8 Pro8ramme. This service is funded through a range of 8rants, donations and our own fundraising activities. Rlchmond Carers Hub servlce - thls Is a piece of commissloned work we have been involved with for several years. The hub consists of 6 local organisations providing specialist services to carers resident in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The lead partner is Richmond Carers Centre and ASCA has been commissioned to provide 3 Substance Misuse Carers Support Group and advice and information support to carers. The service was re-commissioned on 1st August 2020 for four years. ADDICTION SUPPORT AND CARE AGENCY (ASCA) Trustee Report Volunteers As with a majority of small community based organisations volunteers are fundamental to our success and future sustainability. ASCA volunteers are drawn from the local community with all having personal direct andlor Indirect experience of addirtions. This gives us a mix of those with lived experience of belng in long term recovery and those who have experience as a family member/carer. Their personal experience, rich diverse skills set and life experiences enhance the support we can offer to our service users. New volunteers are recruited throu8hout the year as and when needed. How our artivitles dellver public benefit The Board have considered the Charity Commission's 8uidance on public beneflt in plannSng our activities for the year. ASCA relies on grants, donations, fundraising actlvities and contributions to help cover tts operating costs. We aspire to be a local service for local people and as such provide affordable, flexible, accessible activities as well as share our premises with the local communlty. Addiction including substance mlsuse is a cross cuttlng theme, It can affect anyone regardless of 8ender, age, religion, race or social back8round. The impact it has on people's lives often leads to social exclusion and Isolatlon and, If not addressed in its early stages, can result in a range of problems such as family breakdown, mental health Issues le.g. depression, anxiety), debt, loss of employment, poverty and crlme. We endeavour to be Incluslve and encourage the wider communlty to particlpate In some of our actlvltles as well as use our facilltles to meet or run their activities from. In particular, our programme of weekly and monthly holistlc therapies attracts a diverse cross section of the community providing an opportunlty to meet other Ilke-mlnded people, develop friendships and for those in recovery, meet people and develop new frlendshlps whlch are not related to addlctlon. Achlevements and Performance The year 2020121 saw the full impact of Covld-19 pandernic wlth all its uncertaintles. The revlew of the year looks at what has been achleved against this backdrop of unprecedented challen8e and change. Durlng the year our focus has been on mana8lng the organisation In a tlme of crisls and maintainin8 SUPPOrt for our service users. We re-shaped our services to take account of the evolving needs of our beneflclarles arising from Covld-19, Including three lockdowns, and started to look towards a gradual easing of restrlctlons. Enterin8 into a period of working and living wtth Covid-19, the staff and Board are using 2021122 to start to process, reflect and how we respond to these changlng needs. We acknowledge this will be a signlficant challen8e nonetheless we have learned a 8reat deal about staff and volunteers resilience, responsiveness, co- operation, understanding and support for people In need. We wound down our service a week before the whole country went into lockdown as the anxiety levels increases due to the pandemic. This enabled us to talk to service users to re-assure them that we would be in contact with them in due course once we had further information and put In some contingency plans. As the pandemic situation evolved we regularly updated the infomiatlon on our webslte which proved to be an excellent communication tc>ol. A telephone service was set up as an initial response for all our service users glving us time to research into a range of options. M05t organisations immediate response was to set up online support. We took a more cautious approach taking into account resources, risk of counselling vulnerable people online, safeguarding issues and the huge responsibility on volunteers who have no experience of online counselling or deallng with crisis without immediate access to support. As the lockdovm went on we leamed from the experience of other ADDICTION SUPPORT AND CARE AGENCY (ASCA) Trustee Report local organisations of online services and, although there were advantages, there were also dlsadvantages around risk and safeguarding. We consulted service users offering them options; continuin8 With telephone check in, telephone counsellin8 or online counselling. In order to provide remote counsellin& service users needed to have a safe space to talk confidentially with their counsellor and be available for the agreed appointrnent time each week. However the impact of lockdown meant that everyone had to completely adapt their lives Families had to stay at home for an indefinrte period due to lockdown restrictions Parents were working from home or on furlough leave School children were off school and being taU8ht onlinelhome schooled Children were physically isolated from their peers and increasingly reliant on parents for support Younger children needed babysittin& supervisin8 and/or home schooled Familles had additlonal carin8 responsibilities for shielding elderly parentslgrand parents Furthermore we have service users who do not dlsclose to their partners/families about theSr addiction whlle for others there are issues of risk of abuse and safeguardlng. Overwhelmln8ly our servlce users reletted weeklv onllne or telephone counselling clting that they were too busy adJustln8 to thelr new Ilfestyles and routines. At the same time consultation wlth volunteers highlighted their concerns around providing a remote service from theSr home, confidentialtty and the increased responsibility without access to SUPPOrt. Some volunteer5 were unavailable due to carin8 responsibilities, shielding and/or health issues. Their feedback along with servlce users helped us decide not to offer online or telephone counselllng wlth a vlew to re-vislting these optlons In the future. We did run a pilot with one volunteer and 3 servlce users who a8reed to try telephone counselling. They were offered 4 sessions each after which they were consulted and glven the option to contlnue. All of them declined and declded to wait until face to face counsellinB resumed. As these sessions were taking place In their homes daily routines and lives got in the way makin8 them unavailable at the agreed tlme and dav. Re-opening In August 2020 we returned to a completely different workplace with the set up to comply with workplace Covid-19 hygiene recommendatlons as well as working in "bubbles. A majority of servlce users returned but it became apparent from calls we were receivin& ASCA was the only counselllng servlce providin8 a face to face servlce. We were dealing wlth phone calls from people who were desperate for contact with "people. but were not appropriate for our service. They were slgnposted to appropriate or8anisations including helplines of whom they already had been in contact vAth slnce the lockdown. During this period we had to take the drfficult declslon to close our Kingston seprfice as referred to In the Chalrs report. The timing couldn't have been worse. We invited Servi￿ users to continue seeing thelr counsellor In our Richmond offlce. Volunteers and service users were very understanding and appreciated us telephoning them to talk through options rather than just leave them waiting. They all expressed thelr sadness and the loss of the only specialist addictlon counselling service in the borough of Kingston. The closure has prompted us to keep a record of the number of enquiries and advice and information contacts we have from those resident in the borough of Kingston as well as those who engage face to face sUPPOrt from us. This will give us an indication of any consequences of the closure of our service. When we start to review our strategic plan and we will explore the option of r&opening a service in Kingston depending on the quantltative and qualitative data we collett. In the meantime the structural repairs for 96 Dttton Road are scheduled to start in 2022. ADDicnoN SUPPORT AND CARE AGENCY (ASCA) Trustee Report We closed the service for Christmas until further notlce- the pandemic was spreading fast and extremely virulent. The good news was the discovery of a new vaccine. A national vaccinatlon programme was rolled out in stages starting in January 2021 and by mid-April A5CA r&opened agaln. Post Covid-19 we are takin8 a cautious optimistic approach and continue to offer a reduced service. We plan to use 2021 as a baseline to look at new emerging needs, and gaps in local service provislon, particularly taking account of how to adapt to anv 'new normal.. It is very early days, the landscape is evolving and the health and social care sector is adapting to tackle the changes arising from the pandemic. The Carers Support Group-the group members were initialty provided a check in service vya telephone, but as the lockdown extended it was becomin8 apparent some of the group members were maintainin8 contact and supporting each other via the phone. The group decided to re-start the group meetings online as a peer support group with a check in monthly telephone call from us and the nomlnated peer leader during its early stages of development. Support was given around boundaries, time keepin8, listening and respecting each other and inclusiveness especially new members. The meetin8s are held weekly on Tuesday evenin8S. Volunteers are an important resource and our robust In-house trainin8 pro8ramme is a way of thanking them for the time they give us. It Is our alm when volunteers leave ASCA that they are confident, competent and professional therapists ready for the world of work, be that as an employee or setting UP thelr own small buslness. All our volunteers have personal experience of addlction either dirertly or indirectly. Volunteers who have come through their addiction are all In long tem) recovery. Their lived experlence enriches our servlce user's experlence. To help our volunteers wlth movln8 on as well as thank our volunteers we offer qualified volunteers low cost room hlre and a monthly continuing professional development group. The purpose of this group is to provlde those settln8 up a small buslness three elements of support; peer led group supervislon; professlonal development; and social support network During the yearthe professional development group stopped meetln8 but the group Is hopln8to start posslbly in 2022 dependin8 on need. We had planned to 80 into next year on a positive note. The Richmond Carers Hub was awarded a new 4 year contract and the new 12 weeks Carers Group pro8ramme was due to start in April. Instead we find ourselves closing our doors due to the 8lobal Covid-19 crisis and adju5tin8 to the challenges this brings. ADDicfioN SUPPORT AND CARE AGENCY IASCA) Trustee Report Servlces Counselling Service- Kingston supported 39 people Counselling Service- Richmond supported 165 people Carers Richmond - 69 weekly group sessions dellvered 135 carers/family members were 5UPPOrted through assessment, counsellin& advice and information and group support. hen 1 ¢7rrived at ASCA my life was out of control because of my oddlctions and my extremelyfragile mentol heolth. Thonks to ASCA for giving me the time and space to work thlngs through. l om now 3 year5 50ber. mentolly stronger and enjoying lift once ogt7in. I connot proise ASCA enough"JD Volunteers During the year we provided 28 volunteerlngopportunitiesto local people in lon8term recovery andlor ffected by someone else's addiction. 97% of volunteers reported that their overall volunteerln8 experience was excellent to very 8OCKI 99% of volunteers reported that they would recommend ASCA to anyone lookin8 to volunteers 98% of volunteers went Into paid employment andlor set up local small buslnesses IO% of volunteers went onto study further "I recoll belng nervous due to my Inexperlence ￿￿rkIng with adults in a then7peutlc way. Ifelt very supported by ASCA, not only In supervision grrtin8 by charities applicable to charitie5 preparing their accounts In accordance with the Financial Reportin8 Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland IFRS 1021. I have no COn￿rn$ and have come auoss no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached. ian Lewis Independent Examiner 8 Coldbath Square London ECIR 5HL Date:.......6..Qthob£r.2fj21...... ADDICIK>N SUPPIIRT AND CARE AGENCY Stat•m•nt of Flnancfj•l Acti¥ib•¥ Forthe y•ar •ndwl 31 *rth 2021 hKomefrnm'. 1Z4$4 aD.435 )9.(￿$ 24.401 ChArtiablo (Xher 3&469 62.687 Jw• 27.1•9 166 144.860 EXpen0￿￿rIOn'. IC*.477 1WA77 120A07 121M7 141.661 141.014 1•.110 13222) 2,896 13322J Z,495 RKon(Initlonoffvn&. bto 127,84J t3JW3 120.399 245.J48 248.242 otil lundsc1th￿ IDrw• 246.020 BaknG• Sh••t As •t 31 pAj￿h 2021 10 111.137 120.399 C4sh •ndinhwd T(*al Cumnl Asmt 12 14114 14114 142.5B7 144.106 credh￿.. LY*JW 13 16263 133•3 126,324 246,72J Th•fvndsolih•thath.. UnT•*rtLted ILTh R•itrtciedIu￿l 14 14 127.843 120.399 all￿ts 248,242 P¥J& 15 Forth• ymr ond•d 31 IAarch 2021 cl tra•*lFRS 10211thth* I 20191.ICF￿*O* SORPIFRS 102lk Ibl PrIp•rn￿0￿ dth•cc•urtts M • golnq conc•m bMi* Ih? Co• P•JE 16 ADDICTION SUPPORT ANO CARE AGENCY Forth• yoar ondgd 31 Marth 2021 T(thl 2020 ￿￿1 Qonerd raft￿d 10.031 2.423 10,031 14ZJ 69.041 Ta Fknmwon F 12.3CA) 12,WJ 12.3 LBlluT ¢w*rnP￿b F•1• 13 1.474 1,465 iJ.(vJo PJ¢hmond LthldiCh* Totsi Fwdi iJ.r 35.469 T).n1 At•nd olth x-At3A ktsrth 2021 Al dlhe Chw k*ihè 170.382 9.262 Al•￿ ol1￿ ¥-AfJi ktsrth 179 Il•t book*•￿•*t JiM•Kh1021 IIL137 N•¢b¢rtv•hJ••¢3L M¥th1020 T<41 FL¥ 2020 2021 1.020 Totsl C••h at ￿l￿and lfi Tthol 2021 2020 V4ryndtyuwt *X%YJfrf RBS4ct￿￿11 Trt•l 85.017 57,128 145 0S,P17 97,121 .001 57.9eo l4 Notss to th• Financlal Stat•mwnts Forth• )*ar ended 31 2021 Fw 3.622 2.924 3.622 2.924 14.472 37 1&163 Fund bal•Kes ￿rn* forward Ger￿￿ Fur 38.643 27.19 18.051 121.OC4) 65,893 68,000 127 17.$99 I￿•￿Adi￿lY 2.019 23.$$7 123.857 J9.010 19.262 I￿.39[• Trt•l rnstrfct•dfvnth I￿.399 166 2.049 111,137 15 5urplLYI Couns¢lifflg- Rlrfymnd Counsdiny- cour￿411￿9 s*wday. court￿14n• SaiLYdBy. KJ￿1 Careis. $8.143 2.074 3.9 48.852 11,538 9291 9.4851 1Q5 I1,￿) (T251 13,8e 19,2621 J22 Depreo*knn OMI Funds P￿21 For th• Y*ar•nd￿ 31 2021 Kome DoMthin• Couffl*li Jnthon6 1Q031 2.42J 10MJI 09.041 11,394 35A 3•.C65 7J•7 4.35$ ID¥wEm•nt IhtOM• Olhr 21657 2JM67 1,•12 115JfjS r4ftA #t￿ ine4knkn A•wur(•s •.•12 ndttw•on.' 7S.459 ,aS2 3.442 3.543 pen￿nconlo￿￿0l R•ni 4ndw*ef 141e• h•At 175 3.091 3.414 12) 7•1 3.041 Sldl& ￿*￿rde•r0. 3.041 6.754 a￿￿1 CB R*lurtqahrn*il rJ.657 9262 24.95 9211 T+x•I IAY79 2,247 F4Jblaty Total InsulwK* 725 333 4111J 726 333 1ty3 &Jntha 2ty) S,985 Total 1*110 121 Net expEnOIturn IiL3ll) P•p22