Sociability Annual Report 2024-25
Prepared by JC Barrow ‘Chairman’ & Agreed by Sociability Board Members
Independent examination of accounts carried by Mr W G Dukes Retired Accountant
Contents:
Chairs Summary...……………………………………….… Page 2 Reference and Administrative …………...……………. ….. Page 3 Structure, Governance and Management/Objectives…....... Pages 4-6 Activities/Outcomes.………………………………………….………. Page 7 Funding & Grants………………………………………………………. Page 8 Finance Report………………………………………………………………Page 9 Notes…………………………………………………………………………..Page 10
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Summary
For the first half of the year Sociability continued our good work, supporting some of the most vulnerable members of our community. Adults who have always been entitled to a personal health budget due to their daily struggle to get the support they require. In turn, this input of funding helped maintain our services for over ten years. However, we were informed later in the year that due to the alarming financial situation of the mental health services for Basildon and Brentwood, people’s right to a personal health budget (phb) was to be withdrawn. This was a great loss to us and a bit of a shock, after we were convinced that a user led project was what the new Clinical Commissioning Group preferred at the time, with a guarantee of peoples phbs if they chose to use our services, and a separate fund for peer support. After having specialist training in peer support and years of establishing ourselves as an integral part of mental health support provisions for this area, ten years later a total withdrawal of funding with no preceding notice of what was planned.
Sociability has people who depend upon our services, desperate for us not to close our doors. We faced a difficult decision, with funds running out, we tried raising money to continue, we cut back to the bare bones, reducing our opening hours, our staff no longer employed by the charity, but continue to provide their services, part time, on a voluntary basis. However, it was apparent that to maintain a service we obviously still required a regular source of income.
Contemplating our future between trustees and service users alike, we decided to pull together and open a charity shop. The idea being that we could make Sociability self-sustainable, while also providing some of our service users roles within the shop, providing the opportunity to build self-worth and value, and therefore, a positive effect to their mental wellbeing. It is too early to predict how this concept will turn out. However, the shop has recently opened and we are up and running, both the new Sociability shop and still the Sociability community support group. On average 35 people a week continue to use both services.
Kindest Regards Jonathan Barrow, Chairman, BSc, ACMI,
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Reference and Administrative Information
Name of charity:
Sociability
Registration number:
1166862
Principle address:
The Guard House
Wat Tyler Country Park Pitsea Hall Lane SS16 4UH Management Board:
Chairman: Jonathan Barrow
Secretary: Tina Gowers
Treasurer: Alan Bent
Trustees:
Dave Lovelock
Retired - Lynda Neale
Accounts
Independently examiner – Mr W G Dukes, ATT Retired
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Structure, Governance and Management
Policies & Procedures
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Sociability holds a full set of policies and procedures for all the services provided and for the facilitation of the organisation. A copy is held at our venue for anyone to read
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Policies and procedures are agreed by the board and are kept up to date by the chairman at 6-month intervals or as and when required
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Policies and procedures are decided upon by the Management board and the Service Manager
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Once implemented the Service Manager sees that all policies and procedures are upheld and adhered to
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It is the duty of each volunteer to make themselves familiar with our policies and procedures as part of their voluntary duty description
Management
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Sociability is fully constituted and registered with the charities commission
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Sociability has a small but well experienced governing board
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Our board members include, a former senior manager from a national mental health service provider with years of experience, a psychotherapist accredited with a hon’s degree and a former senior manager accredited with a degree in Social Science
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Volunteers are provided by way of first being service users, when a person feels ready, they can progress to areas of responsibility within the charity
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Volunteers report to the Service Manager - Service Manager reports to the Governing Board
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Each new service user completes a membership form and signs up to a code of conduct
Note: Where the word ‘staff’ is used, all facilitators are now voluntary based, Sociability no longer employs anyone, nonetheless Sociability still continues to provide the highest levels of competency
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Measuring outcomes
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Sociability has a fully qualified psychotherapist who carries out regular wellbeing checks
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Sociability carries out regular case study reviews, gathering qualitative & quantitative data from our service users
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An evaluation is completed every 6 months by our business administrator and discussed with the board members
Training
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Staff members are trained as Peer Support Workers, with some also as Peer Support Worker Supervisors
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A number of volunteers have been trained as Peer Support Workers
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Each volunteer has compulsory training composing of ‘Personal Boundaries’ and ‘Safe-guarding vulnerable adults’
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Additional training is provided for volunteers with specific duties including…
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⎯ Fire Warden
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⎯ First Aider
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⎯ Health and Safety
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⎯ Food Hygiene level 2 and 3
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⎯ Suicide Prevention
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⎯ Self-harm Prevention
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⎯ Data Protection
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⎯ GDPR
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Two staff members have been trained as cycling leaders and bike maintenance engineers
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Further staff training is encouraged and always available, Sociability are supporters of Continuing Professional Development
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Objectives
Priority 1
To promote social inclusion for the public benefit of those who are or feel excluded from society or part of society and who are, have been or could be affected by mental health distress, or physical ill health, who reside within the borough.
Priority 2
To relieve those in need for the public benefit by…
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Providing support to individuals affected by chronic and or mental health condition
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Providing support to family, friends or carers of a person that has or is suffering from mental or physical ill health
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Providing support through companionship, peer support, possible coping strategies and models of self-help with the aim of giving members a greater independence, increased wellbeing and preventing the further onset of mental health difficulties
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Providing opportunities with an aim of developing skills and knowledge
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Providing information, advice, guidance and signposting to work, leisure, health and social opportunities for an improvement to health and wellbeing
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Acting as a catalyst for member involvement and participation with the aim of encouraging people to develop their own solutions to challenging problems they may face for their good health and wellbeing
AND BY
- Working collaboratively and/or in partnership with external partners and other voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations, as necessary, all to promote the charity’s objects
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Activities
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Crafting
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Counselling
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Loss support
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Walk and Talk
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Gardening
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Open Group Dialogue
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Peer Support
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Work Involvement
Outcomes
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Improve the health and well-being of service users
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Build the number of services we see
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Match people in need to the best service available to them
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Provide psychotherapy to people in need of support
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Work experience
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Grants
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⎯ Basildon Council
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⎯ Essex Community Foundation
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⎯ NHS Mid and South
Other Sources of Funding
⎯ Donations
⎯ Fund Raising
Assets held
- ⎯ 3 Vehicles (Approx 20k)
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Overview of Accounts 2024-2025
Income
Opening Balance: £24,274.37
Grants Unrestricted: £44,301.00
Grants Restricted: £0 Services provided: £6,980.00 Donations: £6,648.26 Fund raising: £2,370.00 Refunds: £7,091.96
Total income £67,301.22
Total balance: £91,665.59
Expenditure
Maintenance and Renovation Work: £2,337.94 Activities: £2,151.11 Special Projects: £12,492.24 General: £1,650.27 Salaries: £50,022.39 Utilities: £5,028.75 Expenses: £142 Vehicles: £8,202.31 Charitable: £8,757.06 Total Spend: £90,754.07
Closing balance: £911.52
Verified by: Mr William Dukes Position: Retired ATT
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Notes:
Maintaining and Renovation work (Maintenance of the venue)
Activities (Groups held at our venue for the benefit of the service users’ wellbeing)
Special Projects (Any major purchase or activity which requires a board vote)
General (Any payment or purchase which cannot be included in the other categories) Salaries (Last part of a contract carried out for 18mths on behalf of the NHS, now competed)
Utilities (Heating, lease, insurance, etc)
Expenses (Out of pocket expenses of trustees)
Vehicles (All costs of vehicles, fuel, insurance, maintenance)
Charitable (Any expense for the benefit of service users, including gifted essential items)
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