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2025-03-31-accounts

SupportLine Helpline

Annual Report

2024-2025

Telephone, Email and Postal Support

Registered Charity No. 1097419

Providing vital services for those who are vulnerable, at risk, isolated and victims of any form of abuse

Member of the Helplines Partnership Member of the Survivors Trust

SUPPORTLINE

VISION – That every person in the UK can find the help and information they need to support their emotional and physical wellbeing.

MISSION – SupportLine provides help by providing confidential emotional support and information and referral service working closely with other agencies and professionals.

OBJECTIVES – That those who are vulnerable, isolated, at risk, and victims of abuse will feel supported and cared for, will have increased self esteem, will be able to develop positive healthy coping strategies and an inner feeling of strength leading to happier, healthier and more emotionally balanced individuals in the community.

AIMS OF THE SERVICE

PATRON

GLEN MURPHY MBE

This has been another busy and challenging year for the charity, especially in light of its move to its new home in Suffolk, and all the work that entailed, while trying to limit as best as we could the disruption to services.

With the ever-changing world we live in, never has there been a greater need for Helplines such as SupportLine which offers easy access of service to those who are vulnerable, and as can be seen from the following report, the services offered cover a wide range of issues. As Patron, it is pleasing to see so many referring those in need of support to the charity and the feedback received is always good to see.

For those who are finding life difficult due to the cost of living, the highlighting of abuse issues in the media, concerns about world affairs and personal traumas taking a toll on mental health, having SupportLine to turn to can be a source of great comfort, as we are frequently told by those who kindly provide feedback on the charity’s work.

Increased demand for the charity’s service and more time spent on the support work does place extra pressure on funding, and I appeal to Charitable Trusts and Foundations to consider supporting the charity who are providing services on very limited funding and resources. To those who are already providing funding to the charity, my appreciation for your support which cannot be underestimated, as we would not be able to do the work we do without your help, and my personal thanks to you all.

To the dedicated team who keep the charity running, staff, trustees and volunteers, a massive thank you for all that has been achieved over the last year.

Glen Murphy MBE Patron

SupportLine provides emotional support and information to children, young people and adults on a wide range of issues including child abuse, bullying, self harm, eating disorders, exam stress, rape and sexual assault, bereavement, domestic abuse, mental health, depression, anxiety, family and relationships.

The Helpline specialises in providing support to adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse and victims of rape and sexual assault.

This help is provided by a telephone helpline, email and post and through our website.

The service is particularly aimed at those who are vulnerable, isolated, at risk and victims of any form of abuse.

The Charity is a member of the Survivors Trust and the Helplines Partnership

CHAIR

Peter Barrell BEM

I am pleased to welcome you to our Annual Report featuring just some of the work which the charity has carried out over the last year from which you can see much has been achieved.

The last year has been an exceptionally busy one for SupportLine with some of the charity time taken up with preparing for the move of the charity base to Suffolk which took place last September. We were pleased that the move did not take us away for too long from the Helpline work, but quite naturally with the work entailed in moving, there was less time for us to focus on getting funds into the charity. Therefore, we cannot thank enough those Charitable Trusts and Foundations who have continued to support us, and those new to supporting the charity, our grateful thanks.

The charity is committed to providing the best support possible to those who are vulnerable, isolated, at risk, and victims of abuse. I think this shows in the work we do and the feedback we receive not only from those the charity supports, but Professionals and organisations who give their clients and patients our details and to those who come to us for advice for their own work in supporting their clients.

I would like to say a big thank you to the following who have kindly supported us over the last year. The Archer Trust, Tula Trust, The David Lister Charitable Trust, Ambergate Charitable Trust, The Persula Foundation, Rachel Charitable Trust, F.B Coales No.4 (Family) Trust, Gowling WLG (UK) Charitable Trust, The Dennis Alan Yardy Charitable Trust, The Gledswood Charitable Trust, The Nimar Trust, The 29[th] May 1961 Charitable Trust, The Sir James Roll Trust, Enid Slater Charitable Settlement, The Ian Askew Charitable Trust, The Jessica Mathers Trust, Theodore Maxxy Charitable Settlement, The Fitton Trust, The Broughton Family Trust, The Ian Maidens Charitable Trust and for all those who wish to remain anonymous who have provided grants/donations to the charity.

I cannot emphasise enough how important funding from the above is to the charity. SupportLine is a small national charity and without the help we are given, the work that we do would not be possible so receiving grants and donations is invaluable to us. My thanks also to those who help by raising funds through fundraising and supporting our Give As You Live and Amazon websites when buying goods, as all helps to raise much needed funds.

As always, my appreciation to my fellow Trustees, Mike Knell, and Jaiyesh Patel for their continued support of the charity and our Co-ordinator/Support Worker, Geri Burnikell for her hard work over the last year managing the charity and to all volunteers who have assisted with admin and fundraising. Thank you also to Kirit Shah for the yearly auditing of our accounts and Spencer Morgan for his continued help and advice on our website and I.T. matters. As always, we look forward to the next challenging year.

Peter Barrell BEM Chair

SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE WITH A LEARNING DISABILITY AND AUTISTIC PEOPLE

Over the last few years SupportLine has noticed a marked increase in people with a learning disability and autistic people making contact with the Helpline looking for support. This could be reflected in a significant rise in autism assessment referrals and a growing demand and pressure on services.

In addition, research has shown that among people with a learning disability there is a high rate of mental health problems and due to lack of available services, people are often left to struggle on alone.

We find that the people who contact us for support, are often struggling to make sense of their emotions, and having someone to talk through how they are feeling and helping them to make sense of those feelings, can in itself be of great help.

We also find that people with a learning disability and autistic people, can often feel isolated and alone, and sometimes finding it difficult to form friendships and this can often lead to depression. Some also struggle with being heard and listened to by those around them. Some of our work involves assisting people in boosting their confidence and self-esteem, by helping people to develop assertive skills, to recognise the strengths they have and supporting people in becoming more independent and feeling they have more control over their own lives.

We are also able to look for local advocacy services for people where they can get support in dealing with local services and this can very much help lessen the feelings people get of becoming overwhelmed by tasks which they may have difficulty in dealing with, and also help in them being heard and listened to and having input into their own care.

We also get to know the person as much as we can and find out what they would enjoy doing in terms of activities, hobbies, and are able to look for local activities in their community and groups, clubs, they may wish to consider going along to. We also look to see if there is an appropriate befriending service in their community which would help them to gain more confidence in going out.

Anxiety is often a reason why people contact us and it can often be as a result of overthinking and constant worry which could be from the moment they wake up until they go to bed. This can be exhausting and draining and we are able to help with coping strategies to address this, to try and help people to take control over their anxiety rather than the anxiety controlling them.

Often people just need some reassurance about decisions they are taking and I think this is something which very much demonstrates the needs for helplines where people may not have others around to bounce things off and talk things through with.

A helpline can be very much a lifeline for people who are finding things difficult and very much takes away that feeling of isolation and leaves a person feeling supported and cared for.

SUPPORTLINE PROVIDES SUPPORT TO PEOPLE ON A WIDE RANGE OF ISSUES

HERE WE HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE PROJECTS WE RUN

Stronger Together Supporting People Impacted by Domestic Abuse

1 in 5 adults experience Domestic Abuse during their lifetime, This equates to: 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6-7 men. In the year ending March 2024, it is estimated 2.3 million people aged 16 and over were victims of domestic abuse. For every three victims, two are female and one is male (National Centre for Domestic Violence).

Domestic abuse is very much a hidden crime and less than one in five victims and survivors report to the Police. Victims are often isolated as their abuser will keep them away from friends and family thereby cutting off any means of support. A victim’s self esteem and sense of worth can be destroyed by their abuser which can make it even harder for them to reach out to others. With victims often reluctant to contact the Police, it is so important to get out the message that there is help out there and Helplines such as SupportLine have an important role to play in helping to relieve the sense of isolation and helplessness that many victims feel. People who have no confidence, feel they have no value, will often find it hard to reach out to others and much of our work is about helping victims to increase their sense of worth and self esteem and helping them to recognise the abuse is not their fault. This often enables victims to then reach out to services like specialist counselling that they can be put in contact with, and organisations which can give legal advice, and also information about places of safety. The message has to be stronger together rather than try and cope with the abuse alone which can often lead to repeated physical injuries and in some cases, even death.

In recent years there has been an increase in reports of coercive control and emotional abuse which can be just as damaging, in some cases, more so than the physical abuse, according to what victims tell us. Children are very much hidden victims and the effect it can have on them is often immense. Working with children and young people in families where domestic abuse is taking place, is another important part of our work. SupportLine’s details are frequently given to victims and survivors by National Domestic Abuse Helpline and Women’s Aid. The charity is also regularly mentioned by agony aunts who write for national papers and magazines.

Sunshine Project – Telephone Befriending to those who are lonely and isolated

This Project has gone from strength to strength over recent years after being set up as a direct result of the covid pandemic and the isolation that was felt by many. The Project befriends not only those who are elderly but also others who may be feeling isolated in the community, possibly due to mental health issues, learning disabilities, or gender issues. Regular phone calls to have a friendly chat and see how people are doing means an immense amount to those we are supporting. It gives them a sense of feeling cared about and also helps to increase confidence in those we support.

Survive and Thrive Supporting Victims and Survivors of Childhood Abuse, Rape and Sexual Assault

This encompasses much of the work we do. There has been much publicity in the media about Jeffrey Epstein and also the abuse of young girls taking place in a number of our cities. Whenever these issues are prevalent in the media it can raise unwanted memories for survivors of abuse, some of whom had through a lot of hard work, been able to move forward with their lives only to find these memories coming back to the surface and struggling once again to cope with the trauma.

However, it is so important that these hidden issues are brought to the surface as people have been allowed for so long to get away with abuse due to the hidden nature of the crime. It is only by breaking that silence that any progress will be made towards a safer society where so much still remains hidden and abusers protected. Survivors often present with years of relationship breakdowns, drug or alcohol addictions, self harm, suicide attempts and feelings of worthlessness and, hopelessness. However, survivors often have such determination within themselves and with help and support they can see there is light at the end of the tunnel, they can work towards healing and although, those memories will always be there, they can get to a stage where they are not impacting their daily lives. We have seen the changes which can be made if people are given time, people are believed, and cared for and valued. A number of people who contact us have been given our details from organisations like NAPAC, Victim Support, and Police Officers.

One Step At A Time Supporting People Impacted by Mental Health Difficulties

This also is a large part of the work we do, and sadly many of those who come to us for mental health support are survivors of childhood abuse. Our work with children, young people and adults struggling with their mental health demonstrates to us the need for helplines like SupportLine. Often people lead chaotic lives or have difficulty in going out and that can often prevent them from accessing structured counselling sessions so a helpline where they can be in control, contact us when they need to, can be of enormous help to people. We are aware of some who started counselling sessions which were ended because they missed a number of sessions. Helplines are very accessible to people and not only do we offer telephone help but also by email and post so can often be ideal for those who live unstructured lives and find it hard to keep to any kind of routine in their daily lives due to their illness.

Those who have depression and anxiety are often in a very dark place and it is part of our work to help them to see light through the darkness. We help people to see that very often the way they think can adversely affect their mood so working with people on positive ways of thinking, positive ways to calm themselves when they get anxious, ways in which they can relax, and safe ways to express their feelings rather then bottle them up inside, can make a great difference and help them to have hope for the future. People are often given our details by MIND, Samaritans, Community Mental Health Teams, Social Workers, GPs, and Police Officers and also by the media after tv and radio programmes where it is felt support may be needed by the public.

SUPPORTING CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE – CASE STUDIES

(names have been changed for confidentiality)

Kiara struggling with bereavement, self harm, suicidal thoughts

Kiara, a 15 year old, had been struggling with the death of her mother to cancer. Her feelings were overwhelming her but she was keeping this to herself, afraid to talk to her father in case she upset him by talking about her mother. She was feeling isolated, struggling at school, was self harming and had suicidal thoughts. We supported Kiara emotionally with the way she was feeling, encouraged her to talk to her father about how she felt and safe ways in which she could let her feelings out. We also put her in touch with a charity which organised workshops for young people who had been bereaved so they could meet others in the same situation as them and also an online bereavement forum for young people, again where she could speak with other young people who had been bereaved.

Kiara did manage to speak to her father and he told her he had often wanted to mention her mum but did not do so for fear of upsetting her. The result was that they both realised that talking about Kiara’s mum would not only help Kiara but her father also, and she also set about getting a book of memories of her mum together and worked on this with her father. Kiara felt she could then talk to her father when her feelings became overwhelming and she also said she gained a great deal by meeting other young people who had lost a parent and also from the online forum. She was managing her emotions much better, was no longer self harming and no longer had suicidal thoughts. By opening up to her father it brought the two of them much closer together and Kiara felt supported and less alone.

Trisha struggling with sexual abuse, eating disorder, suicide attempts, low self esteem.

Trisha, a young lady of 17 years of age contacted us presenting with low self esteem and confidence, no sense of worth and had had two suicide attempts and struggling with an eating disorder. She was living with her grandparents and felt guilty about the amount of worry she said she was causing them. Trisha was no longer living at home due to being sexually abused by her father and had confided in her mother what was happening but had not been believed. She had, with a friend’s support, reported this to the Police and it was found there was not enough evidence to bring a charge against Trisha’s father. This had left her feeling worthless as she had not been believed by the very people she thought would protect her and had sent her into a downward spiral.

We have been working with Trisha for some time, have given her healthy ways of coping which do not involve harming herself, have talked through with extensively about her feelings and safe ways to deal with them when she feels overwhelmed. She had a lot of anger which she was taking out on herself and again we gave her ways to release the anger without harming herself. By talking to us for a period of time, she then felt she had the confidence to try counselling with a specialist organisation supporting survivors who could offer her face to face counselling so we were able to find her that information. Trisha is making progress, has stuck to the counselling and

still rings us periodically to let us know how she is doing and although there are times when she really struggles, she knows she is not alone, and can see a future for herself. She has also said that when she is stronger in herself she would love to work towards working with survivors of abuse and that has given her an aim and a goal to work towards.

Joshua struggling with bullying, depression, anxiety, low self esteem

Joshua, 13 years of age, was being bullied at school but afraid to talk to his parents as he thought it may make him look weak. He told us this made him feel very depressed and anxious and he hated the thought of school and sometimes said he was sick so he did not have to go in. We spoke at length with him to help him to see that reaching out to others was a sign of strength, not weakness, and in time, thankfully, he did reach out to his parents.

He told us he did not have many friends at school and often felt quite isolated and alone. We got to know what he would liked doing and his favourite sport was football and he loved following his team and when he was older he wanted to be a footballer. We worked a lot with Joshua on helping him to build up his confidence and self esteem, he wanted to learn how to be more assertive and we helped him with that also. We mentioned to him there was a local football team for boys in his age range who played games at the weekend and he spoke to his parents about this.

Joshua contacted us around six months later to say he was a regular team member of the football team and had made many friends there and felt that sense of belonging he was looking for. The confidence he gained while being a team member also benefited him at school and he was pleased to say he had made a couple of new friends there and no longer dreaded going into school. Joshua had worked hard on himself and was a changed boy, happier, more confident and had a higher self esteem and that was so good for us to see.

Leon, a young carer, struggling with anxiety and concern for his mother

Leon a young man of 22 years of age, contacted us with a lot of anxiety and concern for his mother who was suffering with depression and isolation, rarely leaving the house and spending most of her time in her room. Leon loved his mother and did not know what to do to help her and also felt that he was missing out a lot on life, seldom seeing friends or getting out himself as worried about leaving his mother. We were able to help by finding information on a local organisation which provided befriending for his mother and also an organisation which helped people with poor mental health and they were able to go in and work with his mother to support her and to build up her confidence in getting out and general support for her mental health and wellbeing. We put Leon in touch with a young carers group from which he gained a great deal of support from meeting up with other young carers and when the other services were visiting his mother it also gave him some free time to do other things.

Leon was pleased he had reached out for help and in doing so, his mother’s situation improved, as did his. This greatly reduced his anxiety around his mother knowing she was well supported and was more able to make plans for his future and felt much happier and more settled.

SUPPORTING ADULTS – CASE STUDIES

(names have been changed for confidentiality)

Family impacted by mental health

Martin contacted SupportLine with concerns he and his wife had regarding the mental health of their adult son, Mark, 28 years of age. Mark was on the autistic spectrum and suffering with anxiety and depression and had difficulties in making friends. Martin felt he lacked motivation and showed little interest in anything, spending most of the time in his room. He had spoken to Mark who had agreed he needed some support and help to move forward with his life but they were at a loss what to do.

As Mark felt he could not cope with attending a support group in a community centre, we were able to find a local Men’s Walk and Talk Group where men met up, went for a walk together, supported one another and if they wanted to talk about their problems whilst walking they would get support from each other. Martin agreed to accompany Mark for the first few sessions to see how his son got on and was pleased to report back to us some time later that Mark had continued to meet up for the Walk and Talk sessions, was going along on his own, and was getting some benefit from this and looking forward to the weekly sessions. In fact, he had also joined a local MIND group with another member of the Men’s Walk and Talk Group he had become friendly with. We also found a local mental health project volunteering on a local allotment which Mark also joined.

Martin and his wife saw a marked improvement in their son’s overall mood and general wellbeing and were pleased he was getting out and appearing to take an interest in life. This also led to a decrease in anxiety for Martin and his wife who had been so concerned about their son and his mental health and isolation.

Family impacted by domestic abuse

Alicia was a young woman who had not long before fled an abusive partner and had been rehoused with her young daughter in a location away from family and friends, for their own safety. Alicia was really struggling with life; her self esteem was very low and also very little confidence due to the time spent with her controlling partner. She also felt alone and isolated and unable to work due to her depression and anxiety, had no means to furnish the property which she had been rehoused in.

We were able to support her in a practical sense by getting a grant so she was able to get some furnishings for the property she was in and this helped in some way to boost her mood. We put her in touch with the Freedom Project which ran local workshops for women who had been through domestic abuse and trying to put their lives back together. We did a lot of work with Alicia in helping her with coping strategies when she got memories of the physical abuse she was subjected to, and helped her with assertive skills and ways in which she could improve her confidence. We were able to give her information on a counselling service in a local Women’s Centre and found a service where her daughter could access play therapy as she had been deeply

disturbed by the abuse she had witnessed. Alicia still contacts us from time to time and it is clear she has made a marked improvement and feeling happier and more confident in herself but recognising it will take time to heal from the past abuse.

Darren struggling to cope with relationship breakdown, impacting on his mental health.

Darren was a gentleman in his mid-forties who had been through an acrimonious relationship breakup and was now living alone away from his wife and children. He was not coping with the breakup at all, was not looking after himself physically and was consoling himself by drinking. He felt he had nothing to live for and was talking about suicide.

Over a number of talks we had with Darren we were eventually able to get him to see that he was still the father of his children, had regular access and they wanted to see their dad and spend time with him and it was important for him to see that they were still very much a part of his life. He had a job but was putting that at risk by excessive drinking and in time he was able to work through the depression. It also helped that he was attending the local Andy Man’s Club we had given him details of, and was able to share his feelings with others at the Club who had been through similar situations. We put Darren in touch with an alcohol support charity and felt that he was beginning to sort out the drinking issue, he felt he had more support, felt less depressed and assured us he no longer had suicidal thoughts, and could see a way forward which he could not see before. He felt his suicidal thoughts came more from feeling alone and not having support and was pleased he made the call to us as the first step for getting the right support.

Jill impacted by bereavement and loneliness

Jill contacted us having been given our details from her local surgery. She was an elderly lady who had lost her husband a few years before and felt very much alone. She found it hard to accept her husband was no longer around and the few friends she had who were a big support to her had also died. She enjoyed telling us what a full life she had led with her husband and the many activities they used to do together and the outings they went on. She felt she wanted to be able to get out more but lacked the confidence in doing things on her own.

We were able to find a local bereavement support group for Jill which she said was such a comfort to her being around others who had also been bereaved. We also found her a local befriending service which would visit her once a week and once she has been able to build up some confidence is aiming to join some of the Age UK activities in her area. We also provided our befriending support calls to Jill where we checked in on her every few weeks to have a chat and see how things were going and this is something she very much valued and knows that she does not have to feel alone.

SUPPORTLINE WEBSITE

We are proud to say that over the years, we have received excellent feedback about our website. This has come not only from individuals looking for support, advice, and other sources of help, but also from Professionals such as GPs, Social Workers, Community Mental Health Teams and other organisations. We are aware that many Professionals are referring people to our website and also had positive feedback on the resources which are included and the information on self help.

The site includes a lot of information on other national helplines and websites where people can access support which means when we are not available people can still access that part of our service. There is often help out there for people which they simply are not aware of, which can leave people feeling alone and isolated. Keeping the website updated takes a lot of work but we do it as often as we are able, to ensure that information is correct. Much time is also taken in researching new organisations which could be added to the site to give people as much choice as possible when trying to access support.

We very much welcome feedback from people we support and others, and are very proactive in looking for gaps in services, in responding to what people who contact us tell us and it is often as a result of that which prompts us to add new content to the site where we feel there may be a lack of information and resources.

Over the last year, partly due to our move to the Suffolk area, and calls we were receiving, we became very aware of the high rates of depression and isolation within the farming community. Research has suggested that farmers are at a higher risk of mental illness and suicide. Due to the nature of the physical work involved, farmers can also be at high risk of suffering with physical health problems which can also impact on general mental health and wellbeing. Changes in farming have also led to fewer and large farms which can also increase the sense of isolation and less of a community, leaving farmers often feeling alone and unsupported. We felt it important to raise awareness of this and included a new section on our website to highlight this matter and also to raise awareness of a number of national organisations which provide support specifically for the farming community.

In our work on our befriending service where we provide a friendly call to people who are isolated living alone, primarily older people, the issue of scams was raised in some of the conversations, and again we felt this was an important issue to highlight as often it is the most vulnerable people who are falling foul of scams which can have a devastating effect on their lives. We added a new section on this issue on our website with information and advice and organisations which provided specific support on this issue.

Over the last few years, the issue of Women’s safety has been very much in the news, and much debate over failure of systems to protect women which are serious matters which governments need to take on board and do what they can to ensure that women can go about their daily lives in safety. We included on our website a new section on street safety with helpful tips and advice on how individuals can do what they can to minimise the risk of being targeted on the streets and again included helpful resources which specialised in that particular area of street safety.

During the year we were contacted by a manager of a security company which a few years previously had undertaken a study of the security industry which revealed alarming rates of PTSD and poor mental health among professionals in the industry. Over half of the respondents reported regular verbal abuse at work, and 57% indicated that incidents affected them for more than 24 hours. Additionally, 48% experienced flashbacks or nightmares related to their work. Overall, nearly 60% of the security professionals surveyed may be suffered from PTSD.

He suggested we put a link to the survey on our page relating to depression to highlight this issue and hopefully encourage men who worked in the industry to seek support. We were only too happy to do this as over the last few years we have done a lot of work on raising awareness on how hard it is for men to come forward and ask for help so this all fitted in with the work we had been doing.

The following is some of the feedback we have received over recent years in relation to our website.

Your page on Suicide on your website was a life saver for me. It helped me to calm down and really think about things and made me realise, I did not want to end my life, I just needed support when I was not coping. Reading that page was the first step for me in getting help and I now have mental health support and feeling less overwhelmed.

Just to thank you for your very comprehensive website, I refer many patients to it and have had excellent feedback from those who have used it and also patients supported by your helpline. A great service and good to know that there are agencies out there that we can refer people to and know they will get the support they need.

I would just like to say that your site is really helpful. I am going through bad times, I kinda self harmed the other day. Thank you for making such a good site. I am starting to recover now because my parents have found out, well I told them but only because your site made me realise that someone needed to help me. Thank you so much.

Hi, through reading your website I have just realised for the first time that the abuse I have suffered was not my fault.

I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your website. I found it a superb resource on so many issues. You have helped me massively in gaining new information on subjects in which, to be honest, I previously knew little about. I don’t believe that I am the first that this site has helped. This is just a simple thanks for your hard work and help.

The information on your website for adult survivors of abuse has been a great source of comfort and reassurance to me. It helped me make sense of my emotions and the importance of letting go of the negative feelings I still hold about myself. I understand the way I react to things a lot more and that is the first step to doing something about it. It was also a great help to my husband in understanding me more and how he could help me work through some of my demons from the past.

SOME OF THE ORGANISATIONS, PROFESSIONALS & PROJECTS WHICH SUPPORTLINE HAS SUPPORTED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

In addition to supporting members of the public, an ever-growing part of our work is providing information, advice, resources, to other organisations, Professionals and statutory agencies throughout the UK. This has involved giving advice about the best way of supporting their clients, information on local services they can access, literature about SupportLine to use on Open Days and specific Projects and also to leave out our literature for clients and patients to take away with them to use as a source of support.

We have an extensive database and also our work involves a lot of research into what local services are available for people as well as researching new national agencies which open up. The following is just a small number of those we have supported throughout the last year.

SupportLine contributed information and resources to support York College Stalking Awareness Day.

Year 10 Pupil helped with information for her Citizenship campaign regarding child abuse relating to how the charity helps victims of child abuse and this would contribute to her Citizenship GCSE as well as raising awareness.

Information on local support services given to a helpline in Scotland providing help to individuals experiencing depression and those interested in self improvement.

Information given to a Level 2 counselling student to help with part of course on anger management and services that provide support.

A company dedicated to creating personalised keepsakes that honour loved ones made contact with us. As part of their commitment to supporting individuals navigating loss they strive to provide meaningful resources in the materials they share with their customers and wanted a trusted resource by including our details on their website and in their leaflets they gave to bereaved individuals.

Information sent to a band on the Isle of Wight who were raising awareness on men’s mental health after the suicide of a colleague and wanted some literature to hand out at venues they were playing at to try and reach vulnerable people.

Leaflets provided to Gresleydale Healthcare Centre to use as a source of referral for their patients.

Leaflets provided to Barnardo’s Beacon Project in Halesowen, West Midlands, for use as a source of referral for victims of child sexual abuse.

Information on service provided to Adult Mental Health West Kent Primary Care so that patients could be given details of service.

Information on service given to Social Prescribing Advisor, Community Action, Redbridge, to support clients with anxiety.

Information given on local services to Mental Health Social Worker, North Wiltshire Mental Health Social Care Team, for client with relationship issues.

Information on service given to Warwickshire County Council Supporting People Team to use as a source of referral for clients needing additional support.

Details of local counselling services given to Primary Care Mental Health Team, NHS Southern Health for support of a patient.

Details of local specialist counselling services for survivors of rape given to Salvation Army, London, to help client they were supporting.

CAMHS Staying Close Project, Nottinghamshire, given details of our service for use as a source of referral for young person in their care.

Details of service given to Social Services Kent County Council for family support.

Details of local services given to CPN Essex Health & Justice Service to support a client with their mental health.

Details given to Enfield Social Services on awareness programmes to parents for them to be able to know what sexual exploitation is and how they can protect their children.

Provided resources for Unlocked Graduates Programme helping an initiative at HMP Brixton around prison leavers and how they could be better supported on release.

Contributed resources to the Dartford & Gravesham NS Trust for their Quality Improvement Course supporting men struggling with mental health, anxiety, depression, and grief.

FEEDBACK

Thank you for the work you do. I have been referring patients to your service and received excellent feedback from them about the support they have received. Your website has also proved very useful with a wide range of resources listed on it.

The support you gave me when I was at my lowest, was outstanding, and if I had not come across your number on the internet I do not think I would be her now. I had given up all hope, and contacting yourselves was a last resort but it helped me to change my whole way of thinking to get out of the mess I was in. I did not see a way forward but now I do thanks to the support I have had and cannot thank you enough.

I always look forward to your calls, to hear that friendly voice at the end of the line. It is helping me so much just to have someone to share things with and put the world to rights! I certainly feel a lot less lonely than I did and just to know someone out there cares, brings a smile to my face. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I don’t know how you never gave up on me when everyone else has. Your belief in me helped me to believe in myself and to start challenging all that negative talk in my head. Coping with the memories and trauma I went through is less challenging when using the coping strategies you gave me. Your belief in me and what I can go on to achieve means everything. Would I still be alive if I had not contacted your service, I doubt it. Thank you for your care, patience and time and all the help you gave me.

Helping me to sort my head out makes me want to do the work you do supporting survivors.There’s still a long way to go in my healing journey but you are an inspiration and give people like me a voice, when we’ve had to be silent for so long.

Hey SupportLine, remember me, how could you forget! All that negativity I used to come up with! You gave me hope when I had none, confidence when I had none. The support group you gave me has been a great help and things are starting to change in a positive way. You pulled me out of the depths of despair, encouraged me when I wanted to give up, listened to my trauma and pain and were there when I needed someone. Respect to your organisation and the extra mile you go.

“One of the most important things you can do on this earth is to let people know they are not alone.”

Shannon L. Alder

FEEDBACK

My wife kept pushing me to talk to someone about my depression, but like a typical guy I thought I could manage ok. I was sinking lower and lower and knew I had to do something, if only for the sake of my wife and kids. I don’t know what I expected but certainly got more than I could have hoped. Just offloading to someone was a relief and the time and care you showed made it easier than I thought it would be to discuss my worries with a complete stranger. Your positivity couldn’t help but rub off on me.

How my life has changed from that one phone call. I am now a regular member of the men’s walking group you gave me details off and that is amazing having so much support from the guys there, and while keeping fit at the same time. I realise now, we have to reach out to others when we cannot cope, and my heart goes out to those who have not done so and are no longer with us. I would happily recommend your Helpline to others, and a sincere thank you for your amazing support.

How glad I was that the Housing gave me your details as concerned about my loneliness and isolation. To be honest some weeks I hardly spoke to anyone and missing my husband immensely. I know after his death, he would have wanted me to get on with life but harder said than done especially when close friends have passed too.

To have the regular calls you offered me has been a life saver and as you know, I so look forward to the calls and chatting away which really lifts my spirits. I feel like I have a friend out there and someone who really cares about me. It is not easy when virtually housebound and I am so grateful also for details about the visiting befriending service run by a local organisation and have put my name down for that. Thank you for all your time and the work you do, it has certainly made a difference to me and feeling happier and more contented in myself. Talk soon, thank you.

ACHIEVEMENTS

SupportLine has provided help, emotional support, advice, information, advocacy, befriending to some 7677 people, an increase on the previous year’s figures of 7578. This has included direct services to people who are vulnerable, at risk, isolated and victims of abuse who request help for themselves, family members, friends

Over the year we have supported a number of organisations with their health and wellbeing and awareness days with our literature, noticed an increased demand from NHS clinics and surgeries and Social Providers for information on our service and literature for their patients, as well as requests from professionals for information on local services to support their clients.

As can be seen on the section relating to our website, the charity very much responds to feedback received, identifies gaps in services and is always looking to improve our site in whichever way we can.

Over the last year we have included a number of new sections which we felt were much needed and also in response to requests to include specific information on the site. To know that Professionals are regularly using the site and referring their patients/clients to the site, is testament to the hard work which has been put into developing it and the time taken to regularly update the site also.

We have seen an increase in people looking for support who have been given our details by the media. This has included the Sun agony aunt page who have regularly given our details in relation to issues around relationships and domestic abuse, and teenage magazines agony aunts relating to relationships, eating disorders and self harm and the BBC after programmes such as Doctors on issues relating to bereavement.

We were contacted by two young men, who as a result of the tragic suicide of their friend, wanted to set up a local helpline to support men with depression and men who had suicidal thoughts. They wanted advice on setting up a helpline and a men’s group, and the best way of doing it and where they could access help.

SupportLine has regularly helped other helplines including the Nightline for students when that was setting up, so we were able to assist and give them a lot of information and also useful local contacts of where they could access assistance with this. Out of something so traumatic as the loss of their friend, they were determined that something positive would come out of that and that local men would have a safe space to meet up and also make use of the helpline.

In September 2024 the Helpline base was moved from Essex to Suffolk and although there was a temporary lapse while making the move and sorting out the new phone lines, it was not long before the charity was back up and running. Due to the amount of work involved in moving, it has affected our funding as we had less time to focus on that part of our work. We have been working hard to try and secure funds into the charity.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2025

SupportLine raised £32,831 and incurred an expenditure of £32,590 for the year ending 31 March 2025.

SupportLine had a surplus of £4,980 from the previous financial year leading to a total surplus as at 31 March 2025 of £5,221.

Accounts prepared by an independent Accountant.

Kirit Shah BSc. FCCA CS Property & Consultancy Services

TRUSTEES

Peter Barrell Mike Knell Jaiyesh Patel

Co-ordinator Geri Burnikell

SupportLine

PO Box 13594, Sudbury, CO10 3FB

Tel: Admin: 01708 765222 Tel.Helpline: 01708 765200

Email: info@supportline.org.uk

Website: www.supportline.org.uk

SUPPORT LINE Charity Registration no. 1097419 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Support Line LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Chairnian Peter Barrell Vice Chalrman Mike Knell Treasurer Jayesh Patel Co-ordinator Geri Bumikell Bankers Natwest Wanstead Branch 51-53 High Street Wanstead London E112XX Accountants CS Property & ConSulta￿Y ServKes Kirit Shah Bsc FCCA

Support Line CONTENTS Page Forward to the Financial Statements Stslement of Trustees. Res￿nSIbIlit￿S Profft and lo￿ accnunt Balance sheet Notes to the financial ststements

Support Line Forward to the Financial Statements These Finanual Statements have been prepared in a￿x>[dan￿ wrth CC64 SORP 2￿0 as issued by the Charity CofflmissK)n in October 201X). Since Support Line's Income for the year has been less Ihan £100,0(X>. il is dassed as°small' and hence is eligible lo pr(xluce Ihe accounts on a receipts and paytrTrents basis_ K. Shah, B Sc. FCCA IndeFendent Accountant

Support Line Statement of Trustees, Responsibilities The Trustees are resrM)nsible fcr. - keeping prt)per acrx)unting records which dI￿￿)se with reasonable accuracy at any time th8 financial FKSition of the funds held on trust and to enable them to ensure that the accounts comply wth Tequirements in the Charities Act 1993 and Ihctse wuined in directioThs issue(J by Ihe Secretary of Stsle". - establishing end moniton.ng a S￿￿teM of intemal (x)ntrol; and - eslablishing arrdngements for the prevention and detedion of fraud and comjplion. The Trustees are reqUI￿d underthe Ctsrilies Act 1993 and uThler the National Health sen11￿ Ad 1977 to prepare accounts for each finanaal year. The s￿tsry of Stste. with the approval of the Treasury. directs that these aLxx>unts give a true ar￿ fail view of the financial posilion of the funds held on trust. in accordance wrth the Charrties Acl 1993. In preparing th¢￿e accounts. the Trustees are required to.. apply on a conststent basis accounttng poliLies lawj down by the Secretary of Slate wth the approval of the Treasury., - make judgements and estimates whth are reasonable and pr￿￿ent. - stsle whether applicAble accounb.ng standards have been followed, subject to any material departuwd disclosed and explained in the accounts. The Trustees (A)nfimi that they have met the respon51biliti.es set iyjt at4)ve and cl￿pIled with th8 requirements preparing the accounts. By Order ofthe Trustees Signed Chairman Date Tnjstee Date

Support Line Consolidated Statement of Financlal Actlvilles for the year ended 31 March 2025 Total Funds Notes Incoming rgsourcos Fundiaising Donations, Legacies and similar resources Grants - Restricted Funds Other incoming rescyjrces 9,920 22.250 611 Total Incomlng resour￿5 32.831 Resources expended Costs of generaling funds Grants paid Activities In furtherance of charit*s cèj'ectives Management and administration 3,629 735 28.226 Total Resourees expènded 32.590 Not Incomlngl(outgolngl rgsour¢gS 241 Fund balan￿ brought ft)rward al 31 March 24 4.980 Fund balances carried forward at 31 Marth 25 5221

Support Line Consolidated Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2025 Fixed Assets Notes Intangible Assets Tangible Assets Gu￿ent assets Stod(s Debtors Cash at bank and in hand 5,221 Credrtorslcfverdraft: amounts falling due wrthin one ye81 Net current Assets 5.221 Total Net Assets 5,221 Funds of the Charlty Unrestricted R8Strict8d 5,221 Total Funds 5.221 Signed:

Support Line NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Accounting pollcies Accountlng conventlon The financial statèmènts are prepared under the historical cost convenb.on and in accordance wrth the Financial Reporh"ng SL8ndard for Smaller Entrttes. Compllance wtth ac¢ountlng standards The atxounts have bgen prepared in accordan￿ wrth applicab￿ accounkn.ng standards Total Incomlng Resources A]1 ir￿ming reswrces are induded in full in the Statement of Financial ActNities as soon as the fok)wing three facto￿ ozn be met." EnbUe¥Tnl. Cortainty and measu￿rnent. This represents the total income thJring the ffinanoal year endlng 31* Marth 2025 Total Resources Expended Cost of generating funds comprise those (Y￿ direcdy attributable to fund rai8illg aciivities. Grants payable are Ind￿led in the Ststement of Finanoal Aclivities when approved by the Truslees. anagement and administratk)n eomrKises ￿S[S of running the charity. Training1w￿rv1S10n is prowded to the"Suprxirt knne" by a volunteer hence nil expendthre. Cash The financial year had started writh a uedit balance of £4.980. A surplus of £241 incfeasgd this credit balance lo £5,221. The current aUth￿sed over(Irdft limit wtth Ihe bank is £6.OC(J.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2025 SupportLine raised £32.831 and incurred an expenditure of £32,590 for the year ending 31 March 2025. SupportLine had a sutplus of £4,980 from the previous financial year leading to a total surplus as at 31 March 2025 of £5,221. Accounts prepared by an independent Accountant. Kirit Shah Bsc. FCCA CS Property & Consultancy Services TRUSTEES Peter Barrell Mike Knell Jaiyesh Patel Co-ordinator Geri Bumikell SupportLine PO Box 13594, Sudbury, C010 3FB Tel.. Admin: 01708 765222 Tel.Helpline: 01708 765200 Email: info@supportline.org.uk Website: www.supportline.org.uk