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← Bereavement Care

2023-12-31-accounts

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ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

For the year ended

31[st] December 2023

The Lodge 64 Pinner Road Harrow Middlesex HA1 4HZ 020 8427 5720 email: admin@bereavementcareandsupport.co.uk website: www.bereavementcareandsupport.co.uk

Registered Charity number 1157002

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BEREAVEMENT CARE

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

For the year ended 31st December 2023

CONTENTS

Details of Charity Trustees’ Report Chair’s Report 6 - 7 Training Report Fund Raising and Awareness Report Conference Report 8 - 9 Executive Officer’s Report 9 - 10 Independent Examiner’s Report 11 Receipts and Payments Account 12 Summary of Funds 12 Notes to Financial Statements 13 -14 Statistics 15 -16

BEREAVEMENT CARE

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

For the year ended 31st December 2023

Trustees

Bobbi Riesel resigned 24/01/23 re-elected at AGM 20/09/23 (Vice-chair from 03/10/23) John Spencer re-nominated May 2023, Harrow Synod (Honorary Secretary from 03/10/23) Geraldine Dammen Kombonglangi resigned 15/09/23 Bhavini Kaviya resigned 25/09/23 Almarene Frederick re-elected at AGM 20/09/23 Neena Bedi re-elected at AGM 20/09/23 (Chair until 03/10/23) Richard Segalov re-elected at AGM 20/09/23 Leslie Pappoe re-elected at AGM 20/09/23 (Honorary Treasurer) Michael Liddiard co-option approved at AGM 20/09/23 (Honorary Treasurer elect) Gopaljeet Bhachu elected at AGM 20/09/23 (Chair from 03/10/23) Sharon Daniels elected at AGM 20/09/23 Sadhana Patel elected at AGM 20/09/23 Anthony Simmonds elected at AGM 20/09/23 Sheila Small elected at AGM 20/09/23 Charlotte Spencer elected at AGM 20/09/23 Aviva Wilford elected at AGM 20/09/23

Corporate Members

Afghan Association Paiwand, Harrow All Saints Church, Harrow Weald Ark Synagogue (Northwood & Pinner Liberal Synagogue) Asian Bereavement Care Dovetail Bereavement Care (in association with Hillingdon Park Baptist Church) Edgware & Hendon Reform Synagogue Edgware & Mill Hill Bereavement Support Group Elliott Hall Medical Centre Emmanuel Church, Northwood Harrow and Hillingdon Circuit of the Methodist Church Holy Trinity Church, Northwood Holy Trinity Church, Wealdstone Ickenham Churches’ Bereavement Support Group Kol Chai Synagogue Mosaic Jewish Community Pinner Synagogue Bereavement Support Group St John the Baptist Church, Pinner St John the Evangelist Church, Stanmore St Margaret’s Church, Uxbridge St Mary’s Church, Harrow-on-the-Hill West London Synagogue

Bankers:

HSBC 26-28 St Ann’s Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 1LA

Metro Bank Unit 1, St Ann’s Centre, St Ann’s Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 1JU

Independent Examiner: Margaret Matchett Flat 1 Stanmore Lodge, 71 Stanmore Hill, Stanmore, Middx, HA7 3EX

Executive Officer:

David Griffiths The Lodge, 64 Pinner Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 4HZ

TRUSTEES’ REPORT

The Trustees are pleased to present their report with the accounts of the charity for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Charity

Charitable status

Bereavement Care obtained a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) status in 2014. The aim of the organisation is to provide emotional support to people during bereavement. Grief impacts both the health and emotional wellbeing of a person. This journey may be painful and lonely, we help people through it. Our trained volunteers are good listeners and offer free support to all, regardless of religion, race, sexuality, disability, gender or age. As we cover a wide geographical area, our support is either over the telephone / mobile, by Skype or Zoom, or face to face in person at the client’s home or other mutually agreeable venue, including one of our bereavement drop-in locations.

Charity Objectives

Our objectives for the public benefit are:

To relieve the suffering and distress caused by bereavement or loss among people who seek our help.

This would be, in particular, but not exclusively by:

Organisation

Trustees

The constitution allows for up to twelve elected Trustees and one nominated Trustee appointed by Harrow Deanery Synod.

Visitors

There are approximately 135 volunteers, who are trained in visiting and listening skills, and have worked with bereaved people in their homes or in other appropriate places such as drop-in centres. Each visitor successfully completes the Initial Bereavement Training (IBT) before joining a group. Visitors work to a comprehensive code of practice and are expected to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) assessment, where appropriate.

The visitors contact bereaved people who are referred by their Group Leader or have requested support via the Bereavement Care office. Visitors are supervised by a Leader within the context of a group which meets regularly. Group Leaders have meetings for mutual support and exchange of information and have been supported by the Honorary Consultant Supervisor, Dr. Dorothy Edwards.

Staff

Bereavement Care has only one part-time employee.

Office

Bereavement Care rents an office in one of Harrow Council’s buildings which has easy access from the centre of Harrow. The office is adequately equipped with two computers, a photocopier and lockable filing cupboards. We are seeking to finance and appoint a part -time administrator to cover all five weekday mornings. Not only would this improve our coverage of incoming phone calls, but this would also allow the current Executive Officer to revert to his original appointment as part-time Outreach and Development Officer. Other users of the office include members of the Lodge Groups for in-person support meetings. The building has a meeting room which is convenient for Trustee meetings and Group Leader meetings.

CHAIR’S REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

2023 was an eventful and productive year for the Board of Trustees. Previous resignations had left only seven Trustees at the beginning of the year and two further resignations were anticipated before the Annual General Meeting (AGM). Of the remaining five Trustees, four (including the previous Chair) agreed to stand for re-election as each had reached the end of a three-year term. This included the Chair and the Honorary Treasurer who both expressed a desire to ‘hand over’ their respective positions to successors. Therefore, a serious call went out to all members of the Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) for new Trustees, and nine applications to become Trustees were received, including an expression of interest in the positions of Chair and Honorary Treasurer.

The AGM was again held late in the year, as had previously been necessary during the COVID19 pandemic. After the AGM (in October) the decision was made to bring the AGM back to its more natural timing of spring (April/May) in 2024.

Nine Trustees were approved at the AGM which filled the eight vacant ‘elected’ Trustee places on the Board (John Spencer, as nominated Trustee, had been reappointed earlier in the year). The (ninth) applicant had offered to take over and ‘replace’ the Treasurer but requested this be delayed until the new year to allow sufficient time for ‘hand over’. Unfortunately, he had to withdraw due to unexpected personal circumstances. The Board would like to thank the ongoing Honorary Treasurer, Leslie Pappoe, who has said that he is prepared to continue until another potential replacement was found. Having presented the 2024 budget to the AGM, he was able to complete the year-end accounts in January 2024. An earlier AGM was on the cards!

Following the AGM, with a full house of Board members (4 re-elected Trustees, 8 newly elected Trustees, and one nominated Trustee) a renewed spirit of enthusiasm and anticipation was evident. The office of Chair passed from Neena Bedi to Gopal Bhachu; Bobbi Riesel was reappointed as Vice Chair; and John Spencer agreed to act as Honorary Secretary and line manager to David Griffiths, our Executive Officer. Plans were soon made to review the CIO’s strategy in preparation for the urgent task of preparing applications for long-term grant funding. The charity requires in excess of £30,000 annually to maintain the present ‘status quo’. It is hoped to exceed this by seeking funding for further developments and extending current activities.

Activities during the year included a review of several policies, including Safeguarding and Data Protection (GPDR). It is the responsibility of everyone associated with Bereavement Care, whether paid or volunteering, to be familiar with their responsibilities for Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults. To this end it is strongly recommended that everyone has an up-to-date DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service certificate) and has completed at least a Level 1, Introduction to Safeguarding Course, (information regarding both is available from the Office). Bereavement Care has a Lead Trustee for Safeguarding, Richard Segalov, who can be contacted via the office in relation to any specific safeguarding matters. Later in the year we carried out our first audit of GDPR databases. Other policies reviewed and updated emerged from a three-month project on Risk Assessment of home visiting by volunteers for bereavement support. Consultation was widespread and included Assessors, Groups Leaders, and Volunteers. What were originally four separate guidelines for volunteer visitors became a single, concise, document. The Assessors’ portion of the Referral/Assessment Progress Form was amended to incorporate documentation of the potential risks, if any, of providing support by home visiting. The Client Assessment, Lone Worker, and Volunteer policies were also updated.

The final three months of 2023 was a time for settling-in of the new Trustees. References were collected during their period of ratification and the opportunity was taken for all Trustees to review their DBS certification and Safeguarding training status. Other important areas of accountability, such as the GDPR and conflicts of interest, were signed off. Many attended one of the Trustee Role training opportunities offered by Voluntary Action Harrow, specifically for local charities.

Two key initiatives were soon agreed as priorities and some of the results of these will be evident at the 2024 AGM: first, on the tenth anniversary of becoming a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), the charity’s Constitution has been reviewed, updated, and re-presented in

line with the Charity Commission model, taking account of the views of the present Trustees. This has been circulated to all members of the CIO in order for it to be reviewed by the membership in advance and for the Trustees to receive any feedback. We will take notice of your views for any changes, and shortly will seek your approval to adopt this amended constitution. We will then need to send it to be registered with the Charity Commission.

Our second main initiative began to take shape in November, and this was a plan to create a new strategic focus, incorporating the expertise and enthusiasm of the new Board. This was considered an opportunity to review and expand some of the areas of expertise within the charity, as well as to develop possible new areas of relevance to the local population. Preliminary discussion already this year with the Young Harrow Foundation suggests that grief experienced by children and young adults is one example of an area we might look to expand into, and we hope to work with local schools to see where we might identify possible areas to offer our expertise. Important aspects of the work on our strategy, therefore, will be to improve our image and increase our presence locally, in Harrow and the surrounding areas. An inclusive and comprehensive strategy has major implications for our ability to seek grant funding which, working with Voluntary Action Harrow, will be our main focus for 2024.

I am proud to have been elected as the Chair of Trustees of Bereavement Care. My fellow Trustees and I appreciate the opportunity to lead and guide your charity over the next three years, and recognise the privilege as well as the responsibility that this gives us. As members, you also have an important role to play. We are always open to feedback about any issue relating to the governance and effectiveness of bereavement support. We are aware that there are many volunteers in the corporate groups who provide bereavement support under our umbrella. Most of these are not members, but it is clear they rely on the support that Bereavement Care can provide. We have been here over forty years now, and we intend to be here for many more years.

Gopal Bhachu Chair

TRAINING REPORT

Training continues to be one of Bereavement Care’s priorities. Whether it is training new volunteers to become Bereavement Visitors, or keeping our existing volunteers up-to-date with ongoing training, both are fundamental to our objectives. We have also been able to offer training to other organisations, who would like their staff or volunteers to become more aware of the needs of bereaved people and how to support them appropriately.

Last year we ran three Initial Bereavement Training courses - one in February 2023 with 6 participants, one in June 2023 with 12 participants and one in November 2023 with 8 participants.

In April 2023 we held a Children & Grief course with 11 participants at The Lighthouse Centre, South Ruislip run by Helen Blakeley and Julie Rose. Our grateful thanks to Harrow and Hillingdon Methodist Circuit for giving us permission to use the Lighthouse Centre. We held another Children & Grief training in November at The Lodge with 5 participants. This was run by Carole Scarlett and Julie Rose.

In April 2013 Emmie McGregor ran a Supporting those Bereaved by Suicide workshop with 13 participants.

Supporting those Bereaved by Suicide in a Faith Community was a new course, run in conjunction with Voluntary Action Harrow with 16 participants from several different faiths.

Bette Fraser and I travelled to Reading to provide bereavement training for the Make a Wish Foundation.

I want to thank all of our Trainers: Carole Scarlett, Helen Blakeley, Julie Rose, Emmie McGregor and Bette Fraser for all that you do for the organisation. Your help is much appreciated.

Bobbi Riesel Head of Training

FUND RAISING AND AWARENESS COMMITTEE REPORT Committee members

Jeanette Leibling, Bobbi Riesel (Chair), Trudy Segal, Wendy Williams, David Griffiths.

The Fund-raising and Awareness Committee’s activities were somewhat limited this year due to illness - but the team, consisting of Jeanette Leibling, Trudy Segal, Wendy Williams and of course David Griffiths worked with their usual enthusiasm in putting together our most successful Supper Quiz yet. It was held in Mosaic Synagogue, which had just recently opened, and it was an amazing space where we raised approximately £3,500. Many thanks to our resident Quizmaster, Selwyn Foreman and his trusty helpers Henry Wyatt and Val Austen without whom the quiz would not be the same.

On the 13[th] December we were Carol singing in Harrow on the Hill Tube station which sadly was cut short as the Metropolitan Police were doing a major anti-drug swoop, but it was so successful that in the short time that we were there, we raised £414 which can be Gift Aided and that makes it just over £500.

As usual we are looking for new members to help us with new ideas and to help our small team with events.

I would like to thank Jeanette, Trudy, Wendy and David for their help and support and also those who have sold tickets, sang carols, held buckets and just been there to help us in the past year.

Bobbi Riesel Chair, Fund-raising and Awareness Committee

CONFERENCE REPORT

Committee members

Angela Atkins, Sharon Goldstein, David Griffiths, Karen Pollak, Jenny Reid, Bobbi Riesel, Linda Varley (Minute Taker), Judy Silverton (Chair).

Bereavement Care’s 42[nd] Annual Conference, held on 25th October 2023 , BEREAVEMENT: Coping with Life Alone.

We held this year’s conference for the second time at Emmanuel Church in Northwood. It is a very good venue with plenty of space. It was quite chilly even though the heating was on. It is a huge area to heat and even though the radiators were boiling hot, the church felt cold. We will be looking at this aspect, as we are planning to use the same venue for our next conference later this year and will ask delegates to bear this in mind.

The IT/AV system at the church is fairly sophisticated and Jon Fiber, our incredible IT/AV man was able to master the system, with a little help from Matt (Emmanuel’s AV technician) who helped Jon set up.

.

The newly elected Chair of Trustees, Gopal Bhachu, introduced himself and welcomed everyone to the Conference. Our keynote speaker was Rabbi Jonathan Romain MBE who spoke for around 40 minutes, from personal and professional experience. He was very moving but also quite entertaining. An astonishing man, he spoke about how his Community in Maidenhead was helping him through his own bereavement journey. He spoke for 40 minutes and took Questions from the floor. It was a lively Q&A session with Sharon Goldstein and Bobbi Riesel in control of the roving microphones.

There were six workshops, run twice, thus giving our delegates the opportunity to get as much information as possible during the day. The workshops were held in the morning and repeated in the afternoon.

Colette Scarborough-Jelfs (Head of Operations and Partnerships at WAY Widowed and Young) explained how the charity supports both women and men under the age of 50, following the death of their partner.

Fahima Zaheen (Executive Director of the Afghan Association Paiwand in North West London) spoke about bereavement and how it affects refugees and asylum seekers.

Emmie McGregor (Bereavement Visitor and member of the St. John’s, Pinner Bereavement Group) led a workshop on Supporting those Bereaved by Suicide.

Bette Fraser (Bereavement Group Leader at Kol Chai Synagogue, Bereavement Care Assessor and Trainer) ran a workshop exploring how to Support those who have lost a child. Very much in keeping with our keynote speaker.

Possibilities and Challenges in supporting older people with bereavement was led by Eleanor Anderson , a semi-retired Systemic and Family Psychotherapist.

Nicky Hitchcock and Sona Barbosa from Grief Encounter (the children and young people’s bereavement charity based in Barnet) ran a workshop on supporting children and young people through their bereavement.

Lunch was served in the Lounge and always was a great success, thanks to Bobbi and her team of helpers for making such a good lunch. We were lucky to get some bread donated by Wenzels and a couple of the supermarkets also made a contribution. Thanks go to Fruity Fresh in Northwood for supplying all the fruit.

After lunch delegates went to their second choice of workshop.

At the end of the afternoon the delegates and the workshop leaders reconvened in the main body of the church for a plenary session. Each Workshop Leader was asked to bring two “good ideas” and this was fed back to the delegates.

David Griffiths closed the event with a summary of the conference and a short reflection.

I would like to add my thanks to the Conference Planning Committee members without whom this event would not be possible. Also, my grateful thanks to David Griffiths for his support and help with the administration which is always carried out extremely efficiently and never with a cross word, making my task much easier.

Our next conference will take on 30[th] October 2024 at Emmanuel Church and is entitled: Bereavement is everyone’s business .

Judy Silverton Chair, Conference Planning Group

REPORT FROM THE EXECUTIVE OFFICER

“Ding Dong! The witch is dead!” (from The Wizard of Oz) were the unusual words spoken by Rabbi Jonathan Romain at the 2023 Annual Conference, within a story which brought a ripple of laughter amongst the delegates. Whilst bereavement is no laughing matter, it is important that we take time to look after ourselves between the very important business of supporting those who are experiencing difficulty coping with the grief and loss of losing a close friend or relative. One of the biggest strengths of Bereavement Care is the effective partnerships that are established, developed and nurtured within the charity by the volunteers who give so much of their time, energy and enthusiasm, not only with our bereaved clients but in the preparation, planning and meetings which enable Bereavement Care to deliver such a well-respected and much-appreciated ‘package’ of support.

Some of these have already been mentioned in the individual reports: the Conference Planning Group, Fund-raising and Awareness Committee, and of course the Board of Trustees. Others are less apparent. Our team of Client Assessors meet (on Zoom) to discuss issues emanating from the process of referral and assessment. Their discussions often tackle issues which lead to changes in our procedures and policies.

The Group Leaders, who are responsible for the support and supervision of our Bereavement Visitors, meet termly to offer peer support and to exchange good practice in their roles. We were pleased to be able to take up the invitation of St Mary’s Church Harrow on the Hill to meet in the Parish Room in June; and at the November meeting, Sarah Ferguson (Lodge Group Leader and BACP Supervisor) gave some good practice advice on effective supervision. At the end of the meeting Group Leaders were able to meet the newly elected Board of Trustees.

Volunteer Bereavement Visitors also meet within their respective Bereavement Groups every 4-6 weeks to receive peer support, as well as supervision and guidance from their Group Leader. The importance of these meetings cannot be over-estimated in the provision of highquality bereavement support for our clients. It is also where we can ensure that volunteers are coping with the emotional challenges that confront them when supporting clients. Those who arrange the Bereavement Drop-in Groups often have the additional demands of booking the facilities, providing refreshments and arranging the rota of volunteers to be ‘on standby’ if a client attends who would like to receive some individual support.

The number of client referrals received in our office in 2023 was similar to recent years with 116 (2022: 125) Adult referrals and 34 (2022: 34) Child & Young People referrals. These are the clients who were referred or self-referred through the Bereavement Care Office, and do not include those who received direct support from a Bereavement Group attached to a place of worship or who turned-up ‘on spec’ at a Drop-in (see Statistics on pages 15 & 16 ). Some of the churches that support us through their Corporate Memberships held Memorial Services in 2023. The services allow those families who have experienced a bereavement over the past year to formally remember their loved ones; the services often taking place around the Christian memorial of “The Commemoration of All Souls” in November, the month of Remembrance. We are grateful to those churches who take a collection from those attending, and offer it as a donation to Bereavement Care.

Other financial support in the form of donations was received from the Jewish Joint Burial Society, who provided a grant of £4,000 towards the costs of the rent and service charges for our office. Donations were also received from the Leila Charitable Trust (£300), Mosaic Reform Synagogue (£400), Simmons GMS Ltd. (£250), Vintage Asset Management (£200), Jocelyn Tompkins (£500), Marietta Adami (£250) and grateful clients (£160). In addition, a collection taken at Harrow Interfaith’s Holocaust Memorial Service raised £359.86 for Bereavement Care.

Whilst Bereavement Care could not operate without the generous donations and support of its donors, benefactors, Corporate and Individual Members, it is without doubt the collaboration and community engendered by its volunteers that have proved to be invaluable over the past fortytwo years. This was acknowledged during Volunteers’ Week in June when certificates were sent to recognise this selfless act of service.

On behalf of all the children and adults that have received support from many of you, may I offer sincere thanks for all that you do.

David Griffiths Executive Officer

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT

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Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees/ members of[BEREAVEMENT CARE (THE TRUST) ]

On accounts for the year Charity ended[31 DECEMBER 2023 ] no (if any)[1157002 ] Set out on pages 12 - 14

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31 / 12 / 2023 .

Responsibilities and basis As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation of of report the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner's I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have statement come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed: Name: Margaret Matchett Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any):

Date:

Address: Flat 1, Stanmore Lodge

71 Stanmore Hill, Stanmore, Middlesex HA7 3EX

BEREAVEMENT CARE

Registered Charity Number 1157002

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER 2023 RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT

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BEREAVEMENT CARE

Registered Charity Number 1157002

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER 2023

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BEREAVEMENT CARE

Registered Charity Number 1157002

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER 2023

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GROUP STATISTICS for the year ended 31st December 2023

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GROUP STATISTICS for the year ended 31st December 2023

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