. CENTRE.P(MNT P
CENTREPOINT OUTREACH
Annual Report.
2023- 2024
Registered Charity10562961 Company Registration 3204952
www.centrepoint-outreach.com
Our vision is that homeless and vulnerable people in Boston and the surrounding area are empowered to improve their circumstances and achieve their full potential.
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## Chairman’s Statement
It is an honour to continue as Chairman and I feel incredibly privileged to be leading our charity which strives so hard to achieve our vision that homeless and vulnerable people in Boston and the surrounding area are empowered to improve their circumstances and achieve their full potential.
I am so grateful for the hard work of our staff and volunteers who continue to adapt our service to help meet the ever-changing needs of our clients, being their voice and maintaining a consistent non-judgmental approach.
This last year has not been without its challenges, but we have also been able to celebrate the successes that some of our clients have achieved. These have included finding accommodation, paid employment, health support and taking part in activity sessions.
During the year we saw the retirement of our Lead Project Worker, Revd Tom Page. He built up a great team spirit amongst staff and volunteers in the drop-in and our clients found him very approachable and caring. We all wish him a relaxed and enjoyable retirement.
With Tom leaving we took the decision to merge the Lead Project Worker and the Activities and Community Coordinator roles into a new management role of Drop In and Activities Manager. Melanie Burt was appointed to the role in March and has continued to develop further links within the community.
We were sorry to lose Revd Lis Ward as a trustee when she relocated to take up a new post in the northwest. However, in February we were delighted to welcome Nicola Richardson to the board, bringing with her many years of training and management skills and expertise.
We regularly report that finances continue to be an ongoing challenge and again we started the year with a budget showing a £70,000 deficit. We successfully applied for several grants including the government’s Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund and managed to finish the year with a small surplus. We made the decision to further develop our funding strategy, with the new focus on multi-year funding applications to try and strengthen our financial sustainability. By the end of the year this was starting to produce some positive results.
I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the hard work of the staff, volunteers and trustees who take every opportunity to promote the positive work of our organisation. This has undoubtedly helped us develop our successful income sources.
Our charity shop also continues to play a vital role in promoting the work of Centrepoint Outreach and creating an income to support our core costs. Retail has, as in previous years, continued to be a very challenging environment and my thanks go to both our Shop manager, Deputy and all the shop volunteers who do their best to achieve positive trading results.
The generosity of our grant funders and donors both large and small has helped us to maintain our financial consistency and provides confirmation that our good work is recognised.
As reported at our last AGM we received an extremely generous donation from two donors, to help us develop our premises. The trustees have made steady progress, reviewing architectural
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plans, structural surveys, feasibly of phases discussions and additional funding options explored. I would like to thank our donors for their patience and understanding as we continue to progress with the premises redevelopment. It is without doubt that our building needs upgrading to meet the increasing needs of our clients.
I pay tribute to the commitment and dedication of all those involved in the running of Centrepoint Outreach that make it the success it is and who endeavour to make a difference for the homeless and vulnerable people who use our services.
I would like to thank all our volunteers without whom we could not function, the trustees for their ongoing support, the commitment of all the staff and a special thanks must go to our CEO, Liz Hopkins who continues to work tirelessly on our behalf.
**Richard Locke-Wheaton** Chairman
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## Chief Executive Officer’s Report for the year ended 31 March 2024
## Introduction
This report covers the period from 1[st] April 2023 to 31[st] March 2024. During this time we faced many challenges including an increase in demand for our services, as well as the need to become more financially sustainable. This report details how we sought to overcome these challenges and also highlights many positives including an increase in the number of partner agencies visiting our drop-in centre and the development of our activity sessions which led to improved outcomes for clients.
## Homelessness in Boston
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8% 16-25 4% UK
80%
Male
42%
49% 26-40 EU
Female 43% 54%
20%
40+ Other
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Figure 1: Homeless presentations by gender, age and nationality, 2023-24
During 2023-24 we supported 139 individuals who were homeless which includes people rough
sleeping, sofa surfing or in very temporary accommodation. This was an increase of 6.9% on the
previous year. Despite the increased number of individuals, we received fewer visits to our drop-
in than the previous year. This may have been because some people were able to move into
accommodation more quickly than in previous years. Although we often do not find out when
people are accommodated, we are aware that during the year 40 people who presented to us as
homeless did obtain accommodation on one or more occasion.
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As in previous years, the majority of the individuals presenting to us as homeless were male, with the spilt between men and women being 80:20. The average age of homeless people visiting us was 39.8 which was slightly lower than the previous year.
One very noticeable change during the year was a 54% increase in the number of homeless UK nationals using our services, as can be seen in Figure 2, overleaf. Overall, this meant that of the homeless people visiting our drop-in 42% were UK nationals and 58% were foreign nationals, mainly from Eastern European countries (the breakdown of the individual countries is also shown in Figure 2). In the previous year only 28.5% of those presenting as homeless were UK nationals with 71.5% being foreign nationals. It is hard to pinpoint the reason for this change but towards the end of the financial year we received several visits from new rough sleeper clients who were UK nationals from other areas of the country. Many had no local connection to Boston which
The average age of homeless individuals attending our drop-in was 39.8
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made it hard for them to obtain support and they told us that they had fled threats of violence in other towns where they had issues with drug debts.
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70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24
UK Poland Lithuania Latvia Bulgaria Romania Others
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_Figure 2: Homeless presentations by country of origin, 2019 - 2024_
The other noticeable change was the increase in the number of people rough sleeping in Boston. It is always hard to know precisely how many people are sleeping on the streets but during the year rough sleeping became more visible with several encampments being established in the town centre.
In the annual rough sleeper count 15 individuals were found rough sleeping, an increase of 200% on the previous year when only 5 people were found. We believe that the 15 who were found still did not represent the true extent of rough sleeping within the town. One of our project workers was invited to attend the count as an independent observer which enabled him to see first-hand the realities of life on the streets for many of the individuals using our services.
During some periods of cold weather between December and March the Council activated the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP). This enabled some rough sleepers who had been verified to be accommodated in B&B and other emergency accommodation.
During the year we were delighted to be invited to visit Project Compass, a Lincoln-based charity, which supports rough sleepers in the city. We met with Becky and her team and learnt about the weekly Rough Sleeper Action Group (RSAG) meetings which were attended by agencies supporting rough sleepers in Lincoln.
Shortly afterwards, Project Compass and the University of Lincoln organised a meeting in Boston to meet with local partner agencies and discuss the possibility of setting up RSAG meetings in Boston. 100% of the agencies who attended were in favour and Boston Borough Council offered to take the lead. The meetings started in February 2024 on a weekly basis initially. They provided a great opportunity to ensure that rough sleepers willing to engage were receiving support and that no one was falling through the net.
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## Our Drop-In
Our drop-in continued to open 6 mornings a week (Monday – Saturday) to provide a safe space for homeless and vulnerable people to come for a hot snack and obtain support from our project workers. Our rough sleeper facilities, referred to in more detail on the following page, were available for anyone who was sleeping rough.
Our project workers dealt with 2,816 office enquiries ‘a
Everyone attending the morning drop-in sessions was required to register with us so that we could ascertain what their needs were. Our project workers were on hand to provide general support and advice to clients including help with accessing benefits, checking progress of Settled Status applications and signposting to partner agencies when more specialist support was required (see figure 4 on page 10).
During the year approximately 268 individuals visited the dropin sessions on 5703 occasions.
Our project workers and our wonderful volunteers also provided a great deal of emotional support. Lending a friendly listening ear makes a huge difference to someone when they are feeling isolated and do not know where to turn.
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21.8 21.2 21.2 22.0
18.8 18.7 18.8 19.6 19.2
18.0
17.3
14.5
Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar
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_Figure 3: Average daily drop-in attendance, 2023-24_
As can be seen from Figure 3 the average number of people attending the drop in each day ranged between 14.5 in September and 22 in March. The lower number in August, September and October may reflect the fact that there is more work available in the agricultural industry at harvest time.
Our drop-in provided 5,207 hot snacks and drinks for rough sleepers and other homeless and vulnerable adults
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## Support Provided for Rough Sleepers
The increase in the number of people sleeping on the streets was reflected in the greater demand for support with food, clothing, bedding, toiletries and showers, all of which were higher than the previous year.
1,098 showers taken by 108 previous year. people people had a shower each day, although on occasion this did increase to 7 or 8. We were fortunate to secure a grant from the Alan Boswell Group Charitable Trust to refurbish our shower room during the year. Our homeless clients were delighted and made comments such as “It’s like a hotel” and “It looks very good, I like it!”. We continued to wash and dry the clothing of individuals having a shower and we also provided replacement clothing in appropriate cases. Much of the clothing was donated, but we were also able to ig purchase some items using funding received from Asda Foundation and the Household Support Fund Mobile phones particularly to cover the winter period. charged on 1,076 occasions
Anyone who was rough sleeping was able to use our shower facility which remained the only such facility in Boston. On average 3 or 4 people had a shower each day, although on occasion this did increase to 7 or 8. We 657 loads of were fortunate to secure a grant from the clothing Alan Boswell Group Charitable Trust to washed and refurbish our shower room during the year. dried Our homeless clients were delighted and made comments such as “It’s like a hotel” and “It looks very good, I like it!”. e and the Household Support Fund particularly to cover the winter period. We also provided phone charging facilities for those individuals with no access to an electricity supply and allowed homeless clients to use our premises as a care of address for official mail. Communicating with individuals who are rough sleeping can present a problem for 187 items official bodies and our services provide a of mail solution to this. We also assisted clients who collected needed support with reading or understanding official letters.
## “You are good guys; you look after us very well”
- A drop-in client
1,495 items of clothing, 166 items of bedding and 303 items of toiletries provided to rough sleepers 4a Che **6**
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## Case Study: ‘Steve’
‘Steve’ first visited our drop-in in July 2023. He had been homeless for over 3 months and was rough sleeping in a small tent on a local riverbank with no shelter. He had serious mental health issues including ADHD, bipolar disorder, severe anxiety and depression which often resulted in him feeling disengaged, and he sometimes threatened violence when he got frustrated with issues regarding his housing situation.
After meeting with Steve, we made a rough sleeping referral to Boston Borough Council’s Rough Sleeping Intervention Team who managed to find him rough sleeping whilst on outreach.
Unfortunately, because his situation was not moving along as swiftly as he would have liked, Steve, in a state of stress and anxiety, threatened staff at the council offices and made threats to harm himself resulting in him being taken to Pilgrim Hospital for his own safety.
When Steve felt he was able to engage with us, we were able to provide him with a safe space to talk about his problems and give him support moving forward. We liaised with several organisations such as Boston Borough Council, Steve’s doctors and mental health team, Citizens Advice and our local jobcentre to ensure that Steve had the best support available to him.
Unfortunately, no temporary accommodation or emergency accommodation was available. However, we were able to register Steve on Boston Borough Council’s housing register. We showed him how to place bids on properties, but due to the shortage of social housing properties there were no suitable properties available.
After talking through Steve’s options, which were limited, we made an application to Boston Borough Council for a discretionary housing payment to be made to Steve, which could be used as a deposit for private rent. He was successful in receiving a lump sum, and after doing a lot of online searching, we were able to find Steve a room which he moved into shortly thereafter. We updated his Universal Credit claim to ensure he was receiving all financial support available to him so that he could afford to pay his rent.
Once Steve had settled into his accommodation, he continued to take part in our activity sessions and enjoyed the social networking opportunities this gave him.
## Our Van
Our van continued to be out and about during the year collecting donations of furniture. We were fortunate to receive many quality items of furniture which were either delivered to people in need or sold our charity shop.
We delivered 83 items of furniture to people being accommodated
“The collection people from Centrepoint Outreach today were brilliant - so helpful and kind”
– quote from grateful donor of furniture
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## Partnership Working
During the year we were pleased to be able to increase the number of partner agencies visiting our drop-in centre to support clients. Some examples are listed below: -
## **Rough Sleeping Intervention team**
Members of the Rough Sleeping Intervention (RSI) team attended our drop-in sessions when their staffing levels permitted. Their presence in the drop-in was a huge benefit for our rough sleeping clients as they were able meet the RSI team just by walking across a corridor rather than having to attend the Council offices.
It also made the referral process easier and over the course of the year we made 70 referrals to the RSI team for 40 individuals. This is different to the graphic.
44 individuals took part in the Be Smoke Free programme
## **One You Lincolnshire – Be Smoke Free**
70 referrals were made to the Rough Sleeping Intervention team
In June 2023 we were delighted to welcome Monika from the One You Lincolnshire Be Smoke Free team who gave clients the opportunity to sign up for a 12-week programme to help them stop smoking. Monika helped them to do this through goal setting, Nicotine replacement therapy and follow-up support. During the year Monika was able to assist 44 clients.
## **Boston Foodbank**
The cost-of-living crisis meant we continued to receive fewer donations of food and were not able to provide as many daily food parcels to clients. In order to support clients in need of food parcels we signed up to the Boston Foodbank e-referral scheme in May 2023 and made 77 referrals between June 2023 and March 2024.
We also continued to work in partnership with Boston Foodbank to provide housing advice to clients of the foodbank. During the year we helped 70 clients with the main areas of need being support to go on the housing register, to apply for the housing element of Universal Credit, and help to move to more suitable accommodation.
We helped 70 foodbank clients with their housing issues
“Mark doing brilliant help for me because of my vision condition. He has helped me with Universal Credit, housing application and fit note.”
- Polish Foodbank Project Client
## **We Are With You**
We Are With You (WAWY) provided a drug and alcohol rehabilitation service in the town during the year 2023-24. Having not previously worked closely with them, we were delighted when they
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managed to secure funding to support people who were rough sleeping, and members of their team became regular visitors to our drop-in to support clients with substance misuse issues. We were also grateful to staff members from WAWY who provided Naloxone training to the project workers and also drugs awareness training to the volunteers and project workers.
## **Neighbourhood Team and Multi-Disciplinary Team meetings**
We made 653 referrals to partner agencies and other services
Two members of the Neighbourhood Team visited our drop in once a month to provide physical and mental health support to clients. Even when they were registered with a GP many members of our client cohort did not seek medical help at an early enough stage and having access to a qualified medical professional at our premises was less daunting for them and ensured that they were directed to the most appropriate place for treatment before their condition worsened.
During the year we continued to attend the weekly Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) meetings organised by the Neighbourhood Team which not only enabled us to raise any clients we were particularly concerned about healthwise, but also enabled us to contribute to the discussion about other clients known to us who were raised by other agencies present. This wraparound
support continued to play a vital role in preventing vulnerable clients from falling through the net.
In September 2023 we had a stand at the Boston PCN and Neighbourhood Team Networking event. This provided an excellent opportunity to network with partner agencies and raise awareness of our work, as well as learning more about theirs.
## **Migrant Help**
We were delighted to have a representative from Migrant Help present in our drop in for one morning a fortnight to support clients with their Settled Status applications.
20 clients had Hep-C tests
## **Hepatitis C Team**
The HepC Team visited our drop-in during the year and 20 clients were tested for Hepatitis C. This condition can be treated once detected and testing is vital to ensure that it is caught at an early stage.
## **Summary**
Figure 4 on page 10 gives details of the numbers of referrals we made to partner agencies for different types of support and additional project worker support provided.
Despite all the partnership working which takes place in Boston there were still some cases where individuals did not receive the support they needed largely because their cases were deemed too complex. In some cases, every organisation approached for support had a reason why they could not help, often due to past or present behaviour. One case involved a young man
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who was released from prison with no settled accommodation to move to. Although he did not sleep rough, he ended up moving around between family members and friends because no one would offer him a place in supported accommodation unless he moved out of the area which he did not wish to do. He was clearly extremely vulnerable and a Team Around the Adult meeting was set up to discuss his case but sadly he took his own life before any effective support could be put in place.
Unfortunately, in some cases, despite support being offered the client is not willing to engage with that support. With funds being tight in all areas of the sector, there are sometimes no other solutions on offer, although we and other agencies do continue to try and do our best to provide what help we can. We see many cases of clients who are provided with accommodation but are unable to sustain this due to constant rule breaches which result in them being evicted.
We are always there for clients who find themselves in that situation and welcome them to our drop-in, continuing to provide support to at least ensure that their basic needs are being met until such time as they are ready to engage.
As well as working with partner agencies to obtain the best support for our clients we also took the opportunity to network locally and nationally to keep up to date with issues and initiatives relevant to our work. In this regard we attended Boston Community Leaders’ Engagement meetings organised by Boston Borough Council and contributed at a national level at meetings organised by Homeless Link.
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Benefits
Daily Food Parcel
Employment
Finance
Foodbank
Healthcare
Housing
Immigration and EUSS
Police/Probation
Rough Sleeping Team
Substance Misuse
Wellbeing
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
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_Figure 4: Project worker support and referrals to partner agencies, 2023-24_
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## Activities – ‘Along With Us’
31 homeless individuals were accommodated while taking part in the activities programme
During the year we continued to deliver and develop our programme of activity sessions. Thanks to a generous grant from the East Coast Community Fund, we were able to recruit a fulltime Activities and Community Coordinator on a 1-year contract and Melanie Burt joined us in this role at the beginning of May 2023. Mel’s role was not only to deliver activity sessions each weekday but also to build up links with other organisations in the community, obtain more referrals to the sessions and also to encourage more of the homeless individuals attending the morning drop-in sessions to come back in the afternoon. She made an immediate impact in the role and it was not long before we began to achieve our objectives.
32 people moved into paid employment after attending activity sessions
We widened the community aspect by sending out a weekly activity schedule to partner agencies and Mel visited other groups including BEAM (Building Engagement Around Mental Health) which not only promoted the sessions,
but also led to increased referrals. Referrals were also obtained through attending Boston Mental Health Partnership Board meetings. Mel also compiled a booklet of all the free and low-cost activity sessions and groups in Boston for clients to refer to.
By the end of the year 114 unique individuals had attended 1 or more of the activity session which exceeded our target of 90. 32 people had moved into paid employment and 12 into volunteering positions. Of 60 homeless clients attending activity sessions, 31 managed to secure accommodation. We also recruited 9 new volunteers to assist with activities.
We were fortunate to receive funding from Shine Lincolnshire’s Suicide Prevention Fund which covered the cost of hiring the kitchen at Centenary Methodist Church as well as covering some project worker costs, equipment for the sessions and training costs for staff and volunteers. This enabled members of staff to undertake Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Awareness training and for 3 members of staff to undertake a 2-day Mental Health First Aid course.
We were very grateful to Platform Housing for a generous donation which helped us to hold a Christmas party at Centenary Church for all those who had taken part in our activity sessions.
12 attendees took up volunteering roles in Boston and 9 new volunteers were recruited to help run sessions
In March 2024 we welcomed Callum Thomson to the team as Activities Coordinator. He took over leading the activity sessions under Mel’s supervision and supported by our wonderful team of volunteers.
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## Cook Along With Us
These sessions allowed approximately 5 people at a time to learn how to cook simple, healthy food on a budget.
We wanted to help attendees develop resiliency, gain cooking skills to promote independent living and healthy lifestyles and to foster cultural exchange between participants.
Each person was given their own folder in which to keep step-by-step recipes. Costings were also provided to help with budgeting.
Some of the European participants introduced Polish recipes to the group. Examples of the type of meals cooked included vegetable soup, Thai green curry, pork casserole, stuffed peppers and apple crumble.
As our drop-in lacked sufficient space, we were very grateful for the opportunity to hire kitchen facilities across the road at Centenary Methodist Church.
## Case Study: ‘Frank’
Frank started attending the Cook Along With Us activity sessions in June 2023. He had poor mental health, due to past traumas stemming from his childhood. Frank attempted to take his own life after his wife passed away in 2022.
Frank suffered with anxiety and liked to keep busy so that he did not think about his past.
Working with Frank we looked at all the activity sessions and groups that were available in Boston which he would feel comfortable attending. We concentrated on those that were free to attend or were low cost as he had limited income.
Frank started to attend four different groups or activity sessions in Boston, including more Along With Us sessions at Centrepoint Outreach.
As a result of stepping outside his comfort zone by taking part in different community groups’ activities Frank’s anxiety improved. He made several new friends and they regularly met up for a coffee.
Frank started to volunteer at the Cook Along Sessions on Thursday afternoons and became more positive about his future.
“I enjoy coming to cooking, it gives me a purpose, something to get up for in the morning.” “I enjoy coming to the different activity sessions and helping at the sessions” he said.
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## Chill Along With Us
Chill Along With Us sessions were more relaxed, being focused around board games, playing musical instruments such as the ukulele and whole group activities including bingo. The sessions were designed to create an open and non-judgmental space for clients to talk, bond, share problems and experiences.
The sessions were attended by people who were homeless, those who had come for other reasons and also by people of different nationalities. By chatting together they were able to find common ground and better understand each other’s situations.
The sessions also helped to reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation among the attendees and we saw friendships develop.
Several participants grew in confidence to the point that they were willing to call the bingo numbers and play a more active role, something which they would not have entertained previously.
## Case Study: ‘Magdalena’
Magdalena was street homeless when she attended Centrepoint Outreach Drop in, in August 2023, she was shy, extremely nervous and a vulnerable lady to be sleeping rough.
With some encouragement by staff members, Magdalena started attending all the different Along With Us activity sessions, to keep herself off the street and relax in the safe space provided by Centrepoint Outreach. Whilst attending Magdalena enjoyed knitting, cooking and arts and crafts. Over time, she started to engage with other clients, volunteers, staff members and her confidence increased.
Working with Magdalena we looked at the different housing options that were available to her and would suit her immediate needs. She decided that a room in a shared property would be the best option as the bills were all included. We assisted her in completing a Discretionary Housing Payment form so that the local authority could help towards the initial rent deposit and the first weeks rent.
Magdalena moved into a property shortly afterwards and started full time employment. She said “Thank you for all your help.”
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## Create Along With Us
At the Create Along sessions participants undertook art and craft projects including t-shirt design and painting, clay modelling, string art and rock painting. These sessions were developed with the goal of encouraging imaginative thinking, collaborative working and to develop practical skills among attendees. We wanted to help our clients to gain appreciation for and confidence in their talents, take up new creative hobbies and to recognise the different skills and ways they could all contribute to a project.
In November 2023 we were delighted to welcome Transported Art to one of our sessions where they helped participants to make paper fish lanterns which were subsequently carried by Boston High School dancers in the Illuminate Parade at the Boston Christmas celebrations.
## Case Study: ‘Mariusz’
Mariusz become homeless in June 2023 after separating from his girlfriend. He lost his job as a result of his homelessness and experienced poor mental health. After visiting a drop-in session at Centrepoint Outreach Mariusz was given a leaflet and an explanation about the activity sessions. He became a regular attendee at all the sessions in his words ‘to keep my mind off my situation and how it is getting me down’. Mariusz made new friends and really enjoyed drawing at the Create Along sessions. Through accessing the group sessions he was supported to seek employment with an employment agency in order to save enough money to rent a room in a house in multiple occupancy. After a few weeks Mariusz was in full time employment and saving money to rent his own flat in Boston. Mariusz thanked Centrepoint Outreach and the Along with Us activity sessions, “I do not know what I would have done without you being there for me.”
We also made Christmas decorations to go on our tree at the Christmas Tree Festival held in St Botolph’s Church.
In the summer months the sessions moved outside to St Botolph’s Community Garden where participants undertook art and craft activities as well as helping with the gardening.
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## Our Charity Shop
Despite the challenging retail environment 2023-24 was a better year for our charity shop which saw an increase of 37.2% in its net trading income for the year compared with the previous year.
Due to the secondary location of our shop we can never be complacent and have to work hard to raise awareness of what we have to offer. As well as producing some excellent themed window displays, our shop staff reached a wider audience by using the shop’s Facebook page to make daily posts of items for sale, as well as appealing for items required. Enquiries were made regarding the items advertised for sale and it brought some people into the shop who might not have otherwise visited. We also ran various events during the year such as colouring competitions and a ‘Name the Teddy Bear’ competition. Whilst not raising large sums in themselves they did generate additional shop sales.
Sales were also boosted by the introduction of a £1 rail for clothes. This proved successful and reduced the amount of unsold clothing 6 being sent for ‘ragging’. A strategy was developed to introduce this concept for eS Eee other items such as bric a 5 oe gs ; ~~ brac in an attempt to get the Voi es most out of every donation.
We were extremely grateful
both for all the wonderful donations we received which helped to keep the shop well-stocked with a wide variety of different items, and also for our loyal customers who purchased those items. The year coincided with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and many people turned to charity shops as a place to buy good ay
quality second hand items at a fraction of the original cost. In addition, some customers told us that they had taken to purchasing the majority of their clothes from charity shops because they liked knowing that they were re-using something which might otherwise go to landfill, and also because it was more environmentally friendly.
We are always keen to broaden the range of items we sell and at the end of the year we began to sell vinyl records after receiving a donation of a large quantity of singles and albums.
We are very grateful to all the volunteers who freely give of their time to support the shop by helping to sort and price items as well as operating the till and keeping the shop clean and the rails and shelves fully stocked. During the year we were pleased to recruit 3 new volunteers as additions to the team.
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## Financial and Other Support
We were extremely grateful for all the generous financial support we received during the year without which we could not have continued to provide our services. Expenses continued to increase, particularly the salary bill following a 9.8% increase in the National Living Wage, along with utility and food costs. A successful application was made to the Government’s Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund which generated funding of £30,103.83 to support us with increased costs during from October 2023 to March 2024. Amongst other things, the grant helped to cover the majority of the cost of our new drop-in Bi } boiler with the balance of £1,500 being covered by Community Chest funding from Boston Big Local. The new boiler was fitted in November 2023, fortunately just in time for winter. ResidentsLeading Change
We were also very grateful to the organisations which supported us with core funding i.e. general running costs. This type of funding is extremely valuable to us as it means we can apply it where needed at any particular time. The grants made by Medlock Charitable Trust and Worth Waynflete Foundation
## **Worth Waynflete Foundation**
both had a considerable impact in this regard and we were grateful for the continued support from both organisations.
We were also grateful for the core funding grant received from Boston QOSTOy Borough Council. As part of their governance process the council appointed an ‘observer’ to attend our trustee meetings. Following the Council elections in May we were sorry to lose our previous observer, Judy Welbourn, but UGH cog delighted that she chose to remain with us as a volunteer. In her place we welcomed Councillor Jyothi Arayambath as the new observer. Also during the year, we were pleased to receive visits from four of the new councillors who were all interested in finding out more about our work.
Over the year we were grateful to receive grants from the East Coast Community Fund, Shine Lincolnshire and the Alan Boswell Group Charitable Trust which are referred to elsewhere in this report.
We were very grateful for funding received from the Boston Town Area Committee which enabled us to purchase food for the Cook Along sessions enabling participants to learn how to cook healthy meals with fresh ingredients.
Clean 143 kindly cleaned our windows and gutters free of charge.
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Tesco Boston kindly supported us with three financial donations to purchase food and other items to provide to clients over the winter period.
Once again we held a Christmas raffle which on this occasions was sponsored by Optik-Kleer The raffle raised £530 to support our charitable work.
Thanks to a grant from the Asda Foundation we were able to provide a Christmas meal for our drop-in clients as well as purchase warm clothing, toiletries and other essential items for our homeless clients.
We were delighted to be chosen as the recipient of monies raised from the annual Boston Santa Fun Run which took place in November 2023. Members of staff and clients took part in the event which was great fun, and which raised £700 to support our work. Watching hundreds of Santas running through Boston on a Sunday morning was quite a sight!
In addition to the grants and donations already mentioned we received many other financial donations both large and small for which we were extremely grateful. Some organisations and individuals donated anonymously, and we were particularly overwhelmed to receive a donation of £10,000 from a local charitable trust which donated in this way. We are hugely grateful to everyone who makes regular or one-off donations by standing order to our bank or via our Localgiving page, Stewardship, PayPal or other donation sites. Regular monthly giving is particularly helpful for us as it assists with budgeting.
As well as financial support we were also grateful for all the other ways in which people helped us during the year including donations of food and other supplies for the drop-in, clothing for rough sleepers as well as donations of items to be sold in our charity shop. Once again, we received very generous donations of tinned and dried food from local schools and churches at harvest time.
I personally continue to benefit from mentoring support from Howard Exton-Smith who I meet with online once a quarter. Howard has generously offered his support free of charge for many years now and I find having the opportunity to discuss strategic and other issues with him of enormous benefit.
We were extremely grateful to Revd Val Ogden at Centenary Methodist Church for allowing us to operate several of our drop-in sessions from the church premises while our drop-centre was closed for the re-fitting works.
**17**
## Strategic Plan
As they do each year, the trustees carried out a review of the charity’s Strategic Plan to assess performance over the previous 12 months against the goals and objectives set out in the plan. Some of the key achievements are set out below: -
## **Finance and Marketing**
It had become increasingly apparent in the light of rapidly increasing costs that it was no longer feasible to start each financial year hoping that sufficient funds would be generated to cover the expenses. With a view to increasing the sustainability of the charity one of the key shortterm goals was to identify additional sources of core funding to reduce reliance on just a few funders.
Our trustees developed a three-year funding plan to support the charity
The trustees also decided to look at applying for multi-year funding in appropriate cases and a 3-year funding plan was developed which listed the funders identified and contained a timescale for applications. During the year applications were submitted to Shine Lincolnshire and The Mercers’ Company for multi-year funding. Notification was received in March 2024 that the application to Shine had been successful and shortly after the end of the year we were informed of the success of the application to The Mercers’ Company. The plan is to continue and develop this strategy in future years to make the financial situation less precarious and to make budgeting easier.
We upgraded out telephones and IT facilities —
## **Premises**
By the end of the year our goal to develop our use of Office 365 had been partially completed thanks to William Culley who joined us during the year as Administrator. William supported several staff members to use Office 365 and by March 2024 work was underway to set up a system using SharePoint to make sharing documents and files easier.
Substantial progress was made during the year to improve our IT and telephone systems. In July 2023 a new digital telephone system was installed which was a huge improvement on the old system, providing us with modern handsets and voicemail. We devised Following the upgrade there is now just one main number for the charity with callers plans for then selecting the department they wish to speak to. improving our
We devised plans for improving our building
The additional demand for our services over the year and crowded working conditions at our drop-in highlighted the need for our project to improve and reconfigure facilities at Belmont House and upgrade the building to make it fit for purpose. During the year a structural surveyor inspected the property and reported on his findings. Investigations were made into potential sources of funding for the project and draft applications were prepared.
**18** Ga»
An urgent short-term goal was to replace the boiler serving the drop-in which was declared to be beyond repair in April 2023 following a series of short-term fixes. The new boiler was eventually installed in October 2023 just in time for the arrival of colder weather. We were fortunate to secure funding to cover the cost from Boston Big Local and the Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund.
## **Clients and Services**
Our short-term goals under this heading related to the continuation of our drop-in services and activity sessions with the ultimate aim of empowering clients to move on in their lives. As can be seen from the relevant sections elsewhere in this report we saw some great outcomes during the year. More of the clients attending the morning sessions returned for the activities in the afternoon. A higher number of participants at the activity sessions moved into volunteering roles or paid employment. To assist us with our reporting requirements to Shine we improved the ways in which we recorded the outcomes of those people attending the activity sessions. This made it easier to produce case studies to demonstrate achievements.
## **Staffing and Volunteers**
One of our short-term goals was to obtain additional funding to assist with running our activity sessions. As mentioned elsewhere in this report funding was secured from the East Coast Community Fund to recruit an Activities and Community Coordinator on a 12-month fixed-term contract. Melanie Burt took on this role and did an exceptional job in leading the activity sessions and building up links in the community which resulted in some great outcomes for clients. Although the funding was only for 1 year it helped us to establish a firm foundation for the future development of our activities.
Another short-term goal was to have a more diverse, better trained and larger volunteer base. Good progress was made with this with two Polish-speaking volunteers joining us in the drop-in who were able to help with translation when required. Some of our volunteers also took up opportunities to undertake training in relation to Food Safety, Mental Health Awareness, Manual Handling and Drug Awareness.
Our staff and volunteers undertook training on food safety, mental health first aid and drug awareness .
**19**
## Our Staff Team
There were a few changes to our staff team throughout the year. As is have mentioned elsewhere Melanie Burt joined us in May 2023 as Activities and Community Coordinator, a post funded for one year. With Tom Page retiring from his role as Lead Project Worker in February 2024 and Emma Dransfield -Harness leaving her role as Project Worker in March 2024, Melanie successfully applied for the role of Drop In and Activities Manager and effected a seamless transfer to take up this position at the beginning of March 2024. Callum Thomson was recruited as Activities Coordinator to assist Melanie from the beginning of March 2024.
In June 2023 Asteri Edevane, our Clerical Support Officer, left to move into a different role elsewhere and his role was filled by William Culley, who initially worked on a freelance basis, but moved into a paid role as Administrator in December 2023. This role not only included general admin tasks but also drafting funding applications and providing IT support.
I am proud of our dedicated staff team members who, whatever their role, do their best to provide excellent service despite numerous challenges, not least the limitations of our building.
## **Our Volunteers**
As always, we were extremely grateful for the support received from our wonderful volunteers during the year. Our volunteers are our lifeblood, without whom Centrepoint Outreach would not have been able to develop as it has done over the years.
During the year we were supported by 37 volunteers who together worked 5,356 hours throughout the charity – in our dropin, shop, food and clothing stores, at our
> ["My life had been in ruins for four long years ] when I approached Centrepoint Outreach seeking voluntary work a year and half ago. I'd become a recluse with severe anxiety and had no hope of ever rebuilding my life, often I didn't see the point in carrying on. Centrepoint Outreach provided me with the opportunity and starting block to reintegrate myself into society, it gave me a purpose and provided me with the beginnings of an identity to build upon. I've now completed a year at college studying to be a counsellor and am progressing to the next level, I've never been happier or more at peace in my life. Centrepoint will forever remain a poignant period in my life, the opportunity that provided me with the will to live. A huge thank you to all the staff for their wonderful support and for the treasured memories of everyone associated with this very special charity.”
- _**Drop In Volunteer, June 2023**_
Volunteers worked 5,356 hours during the year and the total value of their time amounted to £61,272
**20** Ga»
activity sessions, on our van and providing admin support. Many volunteers tell us how much they themselves get out of volunteering, and the value of those hours when applying the National Living Wage equated to £61,272, a sum we simply could not afford to pay.
In June 2023 we were pleased to have the opportunity say ‘Thank You’ to our volunteers at a tea party held at The Len Medlock Voluntary Centre. This gave the trustees a chance to thank the volunteers face to face for their support and also gave the volunteers a chance to meet each other. Most only volunteer on one or two occasions a week and so never meet those who work at other times or in different parts of the charity.
**----- Start of picture text -----**
We thanked
our volunteers
at a party in
June
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **Our Trustees**
I am very grateful to the trustees for all their support during the year. It is not an easy time to be a charity trustee with the increasing need for more funding due to increased expenses as well as the challenges posed by our premises.
During the year we were sad to say goodbye to Revd Lis Ward when she left Boston to take up a post in Lancashire. Lis was a great support, not only in her role as a member of the Shop Committee, but also in her willingness to volunteer whenever an extra pair of hands was needed.
In February 2024 we were delighted to welcome Nicola Richardson as a new trustee, bringing skills in training and development from her career in business and, before that, in the Civil Service.
I would particularly like to thank Richard Locke-Wheaton who took on the role of Chair in April 2023. It has been great to work with Richard again as not only is he very supportive but also endlessly positive whatever the challenges we face!
## Conclusion
I am always humbled at the amazing support we receive which enables us to continue to provide our services for homeless and vulnerable people, and this year was no different. At the end of the year we can look forward positively, being in a more sustainable position financially with a new funding strategy in place. This will help to ensure that we are able to continue to support those who come to us in need, empowering them to bring about positive change in their lives.
**Elizabeth Hopkins** CEO
**21** Ga»
## Treasurer’s Report for the year ended 31st March 2024
The reporting year 2023-24 began with the usual financial challenges. The closing year income had just about matched expenditure. On the horizon was a rise in the minimum wage, a replacement boiler needed for the Drop-in Centre, and the internet and phone system to be updated for the digital age. The initial draft budget forecast a deficit of £70,000. Reserves were reviewed, bids for grants initiated, and intercession made to our Heavenly Father.
The work of the Building Committee on the development of the existing buildings continued and estimates of the cost of the desired refurbishment obtained. The generous donation and reserved finances could cover around 50%, and a plan to proceed in phases as finance arose was devised. The search for additional grants and other opportunities continued throughout the year, and the project technical planning continued, led by trustee Paul Clark. Meanwhile the essential maintenance of the upgrade of the IT and telephone systems, and the replacement of the gas boilers, went ahead.
Reserves were deposited in the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) and the Churches, Charities and Local Authorities (CCLA) Investment Management Limited as the returns improved. This also reduced the risk of exceeding the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) limit.
A staffing review resulted in a decision to employ a Drop-In and Activities Manager, and an Activities Coordinator, to ensure the success of the activities project continued.
Also administrative support, particularly in respect of identification and application for potential grants, was greatly enhanced during the year by the recruitment of William Culley. At the yearend income met expenditure and the forecast deficit of £70,000 had been turned to a surplus of £23,029. I commend to the Trustees and the charity the team efforts of Liz (CEO), Dixie (Finance Officer) and William (Admin Assistant) in this achievement.
We can look to the future, with hope and optimism based on the continuing responses to the prayers to our Heavenly Father. As it began, the year ends with a significant forecast increase of staff costs in the legal minimum wages, and the task of completing the building refurbishment continues.
**Michael Sharp** Treasurer
**22** Ga»
CENTREPOINT OUTREACH
(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)
Company Number 3204952 (England & Wales)
Charity Number 10.$6296
DIRECTORS, AND TRUSTEES, REPORT
AIYD ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR
31 MARCH 2024
Dexter & Sharpe
Chartered Certified A¢¢ountants
The Old Vicarage
Church Close
Boston
Lincolnshire
PE216NA
CENTREPOINT OUTREACH
CONTENTS
Page
Company Inforniation
Directors, and Trustees, Report
Independent Examiner's Report
Statemenl of Financial Activities
Balance Sheet
Notes to the financial statements
8-16
CENTREPOINT OUTREACH
COMPANY INFORMATION
Director5 and Tru$tse:
Mrs AM Austin
Mr PA Clark
Mrs JM Criddle
Mr PF Lawson
Mr RO Lo¢ke-Wheaton
Ms IJ Lebiedowicz
Revd AL Taylor
Revd E Ward
Mr MJ Sharp
Revd SA Clifton
Mrs NJ Richardson
(Resigned 19th July 2023)
(Appointed 21° February 2024)
Company Seere¢ary
Mr MJ Sharp
Registered Office
Belmont House
15 Red Lion Street
Bosion
Lincolnshire
PE216PZ
Company Number
3204952 (England & Wales)
Charlty Number
1056296
Conta¢t Telephone Number
01205 360900
Independent Examiner
Nicola Lenton FCCA
Dexter & Sharpe
The Old Vicarage
Church Close
Boston
Lincolnshire
PE216NA
CENTREPOINT OUTREACH
DIRECTORS, AND TRUSTEES, REPORT
FOR THE YEAR EIYDED 31 MARCH 2024
The directOTS and trustees present their report and the financial statement5 for the year ended 31 March 2024. The financial
statements comply with currenl slatutory requirements. Ihe memorandum and articles of association and the Statement of
Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities (FRS 102).
Governing doeument
The charity is incorporated and limited by guarantee. Its constitution is governed by its memorandum and articles of
association which are filed with Companies House.
Objects of the ehlrity
The object of ihe charity is the charitable provision of relief for homeless and vulnerable persons in and around Boston.
together wilh the provision of clothing, food and household goods.
Organlsotion
A board of truslees meets every three months to administer the charity. The are committees covering the shop, finance and
property, and general purposes which meet on an ad hoc basis. A Chief Executive Officer is appoinled lo manage the day lo
day operations of the churity.
Review of activities and future developments
The charity has continued its programme of providing a drop in as a meeting point for homeless and other vulnerable people in
and around Boston. li operates 6 days a week. At the centre drinks, snacks, a smiling face and a listening ear are on offer. Our
project workers, assisled by volunteers are able to provide comfort and professional assistance in dealing with client queries
and referring to other agencies. They work on a one-to-one basis wilh certain clients to empower them to bring about lasting
positive ¢hanges in their lives,
Our furniture delivery service has continued its job of recycling useful items of household furniture. Th¢ ¢harity also maintains
a stock of esseniial items which are distributed by our staff and volunleers to provide basic equipment for setting up a home,
As well as providing a daily hot snack we have continued to issue clean clothing and sleeping bags to individuals who are
homeless. Our drop in also provides a shower, washroom and phone charging service for people with no access to these
facilities.
The charily has continued to provide afternoon activity sessions based around cooking, art and craft and musiclboard game5.
These sessions provide life skills Iraining opportunities as well as improved mental health and wellbeing for ihose taking part.
Positive results of inleraclion with clients are recorded.
Fundraising through the shop has continued to be one of our main sources of unrestricted core funding. Although affected by
the general pressure on retail the trustees are pleased to report an increase in the net trading income. The shop is the primary
face of Centrepoint Outreach io Ihe general public.
The vision of the charity is that homeless and vulnerable people in Boston and the surrounding area are empowered to improve
their circumstances and achieve their full potential. To help achieve thal vision the charity has continued to work with its
strategic plan which is constantly reviewed. As a result the Iruslees have sought longer term funding (which was obtained after
the year-end) from various providers. The trustee5 have also appointed a new administrator to assist with implementing the
funding and IT stralegies.
Further information regarding results and ongoing proj¢c15 can be found in the Chairman's and Chief Executive's reports
which are attached to these accounts.
CENTREPOINT OUTREACH
DIRECTORS, AND TRUSTEES, REPORT CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
Risk manAgement
The Chief Exe¢utive Officer's job description includes an assessment of day to day risks. She reports to the board at tnjstees,
meetings.
Reserves policy
The trustees have adopted a policy of maintaining suificient free reserves lo cover expenditure for six months. At ihe year end
free reserves amounted to £104.301 against a requirement of £59,344. The trusiees are a¢iively researching further sources of
income.
Directors and trustees
All directors of the company are also trustees of the charily. and there are no other trustees. Befor¢ appointment trustees are
shown round the ¢harity's operations so that they are aware of how it is ¢onducted. Upon appointment they receive a copy of
the memorandum and articles of association and the Charity Commission's guidance note.
Public benefit
The Iruslees have regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit. They consider their obligations
are fulfilled by the working out of the charity's objectives.
Statement of trus¢ees' responsibilities
The trustees are responsible for preparing the trustees, report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law
and United Kingdom Accounting Siandards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company law requires the Iruslees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the
slate of affairs of the chariiable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including lh¢ income and
expenditure, of the ¢hariiable Company for the year. In preparing these financial statements the trustees are required to..
select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;
observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent.
state whether applicable U.K. Accounting Siandards have been followed, subject to any material departures
disclosed and explained in the financial slatemenls;
prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable
company will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accouniing records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the
financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the
Companies Aci 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for taking reasonable
steps for the prevention and dele¢tion of fraud and other irregularities.
This report was approved by the board on 18, September 2024 and signed by order of the board.
M J Sharp
Company Secretary
CEIYTREPOINT OUTREACH
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF CENTREPOINT OUTREACH
I report on the accounts of the charitable company for the year ended 31 March 2024 sel out on pages 6 to 16.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity's trustees of the Company (who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of company law). you
are responsibl¢ for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of ihe Companies Aci 2006 ("the 2006
Act").
Having satisfied myself that the accoun15 of the Company are not required to be audited for this year under Part 16 of the 2006
Act and are eligible for independent examination. I report in respect of my examination of your charity's accounts as carried
out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 ("the 2011 Act"). In carrying out my examination, I have followed the
Directions given by the Charity Commission (under seciion 145(5) (b) of the 201 l Act.
Independ¢nt examiner's statement
have completed my examination. l Confirm that no material matters have come to my attention which gives me ¢uuse to
believe Ihal..
accounting records were not kept in accordance with se¢lion 386 of the Companies Act 2006; or
the accounts do not accord with such records; or
the accounts do not comply with relevant ac¢ounting requirements under section .396 of the Companies Act 2006 other
than any requirement Ihat the accounts give a 'true and fair, view which is not a malter considered ag part of an
independent examination: or
the ac¢ounis have not been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP {FRS102).
I have no concerns and have Come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be
drawn in Ihis report in order to enable a proper undersianding of the accounts to be reached.
NICOLA LENTON FCCA
Independent Examiner
Dexter & Sharpe
Chartered Certified Accounlanls
The Old Vicarage
Church Close
Boston
Lincolnshire
PE216NA
18, September 2024
CENTREPOINT OUTREACH
STATEMEIYT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
Notes
Unrestricted DesignAted Restricted
2024
2023
Ineoming resources
Income and resourcesfrom generaledfynd
Voluniary Income
Donations and legacies
Gift aid and pledges
Income tax recovered
Grants received
31,066
3,053
31,066
3,053
54.530
5,566
58,500
80,733
139,233
78,032
92,619
80,733
173J52
138.128
Aclivitiesfor gepleraledfvnds
Fundraising ventures
Trading income
1,964
47880
1,964
47,880
2.931
42.274
49.844
49,844
45,205
Inveslment income
Bank Interest
2,635
484
Other incoming resources
170
170
215
Total incoming resources
145,268
80,733
226,001
184,032
Resources expended
Cosl ofgeneralingfunds
Depreciation. etc.
Fundraising expenses
Trading expenses
3J52
20
35,404
8,591
20
33,181
20
35,404
38,976
38,976
41.792
Cosls ofcharilable aclivilies
48,427
86.048
134,475
87,945
oiher costs
Management and administration
34,836
4J15
39,151
33,354
Tot*1 expended resources
122,239
90J63
212,602
163.091
Net incomingl(outgoing resources)
before transfers
Transfers
23,029
1,742
(9,630)
(1,742)
13J99
20,941
Net movement in funds
24,771
(I lJ72)
13J99
20,941
Rteoneiliation of Funds
Balances brought forward as at l April 2023
189,097
35,000
132,062
356.159
335,218
Balances carried forward at 31 March 2024 213,868
35,000
120,690
369,558
356,159
All income and expenditure has arisen from continuing activilies.
The note5 on pages 8 to 16 forn] part of these accounts
CENTREPOINT OUTREACH
COMPANY NUMBER: 3204952 (LIMITED BV GUARANTEE}
BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2024
Notes
2024
2023
Fixed assets
Tangible fixed assets
75,887
77,261
Current assets
Debtors
Deposit account
Restricted account
Fixed rate saver
Cash at bank and in hand
10,267
96,920
128,768
60,000
24,014
2.532
125,677
125.437
29,698
319,969
{26,298)
283,344
(4,446)
Creditors.. amounts falling due within one year
Net current assets
293,67]
278,898
369,558
356,159
Deferred grant
Tot&1 assets less eurren¢ liabilities
369,558
356,159
CApital
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds
Restricted funds
12
213,868
35,000
120,690
189,097
35,000
132,062
13
369,558
356,159
The charitable company is entitled lo exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Acl 2006 for the year ended
31 March 2024.
Thc members have not required the charitable company lo obtain an audit ol. its financial siatemcnts lor the year ended 31 March
2024 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.
The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for
ensuring that the Charitable company keeps accounting r¢wrds that comply with Sections 386 and 387 of the Com pllnies Act
2006 and
b)
preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the stale of aflairs of the charitable company as al the end of
each financial ycar and of its surplus or deficit tor each financial year in accordance with the requirements ot Sections 394 and
395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating lo financial statements, so far
applicable to the charitable ComplY.
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Parl 15 of the Companies Act 2006
relating to small charitablc companies and in accordancc with FRSI 02 SORP.
The financial statements were approved by the Board of .1 rustees on 18, September 2024 and were signed on its behalf by:
Richard Locke-whealon
Dircctor
The not¢s on pagcs 8 to 16 form part of these a¢counts
CENTREPOINT OUTREACH
OTES TO THE ACCOUNTS
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMEIYTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
ACCOUNTING POLICIES
BASIS of preparation of financial Statements
The financial statements are prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cosl or transaction
value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note to these accounts.
They have also been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Praclice. Accounling and
Reporting by Charities preparing iheir accounts preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting
Siandard applicable in the UK and Republi¢ of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective l January 2015) (Charities SORP
(FRSI 02)) the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and
with ihe Companies Aci 2016.
Th¢ significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These
policies have been consistently applied to all years presented unless otherwise slated.
FRS102 requires an accrual for holiday pay lo be included in creditors. The holiday year is Goterminous with the
accounting year, so any possible aGGrual would be Considered immaterial.
Cashflow statement
The charitable company has applied Update Bulletin l as published on 2 February 2016 and does not include a cash
flow statement.
Going concern
The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis as the trustees believe that no material uncertainties
exist. The trustees have considered the level of funds held and the expected level of income and expenditure for twelve
months from auihorising these financial statements. The budgeted income and expenditure is sufficient together with
the level of reserves for the charity to be able to continue as a going concern.
TAXAtion
The charity is an exempl charity within the meaning of schedule 3 of the Charities Act 201 l and is considered to pass
the tests set oul in Paragraph I Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 201 O and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable
company for UK Gorporation tax purposes.
Judgements and key sources of e$timAtioo uneertainty
The preparation of the financial statements requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that
affect the amounts reported. These estimates and judgements are continually reviewed and are based on experience and
other factors. including expectations of future events thal are bcli¢v¢d to be reasonable under the circumstances. The
useful economic life of tangible fixed assets and their residual value is diffi¢ult to establish so the accounting policy set
oui below has been consistently adopted.
Grants received
Revenue grants are allocated to the p¢riod for which the grant was received. Capital gran15 are malched with the capital
asset they are funding and written off to income received at the rate of depreciation of those assets. The amount not
written off is held in restricted funds.
CENTREPOINT OUTREACH
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
ACCOUNTING POLICIES eontinued
Tangible fixed assets gnd depreeiation
Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less depreciation. Depreciation is provided al rates calculated to write off the cost
of fixed fASsets. less their estimated residual value, over their expected useful lives on the following bases..
Buildings
Van
Computer equipment
20/0 slraight line basis
200/0 Straight line basis
200/0 Straight line basis
Note that a straight line basis has been adopied for the new van. as thi5 is linked to the writing off of the capital grant.
Any ¢apilal item costing below £500 is written off lo revenue in the year in which it is incurred.
Income
Voluntsry income and donations are accounted for as received by the charity. The income from fund-raising and trading
ventures is shown gross. with associated ¢os15 included in fundraising costs. No pernianent endowments were received
in the year, but these are dealt with Ihrough the Statement of Financial Aclivilies when received. Revenue granls
received are allocated according to the designated period of the grant. Amounts in respect of future accounting periods
are deferred and disclosed in creditors.
Fundraising costs/ trading expenses
Fundraising and trading expenditure comprises primarily of costs incurred in running the C.entrepoint shop. It also
includes cosls incurred encouraging people and organisations to contribute financially lo the Charity's work, through
advertising and the staging of special fund raising evenls.
Governanee ¢0$18
Management and administration cosls include all expenditure noi directly related to the charity's activities or
fundraisinsltrading ventures, on a basi5 agreed by the trustees of the charity. This includes ihe cost of running office
premises and salaries for administrative staff.
Unrestricted funds
Unrestricted funds are donations and other income received or generated for the objectives of the charity without further
specified purposes and are available as general funds. Within unrestricted funds are designated funds, where the trustees
have provided for specific future risks.
Restricted funds
Restricied funds can only be used for the specific purposes within the objects of the charily. Restrictions arise when
specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes. Expenditure which complies to these
criteria is identified to the fund.
CENTREPOINT OUTREACH
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
GRANTS RECEIVED
2024
Total
2023
Totsl
Unr¢$trieted Restricted
Boston Borough Council
Worth Waynfleei Foundation
Medlock Charitable Trust
Boston Town Area Committee
Alan Boswell
Boston Big Local
AsdrA Foundation
The East Coast Community Fund
Cost of Living Fund
Skylarks Endowment Trust
East Midlands Business Revival Grant
Boslon Borough Council - Household Support Fund
Lincolnshire County Council - Shine Proj¢¢t
ASDA FoLEndation
Boston Foodbank- Foodbank Project
Wavcll
Plaiform Housing
Anonymous
6,000
20,000
20,000
6,000
20,000
20,000
500
7,607
iJoo
5.000
15,000
25,000
500
7,607
ijoo
5.474
34J50
30,103
2,000
30,103
2,000
1.000
3,720
9.219
2.500
3,886
7,233
500
500
600
5573
600
5.573
soo
i 0,000
soo
10,000
58,500
80,733
139,233
78,032
*A grant of £27,612 was received from the Asda Foundation for a new delivery van in 2019. The amount shown above
is the proportion released as income in accordance with the policy for capital grants.
TRADING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE
The charity operates a shop for selling donaled goods to 8ener&te additional income. The trading results of the year are
shown below..
2024
2023
S*les
47,880
42,274
Expenditure
Premises costs
Salaries and related costs
Other overheads
1,577
32,82S
2.457
29.473
1,251
35,404
33,181
Net trading income for the ye4r
12,476
9,093
10-
CENTREPOINT OUTREACH
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
2024
Total
2023
Total
Unrestricted Restricted
CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
Salaries
Rates and water
Light and heat
Food and requisites
Motor and trdvelling
Repairs and renewals
Arts and ¢rafts
Telephone
Cleaning
Training
PA YE interest
Sundries
37,637
707
994
1,122
1,663
3,180
l J77
1,632
80
95,921
872
3,077
2,746
1,762
21,010
6,980
.790
80
202
65,625
624
3,156
7,109
2,446
3,257
3,278
1.312
25
1.092
165
2,083
1,624
99
17,830
5,603
158
202
35
35
48,427
86,048
134,475
87,945
OTHER cosrs
Salaries
Light and heal
Insurance
Postage and stationery
Telephone
Iniernel costs
Licences, fees and subscriptions
Independent examiner's fee
Computer expenses
Bank ¢harges
Professional fees
22,504
199
2,491
395
326
1,615
1,534
1,560
1,748
416
1,680
64
32
24,2.52
615
4,171
459
358
1,615
1,534
1060
19,373
631
4,280
553
251
1,828
2.576
1,680
2,000
182
175
4,037
175
4,412
375
34,836
4JlS
39,151
33,354
EMPLOYEE COSTS
Gross wages and salaries
Employer's national insurance
Pension costs
146,946
4,443
1,609
112,064
1,556
851
152,998
114,471
The average number of employees was l 0 (4 full-time and 6 part-lime) (2023- 9).
No remuneration was paid to any trustee in the year. nor were any expenses reimbursed.
Note that the above figu$ do not reconcile to the salaries in notes 4 and 5 above, as the total in note 6 includes shop staff
which is included in trading expenses on the Statemenl of Financial Activities.
No employee received remuneration exceedin8 £60,000. Key management costs amounted to £32,036. The pension
scheme is a defined Contribution scheme taken up by 3 employee5 and operating through NEST.
CENTREPOINT OUTREACH
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS CONTINUED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
Belmont
House
Computer
Van Equipment
TotAI
Cost
At l April 2023
Additions
Disposals
140037
27J62
1,498
2,178
169,697
2,178
At 31 Mar¢h 2024
140,837
27,361
3,676
171,875
Depreciation
At l April 2023
On disposals
Charge for the year
64,774
27.362
300
92,436
2,817
735
At 31 March 2024
67,591
27J62
1,035
Net book Amount
At 31 March 2024
73,246
2,641
75,887
At 31 March 2023
76,063
1,198
77.261
2024
2023
DEBTORS
Gift Aid
Sundry debtors and prepayments
Other debtors
694
2,202
7J71
206
2,326
10,267
2,532
CREDITORS- #mounts due within one year
Deferd income
Credit ¢ard
Accruals
Pension
Taxation and social security costs
20,000
498
3,690
243
1,867
318
2,592
1,536
26,298
4.446
12-
CENTREPOINT OUTREACH
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS CONTINUED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
10. STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
The Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 March 2023 is included for comparison purposes.
Unrestricted Designated Restricted
Total
Incoming resources
Jncome andresourcesfrom generaledfyplds
Voluntary Income
Donations and legacies
Gift aid and pledges
Incotne tax recovered
Grants re¢eived
54,530
5,566
54,530
5,566
45,000
33,032
7&032
105,096
33,032
138.128
Acliviliesfor generuledfu*Y¢ts
Fundraising ventures
Trading income
2,931
42,274
2,931
42,274
45,205
45,205
Inveslmenl income
Bank Inlerest
484
484
Other incoming resources
215
Total incoming resources
151,000
33,032
184,032
Resources expended
Cosl ofgLJneralingfvnds
Depreciation, et¢.
Fundraising expenses
Trading expens¢5
3,117
20
33,181
5,474
8,591
20
33,181
36J18
5,474
41,792
Cosls ofcharilable aclivilies
75,818
12,127
Olher cosls
Managemenl and administration
29,496
3058
33J54
Total expended resources
141,632
21,459
163,091
Net incomingl(outgoing resources)
behre transfers
Transfer5
9J68
1,115
11,573
(1,115)
21J,941
Net movement in funds
10,483
10,458
20,941
Rtcon¢ilia¢ion of Funds
Balances brought forward as at l April 2022
178,614
35,000
121,604
335,218
Bglances CArried forward at 31 March 2023 189,097
35,000
132,062
356,159
All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities
13
CENTREPOINT OUTREACH
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS CONTINUED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
2024
2023
DEFERRED GIL4NT
Amount brought forward/grant received
Amount charged to reslricted fund income in the year
5,474
(5,474)
Amount carried fonvard
A grant of £27.612 was received from the Asda Foundation for a new delivery van in 2019. This is being released lo
restricted income over five years in a¢¢ordan¢e with Capital grant policy.
12. UNRESTRICTED FUNDS
Undesignated unrestricted funds
213068
189,097
Designated funds- Buildings and Facilities Development Fund
35,000
35.000
The Trustee5 are using the ¢urr¢nl situation to set aside £35,000 in a designaled fund to be known as the Buildings and
Facilities Development Fund as Belmont House is in need of substantial investment.
13.
RESTRICTED FUND
B#lan¢e At
114123
IDeomin#
I'rAn5fer froml
Rc%thur¢e5 Exptndlture Depreelatlon Itol general
Deferred
Income
B818nce at
3113124
Wavell
Donation
C&D
BBC- HSF4
Boston Foodbank - Foodbank Project 26
ASDA Foundation
563
LCC- Shine Project
8,949
Boston Town Area Committee
Alan Boswell
ASDA Foundation- Empowering
IA)cal Communities
The East Coast Community Fund
Cost of Living Fund
2,342
120,000
182
(2,138)
(204)
120,000
(182)
500
5.573
600
(5,573)
(1,213)
(8,953)
(310)
(7,607)
(1,500)
(26)
50
500
7,607
,500
190
34,350 {33,624)
30,103 {29.263)
(726)
(840)
Balance at 31 March 2024
132,062
80,733 {90J63)
(1,742)
120,690
Wave I I - LCC Managed Care
Network
A grdnt was received for th¢ provision of menlal health support through
activities.
Donation
A donation was received for the refurbishment and upgrade of the premise5.
Consultaney & Development
A grant was received from the Bishop of Lincoln's Social Justice Fund for
consultancy and conlinued development of our services.
To offer support to vulnerable communities.
BBC- Household Support Fund
14-
CENTREPOINT OUTREACH
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS CONTINUED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
13. RESTRICTED FUND CONTD...
Boston Foodbank- Foodbank Project Funding re¢eived for the provision of housing support to the clients of Boston
Foodbank.
Asda Foundation
Two grants were received from the Empowering Local Communities Fund. One
was for ihe purchase of food for a Chriatmas party and to purchase warni winter
clothing and essentials for clients. The other was to SUPPOrt refugees Wlth
clothin& household items, toilelries and food.
LCC Shine Projeet
Funding from the Shine Suicide Prevention Fund Wave 3 for the provision of
mental health support through activities.
Boston Toivn Area Committee
To purchase food and supplies for the 'Cook Along With Us Sessions,.
Alan B05well Group CharitAble
Trust
To fully refurbish the shower facilities for the use of clients in our drop-in
centre.
The ER5t Coast Community Fund
For aclivities and community engagement.
The Government's Community
Org8nis&tions Cost of Living Fund
Support for the Charily to deal with the increase in the cost-of-living.
14. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS
2024
Total
Unrestrieted Restricted
Tangible asseis
Debtors
Cash at bank
Creditors
10,267
189,012
(26,298)
10,267
309,702
(26,298)
120,690
248,868
120,690
369,$58
Unreslricied funds noted above include unrestricted general funds, which represent the free funds of the charily which are
not designal¢d for a particular fund.
Unrestricted
Total
Generhl Unrestricted
Funds
Funds
Designated
Funds
Tangible assets
Debtors
Cash ht bank
Creditors
75,887
10,267
154,012
(26,298)
75,887
10,267
189,012
(26,298)
35,000
35,000
213,868
248,868
15
CEIYTREPOINT OUTREACH
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS CONTINUED
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
2024
Total
2023
Total
15.
SURPLUS FOR THE YEAR
This is stated after charging:
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets owned by the charity
Independent examiner's fee
3,552
1560
8,591
1,680
16.
DEFERRED INCOME
Balance at l April 2023
Deferred income in year
Released to SOFA during year
20,000
Balance at 31 March 2024
20,000
17.
DONATED GOODS, FACILITIES AND SERVICES
2024
2023
Volunleers
37
61,272
34
52.017
The value of our volunteers to the charity has been calculated by takin8 an estimate of their annual hours of donated time
and multiplying Ihat by the rtalional living wage.
18. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
One trustee, Mrs. A. M. Austin, is also a councillor with Lincolnshire County Council and Boston Borough Council
from which the charity receives funding.
19.
LEGAL STATUS OF THE CHARITABLE COMPANY
Centrepoint Outreach is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. The liability of each member in the
event of winding up is a maximum of £10.
The trustees are the ultimate controlling party of the charity.
16-