People living better lives by being given a place to live
Annual Report 2022
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CONTENTS &
They push me INFORMATION
to reach my
goals
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Chairman's Foreword 1 Charity objectives 2 Homelessness in our region 3 CEO's Report 4-7 Lifeline Houses 8 Volunteers & Activities 9 Our Residents 10 Resident outcomes 11 Fundraising 12 Financial Review of 2022 13 Governance 14-15 Independent Examiner's Report 16 2022 Accounts 17-20 Company registration number : 08179414 Charity registration number : 1150977
07541 455508 admin@lifelineharrogate.co.uk
www.lifelineharrogate.co.uk
Community House, 46-50 East Parade, Harrogate, HG1 5RR (this is also the registered office address)
Foreword by Chair David Collett
It is my very great honour and privilege to be the Chair of Lifeline. After my retirement as an Insurance executive I set up the CAP (Christians Against Poverty) centre at Mowbray Community Church in Harrogate which I ran for 6 years. This reinforced my concern for the disadvantaged in the society. Working with Lifeline has been a further developing of my experience of what it means to not only be struggling with finances but then not even having the benefit of stable accommodation as most of the CAP clients at least had a roof over their heads.
Lifeline steps in to provide stable accommodation and help with finances and all other aspects involved with preparing someone to live independently in the future in a sustainable fashion. This is often work that is undertaken ‘under the radar’ and is work that requires great deals of patience, resilience and perseverance so I take my hat off to work that the Lifeline team do.
2022 has seen Lifeline considerably expand its support offering, which has been highlighted elsewhere in this report, so we are very grateful for our funders 35% without whom this would not be possible.
I am excited that 2023 will be Lifeline’s 10th year anniversary of supported housing. Carl and Georgie Good had this vision which developed in late 2011 and 2012 and it has been wonderful to see how over 100 residents have been given the opportunity to be housed and supported and I know there have been so many stories of transformation in people’s lives which has continuing resonance to this day.
25% I very much look forward to seeing Lifeline grow and offer more hope for people caught in the net of homelessness.
David Collett
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Charity Objectives
Our primary objective is the relief of need and poverty of homeless people in the Harrogate District by providing accommodation.
Our secondary objective is to help our residents move towards the ultimate goal of independence. We do this in many ways:
Help to restore family and personal relationships
Keep people safe
Prevent isolation
A residential address helps massively with finding work
Encourage social interaction
10 hours of meaningful activity per week
Encourage volunteering, training, education and employment
Take residents to medical appointments
Provide reassuring support on a Help sort out finances and day to day, week to week basis benefits
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Homelessness in our region
As we emerged into a post pandemic world it became clear that homelessness was on the rise. The government’s covid ‘everyone in’ response was of course incredibly successful but that could not continue indefinitely. We work closely with Harrogate Homeless Project to
provide move-on accommodation for their clients and in their 2022 impact report they say.......
"With a worsening economic situation, compounded by a rise in prices of essential items and services, we are starting to see an increase in the number of people using our services. Many services that people have also traditionally relied on, such as foodbanks, are seeing huge volume increases and in that environment the route to becoming homelessness may be all too easy, and the journey to get off the streets and maintain an independent life much harder." HHP,2022
A freedom of information request to Harrogate Brough Council in November 2022 indicated that 82 people were in hostels and
16 were being housed in private hotels. The need for supported accommodation is therefore still very pressing. A recent report from Homeless Link stated that the number of accommodation providers for single people experiencing homelessness has gone down every year since 2010, with 39% fewer accommodation providers now than there were 13 years ago. They went onto to say that......
So, what Lifeline offers in terms of supported move-on accommodation is of crucial importance. In 2022 we provided 5,282 nights of accommodation at 90% occupancy.
“the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be pushing more people into homelessness, a trend which is likely to be worsened by the current cost-of-living crisis.” HBC, 2022
That compares to 5,945 nights of accommodation provided by Harrogate Homeless Project which demonstrates that from a standing start 10 years ago Lifeline has moved to become a major player of homelessness support in the district. We opened our sixth house in August and had we had that all year we would have had a comparative number of nights.
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CEO's Report & Highlights of 2022
The year ended with a very encouraging set of resident questionnaires. How we impact our residents is of course of vital importance. It was therefore very encouraging to see a slight improvement on what was, already, a very good set of responses in 2021. It is very encouraging for me to see how our staff are perceived in such a positive way (Nov 22 questionnaire:100% of our residents reported back that Lifeline staff were approachable and responsive.)
Trying to help people become a better version of themselves is hard work. There are often deeply entrenched ways of behaving which have been learnt often to protect people which are understandable but are not necessarily going to be helpful going forward. It is a fact that no one likes to change and so confronting these issues is never easy. I am deeply impressed that our staff can confront these issues like they do and still be received in this way.
We feel in 2022 we were really able to enhance what we offer residents as ‘we go the extra mile’. We therefore can point to the following items that we offered up for residents in 2022;
Annual Christmas party
Fruit and Veg deliveries from a local fruiterer
Amazing provision from the Cook Kindness Fund who supply our houses with 30 ready meals per fortnight
Fortnightly lunch clubs at St Georges Community Centre
Dental treatment via ‘Dentaid’ and their amazing van and staff – 10 residents were given potentially lifesaving treatment in one day!
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CEO's Report & Highlights of 2022 continued
Gym/Swim passes at Starbeck Baths and Pure Gym.
Crisis Loans for residents in need
‘Tenancy ready’ courses for those leaving Lifeline
Repairs and maintenance on the properties provided quickly and by experienced tradespeople.
A dedicated support worker for each resident
A weekly ‘peer support group’ at St George’s Community Centre
General follow-on support to leavers – “you were still there for me after I left”, one former resident reminded us recently
Internet in each house
Fully furnished homes with all bills taken care of
Trauma-informed psychotherapy support
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CEO's Report & Highlights of 2022 continued
I have to mention the excellent work of Ruth Skaife-Clarke in her new fund-raising role in this context because without her skills and hard-work we would not have the funds to be able to do what we do.
My own fund-raising effort was to set myself a challenge of cycling 250 miles in the month of June. As the early part of the month passed by I sensed that I could stretch myself still further and set myself a revised target for 500 miles in the month. I am happy to report that I achieved that with a day to go. It made for a good developing Facebook story and I was very encouraged that we raised over £1,000 and just as importantly I was able to raise the profile of Lifeline. I was also personally very pleased when July came and I could have a rest!
It would be very remiss of me not to mention some amazing organisations that have helped us. I think of ‘OutsideIn’ who donated hats and gloves for all our residents in November, and Dentaid who we paid to come to Harrogate with their van to provide 10 residents with vital dental treatment, making up for the problems they have all experienced in being unable to access local dentalcare.
‘Cook Harrogate’ have been amazing providing a continuous supply of wonderful meals that just need our residents to heat them in the oven. ‘Harrogate Round Table’ stepped in again to provide each resident with an amazing hamper for their Christmas which was met with a great deal of excitement as you can imagine!
As always a huge thanks to Green Pastures. Their support is always exceptional and of course without them we would not be able to report of so many lives been changed and transformed by being given a Green Pastures home to live in.
“All the best for Christmas Carl and Georgie what a great support you have been for me over the years God Bless brother”
As the year drew to a close it was extremely heart-warming to receive this message from a resident who left Lifeline in 2019.
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CEO's Report & Highlights of 2022 continued
Looking forward to 2023
We have a very clear vision to continue what we have begun in 2022 which is to go much deeper into what it means to be a ‘trauma-informed’ homeless charity. The last 10 years have taught us that homelessness often has its root in family traumas and other traumas in their past. A recent report by the University of Northumbria reported:
“almost two-thirds of respondents who had become homeless reported four or more traumatic experiences, or trauma over a prolonged period of time. While this figure is high, it is likely to be an under-reporting of experiences.
Almost all respondents said trauma had negatively impacted their life. In 70% of cases, the impact was reported to be significant. The most prevalent impact, affecting 82% of respondents, was poor mental health.”
The telling conclusion of the report was
“that the research thus further supports the argument that it is futile to try to solve the issue of homelessness without addressing trauma”. We are therefore very excited to being receiving some diploma training from Ripon Trauma Centre which will further enhance our knowledge and develop our experience in this vital subject.
The other key alteration we will be making is that we want, as part of each resident’s meaningful activity programme, to offer some adult learning so that each resident has the opportunity to achieve some worthwhile qualifications. We are currently working with NYCC Adult Learning and Skills Service who have been very keen to support us in this.
To conclude, on the 19th of February 2023 we will have been offering supported housing for 10 years. We have had so many challenges to overcome and we give thanks to the Lord for all he has done. Without him it would simply not have been possible to get this far!
Carl Good
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Lifeline's Houses
“You really do offer a unique service for people. When we visited your houses it was clear how homely you make them and the amount of support that is on offer.” HBC Housing Officer
In 2022 Lifeline opened a 6th house and we are now 60% towards the target of 10 houses. We partner with Green Pastures, a Christian Social Enterprise, who buy the houses for us and Lifeline then leases them on an arms length basis.
All houses have the following features:
Fire alarms, fire extinguishers and emergency lighting
Video doorbells for security
Appliances PAT tested and regularly replaced
All houses have the following features:
Each resident has their own lockable bedroom
Outside seating space for fresh air and gardening opportunities
Professionally cleaned
In 2022 we provided 5,282 nights of accommodation to 30 people.
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Volunteers and Activities
We thank our 10 volunteers for all the time they give to support our staff team. In 2022 we started a monthly activity programme for our 18 residents. A range of activities have taken place and this has helped our residents with their confidence and mental health. We will be continuing this in 2023 and beyond.
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Our Residents
Lifeline has been a safe place with much support and encouragement. I am grateful for Lifeline
Lifeline provides move-on accommodation for those people who have been formerly homeless, to equip them to be able to live independently. We house men and women between the ages of 18 and 70. The vast majority of our residents have a local connection. Intensive housing management is provided to ensure residents maintain their accommodation. In 2022 we housed 30 residents. Here are just a few of their comments in our November 2022 resident feedback questionnaire.
Everything is done to a high standard at Lifeline and when we work together we can make this easier and more accommodating for everyone
Being here makes a massive difference as I can stay away from places that aren’t good for me.
I wanted help getting ready to run my own flat
Overall responses to the latest resident questionnaire asked;
A much-needed move on as I am not ready to be left unsupported and still am not great at seeking out help myself
1. I like the home I have been provided with through Lifeline.
2. I can make my views know to Lifeline staff when I want to
3. I feel comfortable in the house and feel I have all the things I need.
4. I feel my support worker is of benefit to me.
5. If I have a problem I feel Lifeline staff are there to support me and give me advice.
6. Lifeline staff are approachable and responsive.
7. I feel that as a consequence of my stay with Lifeline I am better able to manage my mental health.
9. I feel that my rent is value for money
10. My independent living skills are better
11. I feel more independent
12. I feel more safe
13. I feel more connected in my relationships
14. I feel more resilient
15. I feel less isolated
16. I feel addiction is less of an issue for me
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62.5% of all Lifeline residents have found employment whilst with Lifeline
Resident Outcomes
I am a skilled employee and have been further educated whilst being here
73.08% have engaged in a meaningful activity programme
Given me a positive outlook and hope for a better future
68.27% have fully engaged with their support plan
89.77% of those residents leaving Lifeline have had a positive move-on option (eg leaving for independent accommodation, going to live with family, leaving for an agreed rehab or support option)
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I am more able to
cope and connect
with people
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104 residents housed since 2013 (30 in 2022)
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Fundraising
Our primary annual income is from Housing Benefit but this alone does not meet all of our costs due to the additional support we provide for our residents. Therefore each year we are reliant on grants, donations and regular giving to break even.
It is becoming increasingly competitive to attract funding and so we took the decision at the beginning of 2022 to increase the hours of our Office Manager so part of her time could be dedicated to grant writing and fundraising.
We are extremely grateful to all who have supported Lifeline in 2022.
And to everyone else...you know who you are and we thank you.
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Financial review of 2022
Our financial position during 2022 has been healthy due to more success in attracting grant income and donations. This has meant that our reliance on housing benefit has reduced from 65% of our income in 2021 to 57% of our income in 2022. We have made a small surplus of £9.8k for the year which is slightly better than budgeted.
We have a strong story to tell grant funders, and with 2023 being the year of our 10th Anniversary we hope this will have a positive impact on our continued success in raising funds. 2022 has marked an increase in donations from individuals with some donations even coming in anonymously. We are always grateful for this additional support.
We expect 2023 to present further challenges with increasing utility costs expected to impact us the most. However we are reassured that we continue to enjoy good relationships with Harrogate Borough Council and they support us with reviewing our rents regularly. We see need all around us and we are receiving more and more enquiries about vacancies so this indicates to us that the need is there for our service now and in the future more than ever.
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22%
16% 57%
5%
19%
32%
49%
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We see a need for another male and female house to take our total number of houses to 8. We are thankful and always appreciative of our wonderful relationship with Green Pastures who purchase our properties.
They bought us an additional house in 2022 and it is always a challenge to find property in Harrogate so the search is often intensive before the right property is found.
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Governance
The Accounts
Accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in the notes to the Accounts and comply with the charity’s Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and the Statement of Recommended Practice “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” issued in March 2006.
Principal Activities
The principal activity of the company continued to be the relief of needs and poverty of homeless people in Harrogate and District in accordance with the charity's objects. The charity provides accommodation, education, training, personal development opportunities, counselling, mentoring and advice.
The policies adopted in furtherance of these objects are set out in the charity's articles of association and there has been no change in these during the year.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake. Details of the main activities of the charity are shown throughout this Annual Report.
Lifeline is a Christian Charity that has Jesus as its inspiration and its core. We always strive to follow Him and make all our actions spring out of our love for Him. We know this does not buy us our salvation, as our salvation is a gift from God, but we do everything we do at Lifeline for others out of the gratitude for what He has done for us.
Trustees
The trustees, who are also directors for the purposes of company law, and who served during the financial year were:
Mr David John Collett
Dr Christopher Robin Coggins
Mr Jeffrey Mark Jones (Treasurer) - appointed 20.5.22
Mr Carl Michael Good
Mrs Deborah-Ann Britz - appointed 20.5.22
Mrs Tessa Beaumont - resigned 9.1.23
Mrs Carol Bexon - resigned 14.3.22
Mr Richard John Marjoribanks - resigned 31.5.2022
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Governance (continued)
The directors of the company, under the company’s articles, are known as members of the management committee. Under the requirements of the memorandum of articles of association, the directors are elected and / or re-elected at the annual general meeting.
None of the trustees has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up of the company.
Carl Good is an Accredited Member of the National Landlords Association. Lifeline work in partnership with Green Pastures (CBS) Limited, a Christian social enterprise and the purchaser of our homes, and so are able to access the combined expertise of not only Green Pastures but also 83 partners nationwide, all housing the homeless. There is an annual conference to share best practice.
Trustees meet at regular intervals and are responsible for the strategic direction and policy of the charity. The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks.
Public benefit
The trustees have considered their statutory duties to ensure that the charity operates in the public benefit. The trustees believe that the support they offer to homeless people is clearly in the public benefit.
Reserves and Investment policy
It is the policy of the charity that funds should be maintained at a level equivalent to between three and six month’s expenditure. The trustees consider that reserves at this level will ensure that, in the event of a significant drop in funding, they will be able to continue the charity’s current activities while consideration is given to ways in which additional funds may be raised. This level of reserves has been maintained or exceeded throughout the year under review.
On behalf of the board of trustees David John Collett, Chair of Trustees
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Independent examiner's report to the Trustees of Lifeline (Harrogate) Limited
We report on the accounts of the charity, and accompanying notes, set out on the following pages for the year ended 31 December 2022.
Respective responsibilities of the trustees and examiner
The trustees, who are also the directors of Lifeline (Harrogate) Ltd for the purposes of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The trustees consider that an audit is not required for this period under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 and that an independent examination is needed.
Having satisfied ourselves that the charity is not subject to audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is our responsibility to: 1) examine the account under section 145 of the 2001 Act;
2) follow the procedures laid down in the general directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and
- 3) state whether particular matters have come to our attention.
Basis of independent examiner’s report
Our examination was carried out in accordance with the general directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a “true and fair view” and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent examiner’s statement
In the course of our examination, no matter has come to our attention which gives us reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements: (i) to keep accounting records in accordance with section 386 of the Companies Act 2006; and
(ii) to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records, comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 and with the methods and principle of the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities;
have not been met, or to which, in our opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
D T Kitson FCCA
Bulmer & Co Chartered Certified Accountants & Statutory Auditors 2 Mount Parade, Harrogate, HG1 1BX
Dated: 2023
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Statement of Financial Activities including Income and Expenditure Account for the year ended 31 December 2022
LIFELINE (HARROGATE) LIMITED
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LIFELINE (HARROGATE) LIMITED Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2022
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LIFELINE (HARROGATE) LIMITED
Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2022
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LIFELINE (HARROGATE) LIMITED Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2022 (continued)
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