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← Connection Support

2024-03-31-accounts

Charity registration number 1049740

Company registration number 03072719 (England and Wales)

CONNECTION SUPPORT

ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

CONNECTION SUPPORT

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Trustees Mr R Allman
Mrs E Duke
Mr P Aston
Mr M Wortley
Mrs H Amura
Ms R L Takundwa
Mr P Bayley
Mrs C Dawson
Mrs A Cooney
Mrs E Dobell
Mr L Winterbourne
Mr J Arnold
Mr I Moore
Secretary Mr C Keating
Charity number 1049740
Company number 03072719
Registered office The Old School
First Turn
Wolvercote
Oxford
Oxfordshire
OX2 8AH
Auditor Critchleys Audit LLP
Beaver House
23-38 Hythe Bridge Street
Oxford
OX1 2EP
Bankers The Co-operative Bank
1 Balloon Street
Manchester
M60 4EP

(Chair) (Vice Chair) (Appointed 12 July 2023) (Appointed 14 August 2023) (Appointed 9 May 2024) (Appointed 11 July 2024) (Resigned 1 May 2023) (Resigned 30 September 2023) (Resigned 26 October 2023) (Resigned 11 January 2024) (Resigned 22 March 2024)

CONNECTION SUPPORT

CONTENTS

Page
Trustees' report 1 - 22
Statement of Trustees' responsibilities 23
Independent auditor's report 24 - 27
Statement of financial activities 28
Balance sheet 29
Statement of cash flows 30
Notes to the financial statements 31 – 51
Appendix 52 - 54

Trustees’ Annual Report

The Trustees are pleased to present their annual report, which is also prepared to meet the Companies Act requirements for a Directors’ report.

Chair of the Trustee Board’s Statement

Connection Support has been providing housing support for close to 30 years, and since joining the Board of Trustees in 2018, I have seen the charity undergo quite the evolution. By observing the ever-changing needs of our clients, we have grown to provide expert support across five key areas: homelessness and housing, mental health, family support, support for young people and refugee & asylum seeker support. It is thanks to our brilliant supporters, our generous donors, and our dedicated staff and volunteer teams that we have been able to undergo such a transformation, enabling us to continue to meet the needs of societal demand.

For the last three years, we have been executing our 2021-2024 strategy, focusing on delivering high-quality services that address the needs of our communities. As we approach the end of this strategy, we took the opportunity to revisit our strategic priorities to ensure we’re on track to meet our goals. As a result, we increased investment in our infrastructure, enhanced client involvement in our decision-making processes, and refined our housing strategy. Perhaps one of our most fundamental goals was to grow to impact more people positively, and it's safe to say, that is something we have achieved. In addition to introducing new services, we experienced a 140% increase in charitable donations and grants compared to the previous financial year, enabling us to sustain vital services like our No Recourse to Public Funds project, which would have otherwise ceased to exist.

Over the year we have seen the needs of our clients become more complex, and this has no doubt had an impact on our teams. To promote positive mental wellbeing in the workplace, we invested into our people development by placing more emphasis on adapting and implementing new policies and procedures to help foster a positive working environment. With the cost-of-living crisis still prevalent, the Board was happy to approve a higher pension contribution and annual salary increase to help improve staff wellbeing, the latter now matching others across the sector. With that in mind, it brings me great joy to see that staff wellbeing has gone from an area of focus to an area of celebration this year, highlighted by our staff engagement survey.

Similarly to many others in the sector, the last financial year has not been without its difficulties. The increase in complexity and societal demand has undoubtedly applied pressure, particularly in the wake of reduced funding, but we have continued to grow. The team at Connection Support have persevered, and I would like to thank Chris Keating, Chief Executive Officer, for his commitment to leading Connection Support through this challenging time, and to all our staff, volunteers and my fellow trustees for their continued dedication to supporting our clients.

Finally, I want to thank our brilliant supporters and generous donors. Their support has enabled us to continue to grow to meet the needs in our communities, and we remain steadfast in our mission to see everyone in our society become safely and sustainably housed. As this year draws to a close, I look forward to what is yet to come.

Richard Allman Chair of the Trustee Board

Chief Executive’s Statement

As another year passes by, I’ve been reflecting on all that we’ve accomplished here at Connection Support; partly due to our three-year organisational strategy coming to an end, but also because of the relentless compassion and determination exhibited by our staff and volunteers to ensure the best outcomes for all our clients. This year hasn’t been without its hardships, so I’m incredibly proud of the perseverance each team member has shown in helping us meet the evolving needs of the communities we serve.

This year, we’ve continued to see some of our clients’ needs, as well as those across society, grow increasingly more complex. Financial challenges, such as reductions to funding, the cost-of-living crisis, and the rising cost of inflation, have certainly added pressure, but we’ve been successful at stepping up to meet this increased demand. By listening to our clients’ challenges, experiences and hopes for the future, we’ve been able to implement enhanced training for our staff, evolve existing services to continue providing meaningful support, and grow the number of services we deliver - all to ensure we’re having the greatest impact possible.

Whilst working in the third sector can be incredibly rewarding, we recognise that the challenging nature of the work can take both a physical and emotional toll on our teams. The complexity of our clients’ needs has had a direct impact on our staff, and this was only further compounded by the cost-of-living crisis. As someone who is passionate about positive mental health, I’m pleased to say that we have further developed our wellbeing offer, practices, and standards, and reviewed our remuneration package too. With this renewed focus on wellbeing, I’m inspired by the staff who felt empowered to develop support networks for personal causes. We saw the creation of our menopause group and our neurodiverse network; both offering spaces for staff to talk about their experiences, speak with likeminded peers, and identify ways in which we, as an organisation, can be more inclusive.

This is my third year as Chief Executive Officer, and perhaps one of the reasons I feel quite so astonished by all we’ve achieved comes from this year marking the end of our 2021-2024 organisational strategy - my first here as CEO. As we’ve been planning what’s next for Connection Support, we’ve spent much of the last year assessing where our expertise lies and how we can use our knowledge to have an even more profound impact. We noticed that a lot of the people coming to us were experiencing crises that could have been prevented with earlier intervention, such as family breakdowns, mental health emergencies, and homelessness. The desire for us to take a more preventative approach was amplified during our strategy-building sessions with clients, staff, and volunteers, and it was after consultations with each of these audiences that we decided to take a shift in direction. This move isn’t new ground for us though; our affinity for prevention work was recognised earlier this year when The Tony and Sheelagh Williams Charitable Foundation selected us to deliver ‘Thrive’, a prevention-based model designed to avert family breakdowns. The process we went through to develop our new strategy resulted in some of the most significant moments for me this year, specifically the client-led consultations. I was in awe of peoples’ willingness to share their feedback - to be so open, honest, and positive - and how sensitive and supportive they were to one another. And after spending so much of this year listening, planning, and preparing for the future, I’m truly excited about the shift in direction we’re taking.

We have, and always will, advocate for the people we support, and so another of my personal highlights this year comes from our engagement with MPs. The impending general election has made it clear that our central government needs to refresh their thinking if we’re to see change in the future, and so I’m thrilled that we’ve been able to meet with local MPs, alongside our partners Homeless Oxfordshire and Aspire, and with support from Homeless Link, to help shape party manifestos. Through this work, we’re not only strengthening relationships with our partners to make an impact locally, but we’re also indirectly having a national impact too.

As we move into a new financial year, supported by a refreshed organisational strategy, I can’t help but think that this is just the beginning. I’m excited to see what this journey brings for Connection Support and I feel truly privileged to be leading the organisation into another year. I’d like to thank all our clients, volunteers and staff, as well as our Board of Trustees, for their ongoing support. There’s some change coming and I’m under no illusion that it’ll be easy, but with such a dedicated team behind us, I know we’ll succeed.

Chris Keating Chief Executive Officer

About Us

Connection Support began in 1995 with five people who believed they could make a difference by delivering an excellent homelessness prevention service in Oxfordshire. They were proved right. They went on to secure additional service contracts spanning homelessness and housing, mental health, family support, support for young people, and refugee & asylum seeker support, all with the aim of empowering people so that they can effectively manage a crisis and build resilience for the future.

Our mission is to work alongside people to help them overcome life's challenges, supporting everyone in our society to become safely and sustainably housed and live as independently as possible. We offer expert guidance to help people address the issues affecting their everyday lives, and we provide support so that they’re able to overcome the impacts and symptoms caused by past traumas. To do this, we provide services across Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes and Oxfordshire, through approximately 200 staff and 150 volunteers, and we work collaboratively with other organisations to ensure that our interventions make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. We use a personcentered, trauma-informed, strengths-based approach to empower our clients to define their goals, take positive steps forward, and achieve greater independence.

Despite everything we’ve done so far, homelessness continues to be an epidemic and the number of people coming to us with poor mental health is increasing. The issues affecting our clients are progressively more complex, but this past year has made it clear that many of these situations could have been avoided had earlier intervention taken place. As such, we’ve spent much of the last year refining a new, prevention-based approach that will shape the way we work as we look towards the future.

An overview of our services can be found in the Appendix on pages 52 – 54.

Client Testimonial

“You have given me the confidence and focus to achieve the things I could never have imagined when we first met. I was in a very dark place; life was full of shame, fear, pain, panic and hopelessness. However, you stood by my side, guiding me and supporting me, to get me where I am today. When we first met, I was at my lowest and consumed by a gambling addiction. I had no idea that with the right support, I could turn my life around. I wanted to, but I had no idea where to turn… It was you who gave me hope. I had a mountain to climb, and you gave me the hiking boots and all the equipment I needed so that I could do what I once thought was impossible.”

- Client, Housing Support Service, Oxfordshire

Our Year in Numbers

Throughout the 2023 - 2024 financial year, we…

Collaborating for Impact: Our Partnerships

We’re passionate about working in partnership with other organisations, services, and local authorities to provide innovative, wrap-around support for our clients across the three localities we work in. Over the course of the year, we continued to work collaboratively with many of our existing partners, but we also forged some new relationships. Working in partnership allows us to have a greater impact as we’re able to draw on the expertise of multiple organisations, sharing skills, knowledge, and resources, ultimately achieving the best outcomes for the people we support.

Buckinghamshire

Milton Keynes

Oxfordshire

Our Champions

We’re committed to continually driving positive change across the organisation, particularly around issues that align with our vision, mission and values. This financial year, we introduced Champion roles to help us evolve across four key areas:

Colleagues from across the organisation were invited to apply for a Champion role. Together, the Champions form a network working to influence organisational culture in the areas they are passionate about, whilst developing their own skills. With opportunities to learn about public speaking, leading and facilitating, monitoring and evaluation, and influencing others, our Champions are proactively making a difference across the organisation.

Our Client Involvement Champions started to encourage managers to involve clients in recruitment panels with the aim of including a client in all recruitment processes by 2025. So far, 10 clients have taken part in 14 interview panels, and the feedback has been exceptionally positive: clients have enjoyed being involved and have felt empowered by the experience, and managers have found the clients’ perspective helpful in making good recruitment decisions. To help achieve this goal, the Champions have written thorough guidance for all hiring managers covering how they’re able to involve clients in interviews. The Champions have been building up trust and engagement with clients by organising monthly fishing trips, delivering a client focus group and a client event in Milton Keynes.

Our Environment and Sustainability Champions made a start on calculating our carbon footprint to be able to benchmark and set targets, whilst also implementing small changes across the organisation to minimise our environmental impact. This includes changing the way staff print documents, from encouraging them to share papers electronically to limiting coloured printing, ultimately reducing the amount of paper used and the number of ink cartridges ending up in landfill. There have been discussions around new traffic controls in Oxford City and we've been encouraging staff to ride their bike to work by installing bike racks in our Wolvercote office and promoting our Cycle to Work scheme as part of our employee benefits package. Car sharing has been encouraged where possible, and we have continued to host many of our meetings online to further reduce travel. The Champions have also obtained quotes for sustainable lighting and electric car chargers at our offices.

Our EDEI Champions focused on raising awareness of different communities and causes across the organisation, celebrating annual observances in recognition of being a diverse and inclusive charity. With their support, we celebrated Black History Month in October by placing display boards and posters across our offices to highlight the crucial role that Black women have played in shaping history. The Champions partnered with Multaka Oxford to deliver an event to celebrate International Women’s Day as part of Oxford’s International Women’s Festival.

Our Wellbeing Champions advocate for positive wellbeing across the organisation, and this year, they began planning for our first ever Wellbeing Festival. Set to take place in the next financial year, the festival will be an opportunity for staff to come together, connect with one another and explore ways in which they’re able to better their overall health and happiness. Sessions that promote physical health and positive mental wellbeing will be offered, including art therapy, yoga and meditation. Other changes implemented over the financial year included the introduction of a traffic light system enabling colleagues to display how open they were to interruption from the tasks they were working on in shared office spaces, helping to contribute to a more pleasant working environment, as well as weekly mindfulness sessions and walks to encourage staff to take a break and focus on self-care.

Our Commitment to Equality, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Back in 2021, our Senior Leadership Team and Board of Trustees made an explicit commitment to prioritise Equality, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (EDEI) at Connection Support, resulting in the implementation of an ambitious and thorough action plan. This saw us develop our first-ever EDEI statement.

In 2022, we continued to progress our commitment to EDEI by working collaboratively with The Diversity Trust CIC to review our working practices, policies, and organisational culture and identify priorities going forward. They facilitated an organisation-wide, anonymous survey and conducted focus groups and interviews to produce a detailed report which outlined key learnings, reflections, and recommendations. One such recommendation was to develop EDEI Champion roles that would provide staff with the opportunity to help influence organisational culture.

We’re proud to say that we implemented these roles during the last financial year. Now, our EDEI Champions meet regularly to discuss ways in which we can promote positive practice and hold the organisation accountable to meet the actions specified on our EDEI development plan. To date, we’ve made changes across the entire organisation, including across our marketing and our recruitment practices, and now we’re set to start developing a new EDEI development plan in 2024/2025.

Our vision is to be a proactively inclusive organisation that’s free from discrimination, and we want everyone who interacts with us to feel welcome, safe, treated with respect, and valued. As a charity that seeks to provide support to individuals who are facing challenges, we’re passionate about having a presence at local events to ensure we’re inclusive and reflective of all the communities we serve. This year, we were proud 20[th] Anniversary Sponsors of Oxford Pride, and we were given the opportunity to show our support by marching in the parade. Sponsoring events like Oxford Pride provides us with the opportunity to connect with individuals who might benefit from our services, whilst networking with other organisations, and raising awareness of our work amongst the public, ultimately helping us to reach more people. We’re proud that our sponsorship also has a social benefit: Oxford Pride is a community event that has always been free to attend, and it’s through sponsorship that help to keep it that way.

In the next financial year, we’ll look at how we can be involved with more events across the areas we serve.

Client Involvement and Volunteering

Client involvement and volunteering are essential to Connection Support. Through listening to our clients and giving them a platform, we’re able to make informed decisions about the direction of the organisation, and the integral support of our volunteers helps us to achieve all that we do. Last year, we began to embed our client involvement and volunteering strategy across the organisation.

We’re passionate about giving our clients a voice, and as one of our organisational values is to empower our clients by focusing on their individual skills and knowledge, involving them in organisational decisions is a natural extension of this. In February and March 2024, we successfully trained nine clients to take part in interview panels, and our aim is to include clients in all our recruitment processes by 2025. Clients have also played a role in helping us to develop our new organisational strategy, and throughout the financial year, they were invited to attend strategy consultation sessions where they were able to share their feedback and suggestions. As well as contributing to our strategy, clients accessing services in Milton Keynes were invited to attend focus groups so we could better understand what is working well and what could be improved.

CASE STUDY: Invited to an interview – Saira’s Experience

This year, our Direct Payment and Employment Support Service manager, Christine, led a round of recruitment for a new team member. She invited client Saira to be part of the panel so that she could contribute her lived experience to the decision process.

What Saira said: “Before the interviews took place, Christine arranged a Teams meeting. She explained the whole process to me and answered any questions I had. We went over the interview questions as well as what points I should look out for and what type of person they were looking for.

I found hearing what employers look for when interviewing a candidate and how to reply to the difficult questions they ask really beneficial - it will be helpful for any interviews I have in the future. I was unsure about how to fill out the feedback forms at the end of the interviews, but Christine and her team explained how to complete them.

CASE STUDY: Invited to an interview – Saira’s Experience – cont.d

I would definitely recommend taking part in interviews to other clients as I think it's important that we get a chance to help select the right person for the role. This would be a person that we might have to call or ask for advice from, so it's beneficial that the candidates get to see who the clients they would be supporting are.

By Christine asking me to join the panel, it showed me that Connection Support really value and care for their clients and that their opinion matters to them. Overall, I had an amazing experience being on the interview panel and would definitely do it again.”

What Christine said: “It was fantastic having Saira as part of the interview panel. She brought a really helpful perspective and made me feel confident that we are working according to the Connection Support values in this important decision about our service.”

As well as involving clients in organisational decisions, we’re passionate about providing them with alternative opportunities for skills development. Earlier this financial year, we set up an arts and crafts group for clients to explore various creative outlets and meet new people. We’re proud that the clients involved in this group felt empowered to plan and lead a Christmas market stall, selling handmade gifts, to raise money for Connection Support.

In response to client feedback, another highlight of the financial year was the increase in activities for clients to engage with, including a fishing trip that was led by a volunteer. This was well received by all that attended and there are plans to run these trips on a more regular basis going forward.

Volunteers are integral to our work, and so to recognise their achievements and mark all they do, we held a celebration event during Volunteers Week. The event took place over an afternoon, with opportunities to take part in various activities, and it was enjoyed by all. One way in which we monitor what we are doing well and what could be done differently is through our volunteering survey. This financial year, 100% of volunteers who answered our survey said they would recommend volunteering with Connection Support to a friend – a 10% increase from the year before.

Our Work: Homelessness and Housing

Our origins are in homelessness and housing, and we've continued to help tackle the issue since we began providing floating support in Oxfordshire in 1995. Today, our work in this area extends across Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes and Oxfordshire, with half of our services focused on solving the issue.

We’re proud to still deliver our original Oxfordshire-based service, now known as our Housing Support Service. By developing tailored support plans that are unique to our clients' needs, our team provide help and guidance that enable our clients to maintain their tenancies. Despite a reduction in funding, we were able to successfully support 761 households to avoid homelessness this year - nearly double the number of people we supported the previous year, highlighting how stark the housing crisis across Oxfordshire is. Perhaps one of the most common challenges this service saw was the toll of the cost-of-living crisis and the shortage of affordable housing.

These challenges were also apparent for our Step Down Housing service which prevents homelessness in Oxfordshire by providing short-term housing for vulnerable patients who are medically ready to be discharged from hospital but lack suitable accommodation to continue their recovery. Despite having to increase the length of clients’ stays due to a lack of suitable move-on accommodation, the service was able to support 68 clients throughout the year. Another challenge reported by our Step Down team was the increase in the number of clients coming to us with complex needs, including neurodiverse conditions and/or a history of trauma, but had not been in receipt of any support, further highlighting the need for earlier intervention with appropriate services.

There has been a significant increase in rough sleeper figures in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, with our Outreach service teams both reporting a dramatic rise in clients with severe mental health needs. The teams have faced many challenges this year with a large reduction in funding in Bucks and the loss of emergency beds having a detrimental effect on people who are sleeping rough. Most clients are presenting with complex needs, not only with their health, but also their circumstances, such as the rise in the number of people who have been evicted from their accommodation due to falling behind with their rent payments, highlighting the increasing need for earlier intervention in the form of tenancy sustainment support. As always, our teams have adapted their approach to meet the needs of our local communities, and in Oxfordshire we supported 325 clients into suitable accommodation.

We supported people who were experiencing homelessness through our Adult Homeless Pathway service, providing 80 units of accommodation throughout Oxford, Witney, and Banbury. The service supported 100 clients throughout the year and saw nine individuals move on to long-term accommodation. When speaking to the clients who received support between January – March 2024, 55% saw an improvement in their health and wellbeing, and 28% felt confident enough to start working towards their employment or training journey. We received positive feedback from clients on our Housing First service in Cherwell (Oxfordshire), with 100% of them reporting an improvement in their health and wellbeing. Despite double the number of clients with substance misuse issues, the team have remained committed, adapting their approach to each individual to build up trust and engage well with them.

Our work with ex-offenders in Buckinghamshire has continued to go from strength to strength. We successfully secured additional funding to continue delivering our RESET service and supported 159 individuals to find sustainable accommodation and make positive life choices. The teams are delighted to report a reduction in reoffending amongst the individuals supported. By providing intensive tenancy sustainment support and helping clients to access health services, find employment, education or training opportunities, and link in with the community, they are making a great impact on breaking the cycle of reoffending by helping these individuals to build up positive networks. We have continued our partnership with Aspire Oxfordshire and Thames Valley Partnership to deliver the pilot project ‘Restart Thames Valley’ helping those leaving prison build successful lives. We supported 40 additional clients this year for up to six months before and up to six months after release to help prevent reoffending. 90% of clients were supported through the gate with intensive support on the day of release to help increase the chance of them successfully reintegrating into society.

CASE STUDY: From Rough Sleeping to Stability - James' Story

James’ story is one of moving from experiencing homelessness to hope, where, with help from his Support Worker, he was able to make a fresh start and begin to rebuild his life.

James became homeless due to a relationship breakdown and was found in High Wycombe by our Buckinghamshire Rough Sleeper Outreach Service. This service is aimed at those who are experiencing street homelessness; they verify that people are sleeping rough and then support them on their journey to long-term accommodation.

The Rough Sleeper Outreach Team were able to start helping James straight away. They provided him with a food package and arranged an emergency bedroom within two days of finding him sleeping outside. Whilst in the emergency bedroom, his Support Worker registered him with a GP and attended his initial appointments with him. To help James become more financially independent, the team offered to assist him with his Universal Credit claim as he was not receiving any income at the time, and helped him complete referral applications for supported housing accommodation. Soon after, he found a room in a private rented house share in High Wycombe and was encouraged to apply for the Wycombe Rent Deposit Guarantee Scheme, which was successful. This scheme guarantees the deposits required by private landlords to secure a tenancy and is particularly important for our clients as it addresses the challenge where, without a permanent address, it is very difficult to get a job and set up a bank account. This was an important stepping stone for James, helping him to gain more independence and stability in his life.

On the day James moved into the property, our Rough Sleeper Outreach Team were on hand to ensure that everything was in place for him. They helped him move all his belongings and assisted with completing the paperwork required for the move. This included updating his Universal Credit Online Account, ensuring rent was paid directly to the landlord, supporting him with the tenancy agreement, and advising James on further steps to ensure his tenancy was stable and manageable. James was given a ‘New Home Starter Pack’ to ease his transition, and he was referred to the High Wycombe Central Aid Furniture Project and Helping Hand so he could choose second-hand furniture and white goods for his new accommodation. This gave him a sense of feeling at home – something he had not felt in a long time. To ensure he was not feeling overwhelmed and was comfortable with all the new changes in his life, his Support Worker met with him twice a week to address any concerns or worries he had, as well as helping him with his weekly budgeting.

At this point in James’ journey, he was struggling to find work. This really took a toll on his mental health as he enjoys keeping busy and using his time positively. His Support Worker suggested that he start volunteering to find more fulfilment in his life. He applied to volunteer at his local Food Hub, starting off with a couple of shifts a week and progressing to volunteering full-time.

James’ confidence has grown tremendously. Through volunteering, he has made new friends and now has two interviews lined up for Performing Arts teaching jobs - a field he worked in for many years before becoming homeless. James is extremely grateful for all the help he has received from Connection Support, and for the skills he has developed. Now, James is looking forward to making the most out of this new beginning.

Our Work: Mental Health

Financial challenges, such as the cost-of-living crisis and the rising cost of inflation, are continuing to add pressure to people’s daily lives. This heightened stress is leading to poor mental health and contributing to the creation/exacerbation of issues like relationship breakdowns and problems with sustaining tenancies. In turn, this can often lead to homelessness for many individuals. By listening to our clients’ individual challenges, we’ve adapted to ensure that appropriate mental health support is embedded into each of our services.

Our Embedded Housing Workers continued to provide outstanding support at several Oxford Health Foundation Trust hospital sites, reducing the number of patients discharged with no housing provision in place and preventing repeat admission of rough sleepers. To enable successful discharge, the team work closely with medical staff to identify and understand patients’ specific housing issues. Our clients' needs continue to become ever more complex, and many have a history of multiple evictions which can create difficulty finding them suitable accommodation. We’ve seen that the limited availability of accommodation options and delayed responses from local authorities to house individuals are directly impacting hospital discharge. Despite these challenges, we saw a significant reduction of street discharges this year, with 96% of our clients supported into accommodation. We also saw a reduction in the number of previous clients readmitted to hospital.

We supported nearly 300 clients through our Mental Health Support services in Milton Keynes and Oxfordshire this year, with issues around housing, benefits and social inclusion to help them live more independently and avoid homelessness. The teams continued to face external challenges with Local Housing Allowance being too low to cover the rising cost of private rent, landlords selling properties or increasing the rent significantly, and clients relying on Personal Independence Payments to make up their rent shortfalls. There was also a significant increase in male referrals with housing needs following the breakdown of a relationship, and an increase in clients whose elderly parents were not able to support them anymore due to their mental health diagnoses.

Our Out of Hospital Service in Oxfordshire continued to help clients with complex needs avoid repeat admissions to mental health wards. The service has gone from strength to strength and has effectively sustained engagement with clients whose needs have often meant they were unwilling to engage with other mental health services. After seeing a reduction in costs incurred due to fewer hospital admissions, Oxford City Council (the managing partner of the service) successfully secured extension funding, affirming the need for such a service.

In Buckinghamshire, we continued to deliver the SafeHaven+ service providing alternative support to 49 clients, by improving their overall mental health and wellbeing to help them avoid future crises, prevent admission to hospital, and enable them to build a better life. We also continued with our Prevention Matters service to support clients over 18 who are at risk of social isolation due to difficulty leaving the house, feelings of anxiety, loneliness, or recovery from an illness. Over the financial year, our staff and volunteers supported nearly 800 clients by connecting them with social groups, encouraging them to engage with their communities, and linking them with other services for advice and support.

CASE STUDY: Turning the Tide After Two Decades of Struggle – Frankie’s Story

Frankie* has struggled with her mental health for over 20 years and had not always received the consistent support she needed, both mentally and physically. She’d had a difficult past, experiencing abusive relationships, drug use, homelessness, and moving frequently. As a result of her difficult experiences, she was feeling depressed, suicidal, lonely, and distrustful.

Everything changed for Frankie when she was referred to our Mental Health Floating Support Service in Milton Keynes and met her Support Worker, Marie. At first, Frankie’s support needs were difficult to identify as she was very withdrawn and struggled to maintain contact and conversation. However, it soon became clear that Frankie required urgent mental health support, as she regularly shared incorrect impressions of the world, often shouting these at her Support Worker.

Through Marie’s conversations with Frankie’s social worker and probation officer, they agreed she would benefit most from support with her mental health, budgeting, and daily living. Marie helped Frankie set some goals, which included helping her get regular medication, and setting up a budget and payment plans, to pay her bills on time. To build trust, Marie made daily contact with Frankie, and they met at least once a week to make her more comfortable with the process.

Once Frankie started taking regular medication, her mental health symptoms swiftly reduced, allowing her and Marie to have meaningful conversations and work together on achieving her goals. Marie submitted a housing application on Frankie’s behalf which was accepted by Milton Keynes Council, and helped Frankie complete the necessary paperwork for all the benefits she was entitled to.

CASE STUDY: Turning the Tide After Two Decades of Struggle – Frankie’s Story – cont’d

Together, they contacted the companies Frankie owed money to and set up affordable payment plans. They arranged direct debits for companies which Frankie received regular monthly bills from and created a personal budgeting plan for her. This helped Frankie better understand the benefits she received, when they arrived, and which bills needed to be paid each month.

Frankie had not been to a dentist in years, resulting in missing teeth. Marie helped her register with an NHS dentist and supported her through the appointments to get a denture fitted. Frankie was so pleased and said she felt amazing after getting dentures. Marie noticed an immediate and significant boost in Frankie’s confidence.

Frankie was known by two surnames and was unsure which one was on her birth certificate. She was encouraged to contact her local council to obtain a copy of her birth certificate and apply for ID under her correct surname.

Through her work with Marie, Frankie has completely turned her life around. Her mental health is stable, and she no longer feels depressed or suicidal. She now manages her finances independently and handles every aspect of her life much better. Frankie no longer requires intensive support due to the progress she’s made and has transitioned to bi-weekly support visits. Frankie has said how grateful she is to Connection Support and Marie, as she finally received the help she so desperately needed.

Our Work: Family Support

The number of people experiencing a crisis is on the rise, and the origins of these crises often stem from childhood. Parental mentoring can serve as an early intervention method, helping us work in a preventative way with families to create a positive and stable environment for their children.

We’ve been delivering family support services for several years, most recently we started delivering ‘Thrive’ in Buckinghamshire. Delivered by Family Liaison Workers, with support from volunteers, we work alongside families, supporting, encouraging and empowering them to build their skills, confidence and parental wellbeing. So far, we’ve supported 265 children. Initially we were relying on referrals from school, however these dropped off once the summer holidays began. The team adapted their approach and opened referrals up to other professionals, further expanding the service. Throughout the year we have seen an increase in referrals with children who have additional needs, with parents struggling to understand and manage their behavior. More children seem to be hiding their true personalities at school in attempt to fit in (‘masking’), instead releasing their frustrations at home. This has given us the opportunity to build relationships with schools, share the challenges the children are having at home, and support with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).

We provide Self-Directed Support services in Oxfordshire and Milton Keynes, which enables people who need support from social or health care to make their own care arrangements in a way which best suits their personal preferences and unique circumstances. This year we helped 174 people to use their Direct Payment to recruit and employ their own care staff by either identifying an appropriate family member or friend, or by advertising the role on our PA Register. Throughout the year we managed over £1.7m of funds on behalf of clients with disabilities, a quarter of whom are children.

Our Work: Young People

As the complexity of young people’s needs grows, so does the need for our services. Poor mental health, learning difficulties, and the breakdown of family relationships leading to the risk of homelessness, all play a role in the increase in demand for support.

Our newly amalgamated service ‘HITPad’ brought about positive change for both staff and clients. By removing the 24-hour staffing element (that had previously been part of our Padstones project) this encouraged higher levels of independence amongst our young residents. Restructuring the team to suit the new model also allowed staff to work more flexibly, enabling them to further support young people in the community. By the end of the year, the service had accepted 70 new referrals, and 10 residents had moved on after successfully completing their support with us.

Across Buckinghamshire and South Oxfordshire, we continued to deliver our Young People's Supported Accommodation service (YPSA), helping young people aged 16 – 25 who face homelessness. The team supported 25 young people to move into suitable accommodation, and to transition into mainstream adult life, finding independence through education, training, and employment. Like many of our clients, we saw several people struggling with their mental health. However, by providing one-to-one tailored support, we were able to help them develop life skills, such as cooking, budgeting, looking after their tenancy and paying their bills. Our Support Workers also assisted them with claiming benefits, registering with a local GP, finding employment or training opportunities, and providing much-needed emotional support; helping them to build resilience for future challenges they may face.

Our Work: Refugee Resettlement

Since 2015, we’ve been providing support for refugees resettling in the UK as part of the Government’s resettlement schemes. The families supported are resettled in areas across Oxfordshire and provided with a range of emotional and practical support to help them adapt to different social norms, culture and life in Britain.

Working with families through the whole process, our team greet them at the airport, settle them into their accommodation, and get to work on connecting them with health services and mental health support, schools, English language classes, employment and volunteering opportunities, and local community groups. In the last year we’ve supported 32 families to resettle and sustain their tenancy. Nine individuals are now in full time employment, and two women were supported in starting their own sewing business to sell clothes at the local market. Half of the male adults were supported to apply for provisional driving licenses and to access funding for driving lessons. Many of whom have gone to pass their theory/practical driving tests, providing them with more job prospects.

Our ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ (NRPF) service in Oxfordshire, delivered in partnership with Oxfordshire Homeless Movement, Asylum Welcome, Edge Housing and SOHA supports individuals who don’t currently have access to benefits and housing. The service provides accommodation for clients, offers them mental health support and helps them resolve their immigration status. This year, we’ve worked with 34 people, with 85% of those taking up either volunteering, education or training opportunities to help them work towards a brighter future.

Following on from the success of our Oxfordshire service, we also set up an NRPF service in Buckinghamshire, after a clear need was identified in this area as well. Partially funded by The Rothschild Foundation, we are currently seeking further funding to continue providing this vital service. The team have faced several challenges this year, finding it extremely difficult to find suitable accommodation for our clients meaning they have had to provide support to clients who were still sleeping rough. They’ve also noticed an increase in referrals from clients who have previously relied on a spousal visa, but the relationship has since broken down. Our teams have had to adapt their support based on the individual’s situation and to be able to continue providing meaningful support.

Drawing on our extensive experience of working with refugees and asylum seekers, we started delivering a service in March 2024 providing family centred support to engage with displaced Ukrainians (under the Homes for Ukraine scheme) – helping them gain the skills and confidence they need to live independently in the UK. We’re working in partnership with Refugee Resource to offer practical, social, and mental health support to help them connect with their local area and integrate into their new neighbourhoods. So far, over 400 Ukrainians have accessed this service, and we hope to provide support to many more in the coming months.

CASE STUDY: “I didn’t know what would happen to me and my daughters” – Nesrin’s Story

I wasn’t in my country before coming to the UK. My daughters and I were in a different country going through harsh conditions and pressure. Our lives were all misery and sadness, there was nothing joyful in it, we suffered a lot. I didn’t know what would happen to us.

When I heard that my application had been accepted to the UK, I was very happy, and the Connection Support team were the first people I met and began to benefit from their services. When we arrived, a team of five people welcomed me and my daughters. They welcomed us warmly as if they had known us for a long time, and they were smiling and helping us carry our bags. They helped me manage my daily life making contracts with electricity, water and internet, as well as registering with the NHS and booking appointments. Even when I had an accident on the bus, the Team Manager Debbie took great care of me, and her care made me feel like I had a family.

My life is stable now, and I have become more confident, especially after I got a job, and my daughters go to school. I’ve started to feel a lot safer and more comfortable. I hope to complete the English language levels and be able to study at university. I want to help people just as Connection Support helped me, and I would like to see my eldest daughter achieving her dream of becoming a lawyer.

My daughters and I are so grateful for the Connection Support services, and we are thankful for Debbie and all the Support Workers who helped us.

Our Strategy

This year marks the end of our 2021 – 2024 organisational strategy, focused on providing quality services that meet the needs observed in our communities. This document identified areas where we required more robust infrastructure to support our rapidly growing charity, ensuring we were able to continue delivering high quality services. It also laid out our goals, mission, and values - all of which were developed collaboratively through a series of facilitated conversations with staff members, Board members, leadership, and senior managers, as well as input from clients and volunteers.

Achievements and performance against objectives

In the last year, we have taken considerable steps to ensure all our strategic goals for 2021–2024 were completed in time for the launch of our new 2024-2027 organisational strategy. To do this, we reviewed and refined our strategic goals in January 2023, enabling us to place extra emphasis where needed to successfully deliver the strategy in its entirety.

Our refined goals, including the details of each objective, are listed below, alongside our achievements from the last financial year.

1. Grow to positively impact more lives.

In our 2022 – 2023 Trustees’ Report, we set out to continue delivering on our track-record of successful retendering and extending contracts, further hone and target our tendering skills and improve our processes. We promised to deliver our marketing and fundraising strategies to further expand our reach, supporting our plans to build our reputation amongst our various target audiences.

What we achieved this financial year:

2. Invest in our infrastructure.

In our 2022 – 2023 Trustees’ Report, we promised to develop more tools and information to enable frontline workers to deliver for clients. We also promised to continue to assess management/business service capacity alongside organisational growth and proactively manage risk through improved controls and procedures.

What we achieved this financial year:

3. Ensure clients are directly involved in shaping our work

In our 2022 – 2023 Trustees’ Report, we promised to implement client involvement and volunteering strategies to further embed client involvement into our decision making. To help us achieve this, we promised to internally recruit staff members to become Client Involvement Champions –who would actively promote and facilitate client involvement across our teams and services.

What we achieved this financial year:

4. Invest in people development

In our 2022 – 2023 Trustees’ Report, we promised to review and follow up on the focus areas coming from our staff engagement survey, such as wellbeing and collaboration, with a view to repeating the survey in 2023. We also committed to enhancing our training and employee benefits, develop a competency system and make salary awards as generous as possible within budget parameters.

What we achieved this financial year:

5. Develop our housing strategy

In our 2022 – 2023 Trustees’ Report, we promised to invest in our housing management capability, develop an estates strategy, review our offices, improve our compliance systems, and maintain a focus on environmental considerations.

What we achieved this financial year:

6. Strengthen relationships for improved collaboration

In our 2022 – 2023 Trustees’ Report, we promised to purposefully build robust relationships with partners and other stakeholders throughout our geographical areas.

What we achieved this financial year:

Plans for the future direction of the charity and likely future developments

Launched in April 2024, our new three-year organisational strategy is focused on putting prevention first. Whether it’s due to homelessness or poor mental health, the number of people experiencing a crisis is on the rise, and the origins of these crises often stem from childhood. We know that the human and financial cost of the revolving door is intolerable and unnecessary. That’s why we’re taking the battle against homelessness and poor mental health to its source. We’ve consulted with clients, staff, and volunteers to ensure our focus stays on the people we support and that we remain committed to our mission of seeing everyone in our community safely and sustainably housed and ensure they can live as independently as possible. These consultations and inputs were integral to the development of our new strategy.

Our vision for 2027 is to be a thought-leader in the prevention of homelessness and mental ill-health, spearheading innovative services that prevent crises from happening, whilst being there to offer client-centred support if they do. We know that demand for support with homelessness and mental health is increasing all the time, and our client referrals are becoming even more complex, so over the next three years, our core work will still meet the current need that we see around us. However, as we move forward, we’ll ensure that each of the crisis services we provide have a preventative approach woven in, enabling people to build resilience to avoid future emergencies so that they don’t return through a revolving door.

Our passion to increase the positive impact we have on people’s lives cannot be delivered without additional financial resource, so we’ll be focusing more of our efforts into generating fundraised income. Whilst our core work will still be to deliver statutory services, we’ll use this additional fundraised income to design innovative projects that meet the needs in society which existing services aren’t currently able to meet. We’ll strive to identify new opportunities so that we can avoid turning people away when their work is nearly finished. We’ll be here to provide needs-based, not time-based support.

Our team are at the core of everything we do – without them, our support services would cease to exist. It’s because of their expertise, compassion, and unwavering commitment to helping people that we’re able to support our clients achieve incredible milestones. That’s why we’re investing in our staff in terms of training, remuneration and wellbeing so that we can be an even-better employer, building on our success as one of the best charities to work for.

We believe in a future where people are free from crisis, and effective prevention is the key. But for the times when crises do happen, we’ll be there to help every step of the way.

As part of our Prevention First strategy, we have set new objectives grouped into three key themes. The details of these, alongside the planned activities to achieve them, are presented below.

Quality service delivery

We’re dedicated to improving the lives of the people we support, and so to continue meeting the needs of our clients, we’re developing new ways to ensure we’re always providing the highest level of quality.

Some of the planned activities to achieve this are:

Prevention is better than cure

With a renewed focus on prevention, we’re seeking opportunities to innovate in the gaps in existing service provision and fundraise for new services so that we can help more clients pave the way to a crises-free future.

Some of the planned activities to achieve this are:

People, partnership and culture

We’re recognised as one of the best charities to work for, and as our people make us who we are, we’re doubling down on our efforts to be an ever-improving employer and partner.

Some of the planned activities to achieve this are:

Thank You

All that we have achieved this year would have been impossible without our partners, donors, volunteers, and staff – thank you. We are immensely grateful for every donation we receive and would like to say thank you to everyone who has given their time, energy, and financial support to Connection Support over the past year.

We’d also like to thank all our funders:

Bartlett Taylor Charitable Trust Bicester Village Blenheim Palace Blockley Lodge Buckinghamshire Council Burnham Rotary Club Carrington Charitable Trust Cherwell District Council Christopher Laing Foundation City of Oxford Co-op David Family Foundation Dorothy Holmes Charitable Trust Heart of Bucks Community Foundation John Lewis L&Q Foundation NHS OCVA One Stop Oxford Playhouse Oxford Poverty Action Trust (OxPAT) Oxford University Oxfordshire County Council Oxfordshire Homeless Movement Oxfordshire Freemasons Rectory Foundation Red Kite Community Housing Rothschild Foundation Shanly Foundation Skipton Building Society St Joseph’s Furniture Market Stanton Ballard Charitable Trust Tesco Bletchley The Clare Foundation The Hobson Charity The Syder Foundation The Tony and Sheelagh Williams Charitable Foundation Thomas Hickman Charity Vodafone Wadham College, University of Oxford Waitrose Aylesbury

Reference and Administrative Details

Connection Support (The Old School, First Turn, Oxford, England, OX2 8AH) is a limited company registered in England and Wales (03072719) and a registered charity in England and Wales (1049740).

Trustees

Richard Allman (Chair) Emma Duke (Vice Chair) Mike Wortley Paul Aston Helen Amura (appointed 12 July 2023) Rumbidzai Takundwa (appointed 14 August 2023) Peter Collingwood (appointed 09 May 2024) Peter Bayley (appointed 09 May 2024) Charlotte Dawson (appointed 11 July 2024) Anne Cooney (resigned 1 May 2023) Emily Dobell (resigned 30 September 2023) Luka Winterborne (resigned 26 October 2023) James Arnold (resigned 11 January 2024) Liam Moore (resigned 22 March 2024 to become a member of our Management Team)

Secretary

Christopher Keating

Auditors

Critchleys Audit LLP Beaver House 23 – 38 Hythe Bridge Street Oxford OX1 2EP

Structure, Governance and Management

Connection Support is a charitable company, limited by guarantee. It is governed by its Articles of Association, dated 26 May 1995.

The Trustee Board is responsible for the governance of the charity. The Trustee Board delegate the day-to-day management of the charity to Chris Keating, the Chief Executive Officer, who is supported by Amy Delisser, Deputy CEO, Paul Prosser, Operations Director, Dipen Parekh, Business Services Director and Carol Steel, Finance Director.

Each director has taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as a director in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the company's auditors are aware of that information. So far as each director is aware, there is no relevant audit information (information needed by the company's auditors in connection with preparing their report) of which the company's auditors are unaware.

The Board of Trustees

Connection Support is governed by a Board of unpaid Trustees who meet with the staff leadership team every two months. The Board delegates monitoring of financial matters to a Finance Sub-committee, which meets once a quarter and delivery of organisational development initiatives to a Development Sub-committee, which meets every two months. Other committees can be formed on a task-focused basis.

Under the requirements of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, one third of Board members, or if their number is not a multiple of three, then the number nearest to one third, shall retire from office at the Annual General Meeting each year. Any Trustee appointed between Annual General Meetings shall only retain office until the next Annual General Meeting and then shall be eligible for re-election. The Trustees who served the charity during the financial year, alongside Trustees who have recently been appointed, can be viewed on the previous page. In September 2023, James Arnold retired from his position as Chair of the Trustee Board. Richard Allman was elected as Chair, with Emma Duke elected as Vice-Chair.

Recruitment and Appointment of Trustees

The Board aims to ensure that a broad range of experience is represented by Trustees, particularly in health, housing, social care, business and finance. A skills audit of Board members is conducted every two years to inform recruitment and succession planning. Detailed information is provided to prospective Trustees, including governing documents, financial accounts, Charity Commission guidance on the responsibilities of Trustees and information about the charity’s services. Applicants are invited to an informal discussion with the CEO followed by a formal interview with two Board Members and the CEO. The interview covers the responsibilities of Trustees, in line with Charity Commission guidance and the Charity Code of Governance. References are taken prior to full Board approval of appointment.

Trustees’ Induction and Training

New Trustees are provided with information about the charity including its strategy, plans, organisational structure, finances and risk register. New Trustees meet with the CEO for a full briefing on the charity’s work and to agree areas of more specific input. Newly appointed Trustees are supported by a mentor from the Board during their induction period. Training opportunities are circulated to Board members as they arise.

Charitable Objectives

To relieve poverty, sickness and distress in people over the age of 16 and living, or about to live, in local authority, housing association or private accommodation (particularly but not exclusively those who have been in care or have been homeless, those who suffer from mental health problems and those with previous or current addiction to drugs or alcohol) through the provision of advice and advocacy services, counselling support and whatever charitable means the Trustees shall decide.

Statement of Public Benefit

The Trustees take into account the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit and believe that the activities of Connection Support as set out in this report cover the duty of showing public benefit in line with that guidance. Our principal public benefit is to enable vulnerable people to maintain their independence, this includes people with mental health problems, drug and alcohol problems, families, young people, refugees, people who have been homeless, older people and people with an offending background. People who receive support must need this support to enable them to live independently. There is no charge for this support.

Fundraising

Connection Support is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and our fundraising activities comply with the standards set out in the Code of Fundraising Practice. Our fundraising is open, honest, and respectful, and we consider the needs of any donor who may be in vulnerable circumstances or who may need extra support to make an informed decision. We did not receive any complaints related to fundraising during this period.

The charity is deeply grateful for the support it has received over the year. We are delighted to have raised over £668,000 in charitable income from local and national trusts and foundations, individual donors, and local organisations. Fundraised income is used to support projects that would not otherwise exist, such as our No Recourse to Public Funds service, which supports people experiencing homelessness who are not entitled to statefunded benefits and our Thrive service for families in Buckinghamshire.

Equality, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

As part of our ongoing commitment to being a truly inclusive organisation, we have implemented an EDEI Development Plan with the support of The Diversity Trust. This plan is reviewed on a quarterly basis and has resulted in the creation of ongoing commitments, such as identifying regular training, encouraging client involvement to shape our work, and setting up networks to support staff needs. Our aim is to ensure that all our staff, clients and volunteers feel welcomed and supported, and feel free to be their authentic selves.

Environment

Connection Support recognises that our work has an impact on the local, regional, and global environment. We are committed to continuously improving our environmental performance by prioritising sustainability, energy efficiency and making the most effective use of resources.

Risk Management

Connection Support has introduced improved risk management processes this year, including a more detailed risk register, which identifies risks and mitigations in the following categories: governance, external, regulatory and compliance, financial and operational. It highlights the ‘hottest’ risks which need to most urgently be mitigated and the CEO reviews this monthly with the senior management team to proactively build a culture of risk management as well as bringing it to the board on a two-monthly basis.

Financial Review

The trustees of Connection Support were pleased to consolidate the financial position of the charity during the year, seeing some local authority contracts frozen or diminishing in value, whilst others were enhanced or extended. Overall, income including gains on investments increased by 2.5% from the prior year to £8,651,053.

We have worked to ensure that our services continue to meet the needs of the people we work with, irrespective of the constraints of statutory funding. As a result, activities supported by fundraising activities continued to grow, with charitable donations and grants growing by 140% this year to £668,375.

Expenditure for the financial year was £8,377,336, including the expenditure of £22,211 brought forward restricted grant income from the prior year. This resulted in a surplus of £273,737, which supports the level of growth necessary to move towards our reserves targets.

We continue to ensure that funds are committed wherever possible to support our charitable work, with 99.4% of organisational expenditure supporting charitable activities (see below).

We are continuing to see huge demand for our services, driven by financial insecurity. We are immensely grateful to the individuals and charitable organisations who donated during the year to help cover rental costs and provide basic household items for those with emergency needs. With their support, we were delighted to have been able to provide direct support for families and individuals worth a total of £190,218.

Reserves policy

It is the policy of Connection Support to maintain free unrestricted reserves (that is, unrestricted reserves not invested in fixed assets or designated for specific purposes) at a target level which can finance at least four months’ full payroll and operational costs.

This has been established as the level which provides Connection Support with the financial stability to deliver the organisation’s core activities, without compromising the principle that the income received will be used to support the charitable objectives of the organisation wherever possible.

Whilst this reserves policy is designed primarily to satisfy our charitable objectives, the level of four months’ reserves additionally provides a window for the Senior Leadership Team to manage cashflow issues, in the event of delays receiving contract or rental income due.

As an additional requirement, Connection Support ensures that unrestricted reserves are maintained at a level which can support the winding up of the organisation in a solvent manner, should this scenario occur. Winding up costs are currently calculated to be £2,323k.

At 31 March 2024 Connection Support held free reserves of £2,402k, sitting between the minimum level of £2,323k and the target level of £2,743k. In addition to this, £223k reserves were designated at the year end to support the installation of a new client database, planned IT investment and planned service expenditure.

Investment policy

Connection Support aims to ensure that it maintains its free reserves in a way which ensures that (i) funds are accessible to support the liquidity of the organisation on a day-to-day basis, whilst also (ii) upholding the value of the organisational balance sheet against rising inflation in the longer term.

To achieve this, the trustees have established a multipronged approach:

In investing funds, the trustees evaluate the security of the funds, the likely return on investment, plus the social, environmental and ethical impacts of prospective investments. The Finance Subcommittee of the Board of Trustees review the performance of investments on a quarterly basis.

Risk management

The Trustees of Connection Support review the organisational risk register every two months, as part of the Board Meeting agenda. They have identified the key organisational risks facing Connection Support, and strategies to manage these risks, as below:

Nature of risk Risk management strategy
Reduced funding available
from local authorities due to
post-COVID recession		 •
Diversification of income streams through Fundraising
activities and increased provision of Supported
Accommodation.
•
Stakeholder mapping and engagement to assess potential
new contracts and to evaluate prospective risks to existing
services.
Nature of risk Risk management strategy
Societal need far outweighs
service capacity		 •
Proactive communication with local authorities and
charitable funders to collaboratively plan a collective
response to the current cost of living crisis.
•
Focus on our own quality and on ensuring our work meets
the highest standards of service and efficiency. A full
quality review is in progress.
•
Partnership with other charities and service providers to
maximise cost efficiency around service-delivery.
Increasing complexity of client
needs, including mental
health needs in services
which are not funded to
support mental health
specialists.		 •
Enhanced training package in place for all staff, with all
employees given access to all training, including Mental
Health training.
•
Strong line management of staff to manage client
caseload, supported by regular one-to-one supervisions
and Reflective Practice sessions.
•
Employee wellbeing and benefits programme in place to
support staff retention.
•
Dialogue with funders around the increasing volume and
complexity of Connection Support’s client base.

The financial performance of Connection Support during the reporting period was affected by £37k sunk costs required to repair supported accommodation after damage was incurred in three of the properties we manage. The trustees have set aside a financial provision in the budget for the year ending 31 March 2025 to mitigate against the impact of similar incidents in the future.

There are no additional factors likely to affect the financial performance of Connection Support going forward.

Auditor

In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that Critchleys Audit LLP be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting.

The Trustees’ report was approved by the Board of Trustees.

Trustee— 10.10.2024 DAMES ooo eect

CONNECTION SUPPORT

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

The Trustees, who are also the directors of Connection Support for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company Law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.

In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

CONNECTION SUPPORT

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT

TO THE MEMBERS OF CONNECTION SUPPORT

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Connection Support (the ‘Charity’) for the year ended 31 March 2024 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the Charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the Charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The Trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

CONNECTION SUPPORT

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED) TO THE MEMBERS OF CONNECTION SUPPORT

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the Charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors' report included within the Trustees' report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of Trustees

As explained more fully in the statement of Trustees' responsibilities, the Trustees, who are also the directors of the Charity for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are responsible for assessing the Charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.

CONNECTION SUPPORT

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED)

TO THE MEMBERS OF CONNECTION SUPPORT

We assessed the susceptibility of the Charity's financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:

To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:

In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:

There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the directors and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https:// www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.

CONNECTION SUPPORT

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED)

TO THE MEMBERS OF CONNECTION SUPPORT

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Katherine Wilkes (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of Critchleys Audit LLP

10/10/24

..................................................

Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditor

Beaver House 23-38 Hythe Bridge Street Oxford OX1 2EP

CONNECTION SUPPORT

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
2024
2024
Notes
£
£
Income from:
Donations and legacies
3
10,320
658,055
Charitable activities
4
7,894,779
61,341
Investments
5
16,502
-
Total income
7,921,601
719,396
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
6
51,208
-
Charitable activities
7
7,584,521
741,607
Total expenditure
7,635,729
741,607
Net gains/(losses) on
investments
11
10,056
-
Net income/(expenditure)
295,928
(22,211)
Other recognised
gains and losses:
Revaluation of tangible
fixed assets
-
-
Net movement in
funds
9
295,928
(22,211)
Reconciliation of funds:
Fund balances at beginning of
year
2,459,144
191,318
Fund balances at end of year
2,755,072
169,107		 Total
Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
2024
2023
2023
£
£
£
668,375
7,404
270,712
7,956,120
8,061,604
113,590
16,502
1,654
-
8,640,997
8,070,662
384,302
51,208
45,258
-
8,326,128
7,895,033
258,595
8,377,336
7,940,291
258,595
10,056
(16,957)
-
273,717
113,414
125,707
-
130,000
-
273,717
243,414
125,707
2,650,462
2,215,730
65,611
2,924,179
2,459,144
191,318		 Total
2023
£
278,116
8,175,194
1,654
8,454,964
45,258
8,153,628
8,198,886
(16,957)
239,121
130,000
369,121
2,281,341
2,650,462

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

CONNECTION SUPPORT

BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 31 MARCH 2024

2024 2023
Notes £ £ £ £
Fixed assets
Tangible assets 13 706,399 554,773
Current assets
Stocks 14 3,000 -
Debtors 15 960,778 1,044,555
Investments 16 239,426 224,619
Cash at bank and in hand 1,712,789 1,601,175
2,915,993 2,870,349
Creditors: amounts falling due within one 17
year (698,213) (774,660)
Net current assets 2,217,780 2,095,689
Total assets less current liabilities 2,924,179 2,650,462
Net assets excluding pension liability 2,924,179 2,650,462
The funds of the Charity
Restricted income funds 19 169,107 191,318
Unrestricted funds - general 2,402,422 2,190,894
Unrestricted funds - Revaluation reserve 130,000 130,000
Unrestricted funds - Designated funds 20 222,650 138,250
2,924,179 2,650,462

The financial statements were approved by the Trustees on

10.10.2024

Mr R Allman Trustee

Company registration number 03072719 (England and Wales)

CONNECTION SUPPORT

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Notes
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash generated from operations
26
Investing activities
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
Purchase of investments
Investment income received
Net cash used in investing activities
Net cash used in financing activities
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year		 £
(229,098)
(4,752)
16,502		 2024
£
328,962
(217,348)
-
111,614
1,601,175
1,712,789		 £
(60,859)
1
1,654		 2023
£
696,376
(59,204)
-
637,172
964,003
1,601,175

CONNECTION SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1 Accounting policies

Charity information

Connection Support is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is The Old School, First Turn, Wolvercote, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX2 8AH.

1.1 Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charity's constitution, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the Charities SORP "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019). The Charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the Charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, modified to include the revaluation of freehold properties and to include investment properties and certain financial instruments at fair value. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

1.2 Going concern

At the time of approving the financial statements, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the Trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

The Trustees have not identified any material uncertainties about the Charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

1.3 Charitable funds

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the Board of Trustees for particular purposes.

Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.

1.4 Income

All incoming resources are included in the statement of financial activities when the Charity is legally entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.

Income received by the way of grants, donations and gifts is included in full in the Statement of Financial Activities when receivable. Grants, where entitlement is not conditional on the delivery of a specific performance by the Charity, are recognised when the Charity becomes unconditionally entitled to the grant.

1.5 Expenditure

Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Expenditure represents amounts invoiced, including value added tax which cannot be recovered.

Support costs are allocated per service according to the Full Time Equivalent number of staff working on each service.

CONNECTION SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1 Accounting policies

(Continued)

1.6 Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful economic lives on the following bases:

Buildings 2% straight line Leasehold improvements Over the life of the lease Acommodation furnishings & office equipment 25% reducing balance Computer Equipment 25% reducing balance

All assets costing more than £1,000 are capitalised.

When Connection Support furnishes a new unit of supported accommodation, set-up purchases are treated as a single asset and depreciated accordingly. This is intended to maintain consistency of practice with the depreciation on furniture and fittings claimed through Housing Benefit for supported accommodation.

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is credited or charged to income or expenditure.

1.7 Current asset investments

Investments are measured at fair value at the year end date.

Investments are classified as current when they can be converted into cash within one year. The Charity has either decided to sell the investments within one year or is undecided about the long-term strategy regarding investments.

1.8 Stocks

Stocks represent donated goods. See Note 1.14,

1.9 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.

1.10 Financial instruments

The Charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.

Financial instruments are recognised in the Charity's balance sheet when the Charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Basic financial assets

Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs.

CONNECTION SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1 Accounting policies

(Continued)

Basic financial liabilities

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors, are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction.

Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

1.11 Taxation

The Charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

Irrecoverable VAT

All resources expended are classified under activity headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Irrecoverable VAT is charged against the category of resources expended in relation to which it was incurred.

1.12 Retirement benefits

The Charity operates a money purchase (defined contribution) pension scheme. Contributions payable to this scheme, or appropriate scheme of the employee's choice, are charged to the income and expenditure account in the period to which they relate. These contributions are invested separately from the Charity's assets. Pension arrangements are in line with auto-enrolment requirements.

1.13 Leases

Rentals applicable to operating leases where substantially all of the benefits and risks of ownership remain with the lessor are charged to expenditure on a straight-line basis over the period of the lease.

1.14 Donated goods

Donated goods are measured at their fair value. Goods donated for distribution to our clients are valued at the equivalent of the fair market value at the time of receipt and recognised as stock, with the corresponding income recognised within donations. When the stocks are distributed, they are recognised as an expense in the Statement of Financial Activities.

Connection Support benefits from the contribution of unpaid general volunteers but has not recognised this in its accounts, owing to the absence of a reliable measurement basis.

CONNECTION SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

2 Critical accounting estimates and judgements

In the application of the Charity’s accounting policies, the Trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

Critical judgements

The following judgements (apart from those involving estimates) have had the most significant effect on amounts recognised in the financial statements.

Fixed Asset Depreciation

Depreciation was calculated based on management's estimate of the useful economic lives of tangible fixed assets. During the year ended 31 March 2024, depreciation totaled £73,186 (2023: £22,796).

Fixed Asset valuation

Properties are originally valued at cost. Residential properties are then revalued every five years, to ensure a reasonably accurate reflection of market value.

3 Income from donations and legacies

Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
2024
2024
£
£
Donations and grants
Donations
10,320
15,078
Grants to support client
living costs and welfare
-
33,180
Grants funding the
provision of charitable
services
-
560,222
Grants funding client
accommodation
-
27,075
Gifts in kind
-
22,500
10,320
658,055		 Total
Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
2024
2023
2023
£
£
£
25,398
7,404
235,712
33,180
-
-
560,222
-
8,000
27,075
-
-
22,500
-
27,000
668,375
7,404
270,712		 Total
2023
£
243,116
-
8,000
-
27,000
278,116

Donated goods

Gifts in kind consists of donated SIM cards to be distributed to clients.

CONNECTION SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

4 Charitable activities

Unrestricted Unrestricted
funds funds
2024 2023
£ £
Charitable income: service contracts
Buckinghamshire County Council 1,621,416 1,983,670
Central & North West London NHS Foundation Trust - 45,000
Cherwell District Council 307,652 262,484
Milton Keynes Council 1,413,547 1,313,943
Oxford City Council 746,367 484,871
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust 490,586 439,890
Oxfordshire County Council 1,853,090 1,884,430
Oxfordshire Mind - 148,262
South Oxfordshire District Council 15,129 61,069
South Staffs and Shrops Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 54,212 54,210
Thames Valley Police 165,181 162,714
Vale of White Horse District Council 13,110 47,409
Other contract income 5,031 53,444
Other charitable income:
Housing income 1,219,116 1,206,399
Payment services for private clients 37,154 27,399
Recharge expenditure 14,529 -
7,956,120 8,175,194
Analysis by fund
Unrestricted funds - general 7,894,779 8,061,604
Restricted funds 61,341 113,590
7,956,120 8,175,194
5 Income from investments
Unrestricted Unrestricted
funds funds
2024 2023
£ £
Income from listed investments 5,039 -
Interest receivable 11,463 1,654
16,502 1,654

CONNECTION SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

6 Expenditure on Raising Funds

**Unrestricted ** Unrestricted
funds funds
general general
2024 2023
£ £
Raising funds
Website & publicity 161 199
Staff costs 49,163 44,994
Travel 515 65
Investment management 1,369 -
51,208 45,258

CONNECTION SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

7 Charitable activities

Homelessness
and housing
support
Mental health
support
Families and
independence
Young people Refugees and
asylum
seekers
2024
2024
2024
2024
2024
£
£
£
£
£
Depreciation and impairment
17,049
-
-
19,741
-
Staff costs
2,733,612
1,196,045
1,021,427
362,794
346,026
Housing costs
833,491
-
-
498,482
23,250
Direct client support
171,194
14,378
101,738
15,506
88,008
3,755,346
1,210,423
1,123,165
896,523
457,284
Share of support costs (see note 8)
444,013
184,541
112,918
55,028
73,987
Share of governance costs (see note 8)
6,815
2,612
1,860
687
926
4,206,174
1,397,576
1,237,943
952,238
532,197
Analysis by fund
Unrestricted funds - general
4,043,912
1,384,535
871,987
937,801
346,286
Restricted funds
162,262
13,041
365,956
14,437
185,911
4,206,174
1,397,576
1,237,943
952,238
532,197		 Total
2024
£
36,790
5,659,904
1,355,223
390,824
7,442,741
870,487
12,900
8,326,128
7,584,521
741,607
8,326,128		 Total
2023
£
16,315
5,977,504
1,070,200
270,312
7,334,331
806,397
12,900
8,153,628
7,895,033
258,595
8,153,628

CONNECTION SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Charitable activities
For the year ended 31 March 2023
Homelessness and
housing support
£
Depreciation and impairment
10,749
Staff costs
2,918,016
Housing costs
700,166
Direct client support
179,023
3,807,954
Share of support costs (see note 8)
388,702
Share of governance costs (see note 8)
6,120
4,202,776		 Mental
health
support
Families and
independence
£
£
-
-
1,073,409
995,222
45,053
-
576
74
1,119,038
995,296
169,193
128,520
2,889
2,369
1,291,120
1,126,185		 (Continued)
Young
people
Refugees
and asylum
seekers
Total
2023
£
£
£
5,566
-
16,315
643,686
347,171
5,977,504
324,981
-
1,070,200
9,271
81,368
270,312
983,504
428,539
7,334,331
47,584
72,398
806,397
537
985
12,900
1,031,625
501,922
8,153,628		 (Continued)
Young
people
Refugees
and asylum
seekers
Total
2023
£
£
£
5,566
-
16,315
643,686
347,171
5,977,504
324,981
-
1,070,200
9,271
81,368
270,312
983,504
428,539
7,334,331
47,584
72,398
806,397
537
985
12,900
1,031,625
501,922
8,153,628
7,334,331
806,397
12,900
8,153,628

CONNECTION SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

7
Charitable activities
Analysis by fund
Unrestricted funds - general
Restricted funds		 4,122,142
80,634
4,202,776		 1,290,579
541
1,291,120		 1,115,557
10,628
1,126,185		 1,022,589
9,036
1,031,625		 (Continued)
344,166
7,895,033
157,756
258,595
501,922
8,153,628		 (Continued)
344,166
7,895,033
157,756
258,595
501,922
8,153,628
8,153,628

CONNECTION SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

8
Support costs allocated to activities
Depreciation
Travel and subsistence
Office costs
Insurance
Consultancy and legal fees
IT and communications
Bank charges
Other costs
Governance costs
Analysed between:
Homelessness
Mental health support
Families & independence
Young people
Refugees and asylum seekers
Governance costs includes payments to the auditors of £12,900 (2023- £12,900) for
9
Net movement in funds
The net movement in funds is stated after charging/(crediting):
Fees payable for the audit of the Charity's financial statements
Depreciation of owned tangible fixed assets
Loss on disposal of tangible fixed assets
Operating lease charges		 2024
£
36,396
162,416
311,086
32,986
33,429
279,842
5,387
8,945
12,900
883,387
450,828
187,153
114,778
55,715
74,913
883,387
audit fees.
2024
£
12,900
73,186
4,287
1,090,265		 2023
£
6,481
158,954
274,468
27,707
23,912
299,689
3,962
11,224
12,900
819,297
394,822
172,082
130,889
48,121
73,383
819,297
2023
£
12,900
22,796
5,535
905,718

10 Employees

The average monthly number of employees during the year was:

2024 2023
Number Number
198 208

CONNECTION SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

10
Employees
Employment costs
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs
Training
Recruitment
Agency fees
Other staff costs		 (Continued)
2024
2023
£
£
4,926,130
5,330,433
401,186
453,732
173,958
138,000
46,727
45,115
36,951
23,359
87,025
-
42,578
-
5,714,555
5,990,639		 (Continued)
2024
2023
£
£
4,926,130
5,330,433
401,186
453,732
173,958
138,000
46,727
45,115
36,951
23,359
87,025
-
42,578
-
5,714,555
5,990,639
5,990,639

Redundancy and termination payments totalling £48,941 (2023: £30,374) were made in the reporting period. This consists of £21,120 redundancy payments, plus termination payments and payments in lieu of notice totalling £27,821.

Other than 1.2 full time equivalent staff members dedicated to fundraising activities during the year ended 31 March 2024, all employees were involved in the delivery of the Charity's objects. (2023 - all employees involved in charitable activities, other than 1.0 full time equivalent fundraisers.)

The number of employees whose annual remuneration was more than £60,000 is as follows:

£60,001 to £70,000
£70,001 to £80,000
£80,001 to £90,000
Remuneration of key management personnel
The remuneration of key management personnel was as follows:
Aggregate compensation		 2024
Number
1
-
1
2024
£
340,313		 2023
Number
1
1
-
2023
£
315,443

The key management personnel of the Charity comprise the Trustees, the Chief Executive Officer, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer, the Business Services Director and the Finance Director. The Trustees receive no remuneration.

CONNECTION SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

11 Gains and losses on investments

Unrestricted Unrestricted
funds funds
2024 2023
Gains/(losses) arising on: £ £
Revaluation of investments 10,056 (16,957)

12 Taxation

The Charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.

13 Tangible fixed assets

Cost or valuation
At 1 April 2023
Additions
Disposals
At 31 March 2024
Depreciation and
impairment
At 1 April 2023
Depreciation charged in
the year
Eliminated in respect of
disposals
At 31 March 2024
Carrying amount
At 31 March 2024
At 31 March 2023		 Buildings
Leasehold
improvements
Assets under
construction
Accommodation
furnishings &
office equipment
Computer
Equipment
£
£
£
£
£
523,390
-
-
165,523
102,434
1,300
38,050
27,756
75,349
86,643
-
-
-
(34,317)
-
524,690
38,050
27,756
206,555
189,077
30,368
-
-
122,543
83,662
10,494
7,610
-
29,582
25,500
-
-
-
(30,030)
-
40,862
7,610
-
122,095
109,162
483,828
30,440
27,756
84,460
79,915
493,022
-
-
42,980
18,771		 Total
£
791,347
229,098
(34,317)
986,128
236,573
73,186
(30,030)
279,729
706,399
554,773

Land and buildings with a carrying amount of £466,174 were revalued at 14th March 2023 on the basis of market value.

At 31 March 2024, had the revalued assets been carried at historic cost less accumulated depreciation and accumulated impairment losses, their carrying amount would have been approximately £330,000 (2023 - £337,500).

The revaluation surplus is disclosed in Note 20.

CONNECTION SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

14
Stocks
Donated goods
15
Debtors
Amounts falling due within one year:
Grants due
Housing income due
Prepayments and other debtors
16
Current asset investments
Listed investments
17
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Notes
Other taxation and social security
Deferred income: grants
18
Trade creditors
Other creditors
Accruals and deferred income		 2024
£
3,000
2024
£
641,478
153,763
165,537
960,778
2024
£
239,426
2024
£
87,570
110,221
265,405
36,669
198,348
698,213		 2023
£
-
2023
£
836,300
82,365
125,890
1,044,555
2023
£
224,619
2023
£
113,977
347,396
113,724
38,154
161,409
774,660

Other creditors includes £33,243 (2023: £27,212) in respect of pension commitments.

CONNECTION SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

18 Government grants

Grants have been deferred when they have been received before the year end but are for a specific purpose and time period after the year end.

Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:

2024 2023
£ £
Deferred income is included within:
Current liabilities 110,221 347,396
Movements in the year:
Deferred income at 1 April 2023 347,396 119,741
Released from previous periods (318,978) (119,741)
Resources deferred in the year 81,803 347,396
Deferred income at 31 March 2024 110,221 347,396

CONNECTION SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

19 Restricted funds

The restricted funds of the Charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.

At 1 April Incoming Resources At 31 March
2023 resources expended 2024
£ £ £ £
Rough Sleeper Accommodation 28,686 11,240 (27,595) 12,331
Ex-Offender Accommodation 57,340 50,100 (80,857) 26,583
Buckinghamshire NRPF service 14,331 10,000 (11,594) 12,737
OHM NRPF Project 2023-2024 Support - 103,893 (103,893) -
OHM NRPF Project 2023-2024 Subsistence - 38,651 (38,651) -
OHM NRPF Project 2023-2024 Housing
Management - 27,075 (27,075) -
Thrive family support service - 223,269 (221,872) 1,397
Charities together service - 130,922 (130,922) -
Refugee Support service, Oxfordshire - 3,700 (3,700) -
Homelessness prevention services - 12,000 - 12,000
Grants supporting client living costs and
welfare 35,855 32,180 (34,138) 33,897
Client training support 7,459 - (3,394) 4,065
Oxfordshire Homelessness Alliance training
fund 30,000 - - 30,000
Volunteering activities to support services - 39,787 (32,817) 6,970
Donations to support client living costs and
welfare 17,647 14,079 (5,599) 26,127
Gifts in Kind - SIM cards for clients - 22,500 (19,500) 3,000
191,318 719,396 (741,607) 169,107

CONNECTION SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

19 Restricted funds (Continued)
Previous year: At 1 April Incoming Resources At 31 March
2022 resources expended 2023
£ £ £ £
- - 2 2
Rough Sleeper Accommodation - 33,590 (4,904) 28,686
Ex-Offender Accommodation 3,805 54,999 (1,464) 57,340
Buckinghamshire NRPF service 3,210 24,704 (13,584) 14,330
OCF Supporting NRPF clients in Oxfordshire 4,207 134,428 (138,635) -
Thrive family support service - 10,025 (10,025) -
Homelessness prevention services - 1,205 (1,205) -
Grants supporting client living costs and
welfare 41,479 38,517 (44,141) 35,855
Client training support - 8,000 (541) 7,459
Oxfordshire Homelessness Alliance training
fund - 30,000 - 30,000
Donations to support client living costs and
welfare 12,910 21,834 (17,098) 17,646
Gifts in Kind - SIM cards for clients - 27,000 (27,000) -
65,611 384,302 (258,595) 191,318

CONNECTION SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

19 Restricted funds

(Continued)

Rough Sleeper Accommodation

Funds to cover deposits and rent in advance, enabling rough sleepers to move into a rented home

Ex-Offender Accommodation

Funds to cover deposits and rent in advance, enabling ex-offenders to move into a rented home

Buckinghamshire NRPF service

Supporting people who do not have access to state-funded benefits or housing in Buckinghamshire

OHM NRPF Project 2023-2024 Support

Supporting people who do not have access to state-funded benefits or housing in Oxfordshire

OHM NRPF Project 2023-2024 Subsistence

Direct subsistence and local travel support for people with no access to state-funded benefits or housing in Oxfordshire

OHM NRPF Project 2023-2024 Housing Management

Housing management support for people with no access to state-funded benefits or housing in Oxfordshire

Oxford Community Foundation

Funds to support the Oxfordshire project to support clients with No Recourse to Public Funds

Thrive family support service

Initiative working alongside families in Buckinghamshire to support parenting and family wellbeing

Charities Together service

Joint initiative in Buckinghamshire, working with community groups to support people affected by financial insecurity

Refugee Support service, Oxfordshire

Providing household items and activities for refugee families

Homelessness prevention services

Providing life tools and support to rough sleepers, so they can live independently in their own rented home

Grants supporting living costs and welfare

Funding to support individuals with essential household costs

Client training support

Funding for training courses and counselling for people recovering from addiction

Oxfordshire Homelessness Alliance training fund

Fund held on behalf of the Oxfordshire Homelessness Alliance to support training for group members

Volunteering activities to support services

Supporting volunteering activities and client involvement with the development of Connection Support's services

Donations to support client living costs and welfare Donations to support individuals with essential household costs

Gifts in Kind - SIM cards for clients Mobile phone SIM cards held for distribution to clients

CONNECTION SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

20 Designated funds

The unrestricted funds of the Charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the Trustees for specific purposes.

Support for systems development in
2022-4
Planned service expenditure
Laptop and mobile phone replacement
Office building works
Revaluation reserves		 Balance at
1 April 2022
£
106,600
-
-
-
-
106,600		 Transfers
Balance at
1 April 2023
£
£
31,650
138,250
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
130,000
31,650
268,250		 Transfers
31
£
-
26,400
48,000
10,000
-
84,400		 Balance at
March 2024
£
138,250
26,400
48,000
10,000
130,000
352,650

21 Analysis of net assets between funds

Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
2024
2024
£
£
At 31 March 2024:
Tangible assets
706,399
-
Current assets/(liabilities)
2,048,673
169,107
2,755,072
169,107
Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
2023
2023
£
£
At 31 March 2023:
Tangible assets
554,773
-
Current assets/(liabilities)
1,904,371
191,318
2,459,144
191,318		 Total
2024
£
706,399
2,217,780
2,924,179
Total
2023
£
554,773
2,095,689
2,650,462

CONNECTION SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

22 Operating lease commitments

At the reporting end date the Charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:

Within one year
Between two and five years		 2024
£
478,538
315,335
793,873		 2023
£
386,220
40,702
426,922

Amounts recognised as an expense during the period in respect of operating lease arrangements are £1,090,265 (2023: £905,718)

CONNECTION SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

23 Funding received as agent for clients

Connection Support received charitable grant funding as agent on behalf of clients to support welfare purchases. Funds are held on behalf of clients as below.

2024 2023
£ £
Balance at 1 April 10,942 14,987
Historical balances repaid or transferred to welfare in year (5,506) (14,234)
Receipt of client funds 37,088 50,823
Payment of client funds (39,098) (40,634)
Balance at 31 March 3,426 10,942

24 Trustee Remuneration, Key Management Personnel & Related Party Transactions

No member of the Board of Trustees received any remuneration during the year.

The Trustees were not paid or received any other benefits from employment with the Charity in the year (2023: Nil).

No Trustees were reimbursed for travel expenses during the year (2023: Nil).

No Trustee received payment for professional or other services supplied to the Charity (2023: Nil). One trustee made a £350 donation to the Charity in the year (2023: 1 trustee made a £400 donation)

No Trustee or other person related to the Charity had any personal interest in any contract or transaction entered into by the Charity during the year.

25 Analysis of changes in net funds

The Charity had no material debt during the year.

CONNECTION SUPPORT

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

26
Cash generated from operations
Surplus for the year
Adjustments for:
Investment income recognised in statement of financial activities
Loss on disposal of tangible fixed assets
Fair value gains and losses on investments
Depreciation and impairment of tangible fixed assets
Movements in working capital:
(Increase) in stocks
Decrease in debtors
Increase in creditors
(Decrease)/increase in deferred income
Cash generated from operations		 2024
£
273,717
(16,502)
4,287
(10,056)
73,186
(3,000)
83,777
160,728
(237,175)
328,962		 2023
£
239,121
(1,654)
5,535
16,957
22,796
-
161,628
24,338
227,655
696,376

27 Prior period adjustment

The fixed asset revaluation gain in the prior year was reclassified to comply with the Charities SORP.

Changes to the balance sheet

At 31 March 2023 At 31 March 2023
As previously Adjustment As restated
reported
£ £ £
Capital funds
Income funds
Restricted funds 191,318 - 191,318
Unrestricted funds 2,459,144 - 2,459,144
Total equity 2,650,462 - 2,650,462
Changes to the income and expenditure account
Period ended 31 March 2023
As previously Adjustment As restated
reported
£ £ £
Other income 130,000 (130,000) -
Revaluation of fixed assets - 130,000 130,000
Net movement in funds 369,121 - 369,121

Appendix: Overview of our services

Homelessness and Housing

Adult Homeless Pathway (Oxfordshire) - Providing accommodation and support to single homeless people over 18 across North Oxfordshire, West Oxfordshire, and Oxford City. We have 80 rooms in a mixture of shared houses in Oxford, Witney, and Banbury in which we can support clients to help them build skills and move onto long-term independent living. When moving on from the pathway, 12 weeks resettlement support is also offered to support people with the transition and settle them into their new homes.

Banbury Beacon (Oxfordshire) - The Beacon Centre in Banbury is a safe, warm, and non-judgmental space for homeless and isolated people in Banbury and the surrounding area. We provide food and hot drinks, as well as the chance to meet other people who are experiencing similar circumstances. Our Support Workers are on hand to provide a listening ear, as well as practical advice and support. There are also occasional visits from other support agencies to discuss housing, and drug and alcohol issues.

Benefits Specialist Service (Oxfordshire) - This service is for people who live in the city of Oxford – single people and couples without children who have previously slept rough. We provide support with claiming benefits and maximising income.

Embedded Housing Workers (Oxfordshire) - EHWs are located at several Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust hospital sites to reduce the number of patients who have extended stays in hospital because, although they are medically well enough to be discharged, they either have no housing provision, or there are barriers to them returning to their own accommodation. They work with medical teams to identify and understand patients’ housing issues, ensure presentations to local housing authorities are done in a managed way and monitor and report on outcomes. They also work with multiple teams and agencies to prevent repeated admission of rough sleepers.

Housing First (Oxfordshire) - Housing First provides a home and intensive support to former rough sleepers in the Cherwell District during their journey from rough sleeping to a more settled lifestyle within their own home and to improve their health and wellbeing.

Housing Support Service (Oxfordshire) - The service is delivered by floating support workers, using a personcentred approach, to enable clients who are at risk of homelessness maintain their tenancies and access services to avoid encountering homelessness. The team supports and equips clients with the tools to manage their money, navigate benefits, be independent and avoid homelessness.

One Recovery Bucks (Buckinghamshire) - ORB provides support with rented accommodation for people over the age of 18 who are doing well in their recovery from drug or alcohol addiction (they must have abstained for at least 3 months). Pre-tenancy support is provided, alongside guidance on sustaining a tenancy and help with budgeting, accessing benefits, paying bills, training opportunities and employment. We have 20 flats across the county.

Reset (Thames Valley) - Support for ex-offenders to access accommodation and make positive life choices to reduce the risk of them reoffending and returning to prison. The team provides support with finding accommodation, tenancy sustainment, accessing benefits, training, education, and employment opportunities, help with physical or mental health issues or substance abuse.

Rough Sleeper Outreach and Rough Sleeper Initiative (Buckinghamshire) - Our Rough Sleeper Outreach Service enables rough sleepers to build a better future beyond street life. We support people sleeping rough in Buckinghamshire to find more settled accommodation and receive the benefits they are entitled to. We enable them to access health, addiction, and other support services relevant to their individual needs. This service also has a tenancy sustainment element, which provides life tools and support to rough sleepers in Buckinghamshire, so they can live independently in their own rented home. We help clients manage their money – rental payments, bills, budgeting, access to benefits, training, routes to employment, and access support for mental and physical health issues.

Rough Sleeper Outreach (Oxfordshire) - The Oxfordshire Outreach Team covers the North, South & Vale and West districts of the county by verifying rough sleepers at their bedded down site and motivating and engaging with people to support them in finding suitable accommodation. The team offers support with improving their safety, and provides information to access benefits, housing options, tenancy rights, mental health services, medical, and substance misuse services. They also help them to develop practical life skills, to work towards living independently.

Step Down Housing (Oxfordshire) - Short-term housing for vulnerable patients who are medically ready to be discharged from the Oxfordshire University or Oxfordshire Foundation Trust Hospitals but lack suitable accommodation to continue their recovery. This includes people who are homeless, have a history of drug/alcohol misuse, people who have no recourse to public funds or issues with their immigration status, those fleeing domestic violence, or people with mobility issues. We appoint Embedded Housing Workers (see service above) into the hospitals to upskill medical staff and social workers about the complexities of housing these patients.

Tenancy Ready (Oxfordshire) - This project is to help tenants in Oxfordshire understand what the expectations are around managing and sustaining a tenancy either through social housing or the private sector. Renting a home of your own can be both exciting and a bit scary, but it can work really well. The key is to prepare for it properly. This means learning how to find somewhere you can afford, what your rights and responsibilities are and how to manage your money. This course helps you find out everything you need to know.

Tenancy Sustainment Service (Oxfordshire) - Our Tenancy Sustainment Service provides life tools and support to rough sleepers in Buckinghamshire, so they can live independently in their own rented home. We will help clients manage their money – rental payments, pay bills, budgeting, access to benefits, training, routes to employment, and access to support for mental and physical health issues.

Mental Health

Mental Health Intensive Support Service (Oxfordshire) - Support for up to five people with the highest and most complex mental health needs and who have not succeeded at independent living in the past. This client group have a history of street homelessness and require intensive support to gain the most basic life skills to enable them to adapt to living indoors, set up home and maintain a tenancy.

Mental Health Support Service (Oxfordshire) - As part of the Oxfordshire Mental Health Partnership we provide focused support for between 6 to 24 months to help people with severe and enduring mental health issues move forward. Offering support around housing, benefits and social inclusion, this supports recovery and enables the clients to live more independently. Some of the team are embedded in the Adult Mental Health Teams to identify and support those patients who present with housing needs straight away.

Mental Health Support Service (Milton Keynes) - We offer housing related-support to help clients with mental health needs to avoid homelessness or to sustain a tenancy and maintain their independence. It’s a flexible service, which will meet with clients in the local community or in their home. Support moves with them wherever they go and the service complements and works in partnership with any statutory or voluntary agency where our support cannot wholly meet the needs of the individual. ‘Windrush’ is also part of this service – independent supported accommodation for clients with Autism.

Out of Hospital (Oxfordshire) - Our specialist support workers partner with a multi-disciplinary team of psychiatrists, social workers, and housing officers to support people with complex mental health who are homeless (or at risk of homelessness). They work to help people to move on from hospital to settled accommodation and prevent them returning to hospital in the future by solving housing and other linked issues to give them increased stability.

Prevention Matters (Buckinghamshire) - Prevention Matters supports people over the age of 18 who are struggling to remain independent in their own home, having difficulty getting out and about, recovering from an illness or feeling lonely, isolated or anxious. The Support Workers help them to regain their confidence and maintain their independence.

SafeHaven+ (Buckinghamshire) - Working alongside Buckinghamshire Mind, Citizens Advice Bucks, Oasis Partnership and Adult Mental Health Teams, this service provides support to adults with mental health issues and potentially complex needs. The project aims to avoid crisis and admission to hospital and improve overall mental health and wellbeing. Connection Support’s role is to provide intensive support specifically related to housing.

Family Support

Direct Payment Support Services (Milton Keynes) - In some circumstances, social or health care users can be given money in the form of a Direct Payment from their local authority to commission their own services which enables disabled people to tailor their own care arrangements that suit their unique circumstances and lifestyle. Where local authorities may tend to offer, for example access to a day centre, individuals might prefer to meet friends for lunch, to go fishing, or attend a local gym, but need support to do so. This service supports the person to employ a carer or personal assistant directly by helping to find suitably qualified employees, providing comprehensive employment advice and offering a Payroll Service to process payslips and administrate HMRC responsibilities on the employer’s behalf.

Direct Payment Support Services (Oxfordshire) - Our Direct Payment and Employment Support Service in Oxfordshire works alongside people receiving a Direct Payment to provide information, advice and support in all aspects of using a Direct Payment and becoming an employer of personal assistants (PAs).

Thrive (Buckinghamshire) - Thrive provides support to families in specific areas in Aylesbury and High Wycombe. Delivered by a team of Family Liaison Workers, and supported by volunteer parenting mentors, peer mentors and family advocates, we work alongside families, supporting, encouraging and empowering them to build their skills, confidence, and parental wellbeing to create a stable positive environment for their children. We offer a tailored programme of support to each family, based on listening to their social, emotional, educational and health needs which include, but are not limited to, substance dependency, domestic violence, learning difficulties, social exclusion, and lack of parenting skills.

Young People

Housing Interaction Trust (Buckinghamshire) - Our HIT service provides support and accommodation to young people aged 16-25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. We have twelve units of accommodation specifically to support those who have nowhere else to go. We also offer support to repair family relationships, help with general household skills, budget and managing finances, maintaining personal health, preparing for independent accommodation, and managing personal and emotional matters. At the beginning of the financial year, this service was amalgamated with our Padstones Supported Accommodation service to form ‘HITPad’.

Padstones Supported Accommodation (Buckinghamshire) - Padstones prevents young people (aged 16-25) becoming homeless by providing accommodation along with visiting support. The team empower young people and develop their resilience, skills and knowledge to prevent the risk of homelessness arising again. It provides a safe and secure environment for residents to develop their potential and move towards more independent living. Accommodation is in two small residential projects in Burnham and High Wycombe, and young people have a key worker for one-to-one support. For young people ready to move on from the higher support units, Padstones offers other accommodation with lower-level support. At the beginning of the financial year, this service was amalgamated with our Housing Interaction Trust (HIT) service to form ‘HITPad’.

Young People’s Supported Accommodation (Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire) - YPSA provides supported accommodation in Buckinghamshire and South Oxfordshire for young people (aged 16-25 years) leaving care. Young people referred to us by Oxfordshire County Council are provided with their own accommodation and regular visits from a Support Worker to help them gain confidence in living independently.

Refugee Resettlement

Homes for Ukraine (Oxfordshire) – Our Homes for Ukraine service is our most recent Oxfordshire-based partnership, and it’s delivered in collaboration with Refugee Resource. The service is dedicated to helping displaced Ukrainians who have come to the UK under the Government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme, helping them to gain the skills and confidence they need to live independently in the UK.

No Recourse to Public Funds (Buckinghamshire) - Providing support to people experiencing homelessness in Buckinghamshire who do not have access to state-funded benefits and housing. People in this situation are often not allowed to work, neither are they eligible for benefits, nor allowed to use public services except for basic health care. This leaves them at high risk of abuse and exploitation. The aim is to help people get their lives back on track. We help them access the support & advice they need to resolve their immigration status. This is often a very difficult process which can take several years.

No Recourse to Public Funds (Oxfordshire) - Helping people experiencing homelessness in Oxfordshire who have lost or don’t have access to state-funded benefits and housing. This project is funded by the Oxfordshire Homeless Movement, and the aim is to provide tailored support to allow this group to become self-sufficient and take practical steps to rebuild their lives. We work in partnership with Asylum Welcome to help this group of people move on from the trauma of homelessness. Working with local housing association SOHA and Edge Housing, we can offer these clients dignified accommodation, whilst they receive help and advice to resolve any legal matters including their immigration status and help them to get their lives back on track.

Refugee Resettlement (Oxfordshire) - This service is for refugees resettling in the UK as part of Government’s sponsored resettlement schemes. The families supported live in the Cherwell District area of Oxfordshire, and we provide a range of emotional and practical support to help the families settle into everyday life. The team supports families mostly coming from the Middle East and Africa to manage the transition from living in camps and unsettled accommodation to making a home in Oxfordshire and help them to adapt to different social norms and legal frameworks. We work with them through the whole process from airport pick up (or accompanied arrival to the property) to the point they can live independently and manage their tenancy without the need for support. The team connects the families to health services and mental health support, schools, English language classes, employment and volunteering opportunities and local community groups. Working alongside volunteers they also provide information about culture and life in Britain to enable them to make those steps towards living a settled life in the UK.