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← Jigsaw Worcestershire Mental Health Relative And Carer's Support Group

2024-03-31-accounts

JIGSAW Annual Report Monday 8[th] July 2024

A warm welcome to all our members, volunteers, and guests. We are holding our AGM slightly later this year due to our King’s Award for Voluntary Service celebrations which took place in June.

Introduction

For those of you who are new to our meetings, Jigsaw was established in 1996 and became a charity in 2017. We are a peer led group of volunteers who offer easy access to mental health support and information to relatives and carers who support a family member with a mental illness in the county of Worcestershire. When a family member is newly diagnosed with a mental illness it can be devastating. It can be truly frightening and very hard to understand.

Relatives and carers don’t always know what to say or do for the best and it is traumatic dealing with a family member who has attempted suicide, self-harm or taken and overdose. It is difficult to talk to other family members or friends about ongoing mental illnesses such as severe depression, OCD, psychosis, personality disorder, autism. Our group of experienced volunteers enables carers to come together let of steam, share their anxieties, and say how they truly feel without being judged.

We have a website www.jigsawgroup.info and we send out regular newsletters to our subscribers advertising our regular meetings and activities. We also use social media platforms Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). Our leaflets and posters also help us to raise awareness and reach out to relatives and carers who are isolated and struggling to cope with their role. We class ourselves as a small but vital charity providing a lifeline to relatives and carers. We aim to promote awareness of mental health services and empower carers in a safe, confidential, and supportive environment.

Our News: The Kings Award for Voluntary Service

In November 2023 we were truly honoured to receive the Kings Award for Voluntary Service (KAVS) which is considered to be the MBE for voluntary groups. This award is a testament to the passion and dedication of our volunteers. The Kings Award will bring a greater awareness about what we do to support relatives and carers in Worcestershire.

In May this year myself and volunteer Hazel Gommersall were invited to attend the Kings Garden Party at Buckingham Palace. The weather was glorious, and we got there despite the train strikes and the event was fantastic. The organisation, the tea party and the whole occasion was something we will always remember.

For those who couldn’t attend the King’s Garden Party we held a local celebration at the Malvern Hills Science Park in June this year. Our volunteers and supporters were invited to join us when the King’s representative, the Lord Lieutenant for Worcestershire, Mrs Beatrice Grant, presented us with our certificate signed by King Charles along with a beautiful crystal

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trophy in recognition of our volunteer’s dedication. It was a wonderful celebration and a chance to thank all our supporters.

I would like to thank Alan White CEO at MHSP and administrator Wendy Perrins and her staff for enabling us to use this fantastic venue for our celebration.

Financial Matters

Our National Lottery Awards for All grant came to an end in February 2024. In May we applied for further NLAfA grant which will last for two years and we await the decision sometime in August.

In March this year we were allocated £3,000 by the Trustees of Positive Thoughts after they closed down their organisation and distributed their assets. Positive Thoughts was a small, long running local charity which provided social contact and support to people experiencing poor mental health and it struggled to continue in the aftermath of Covid. I am personally very sad to see this charity close, it started in 2006 when the psychiatric day hospital in Malvern closed down and it was a vital lifeline for patients with severe and enduring mental illness. I’d like to thank Roy Milner one of the founding members of Positive Thoughts for his service and his links with JIGSAW over the years.

Jigsaw has a contingency fund of £2,500 kindly donated in 2023 by Andrew Manning-Cox, the High Sheriff for Worcestershire. In the coming year we would like to try and increase this amount to provide a bit more financial security in between applying for new grants.

I would like to thank our treasurer Polly Clare for managing the JIGSAW bank account and keeping track of our income and expenditure. Once again thanks go to Gordon Whittaker our independent accountant for checking and verifying our accounts (see attached income and expenditure account for the year ended March 2024 ) For the not so financially minded members I have prepared a spreadsheet explaining the details of our income and expenditure. We do most of our banking online with Barclays and there are three trustees who are able to initiate and authorise any payments made.

Donations

I would like to thank the following people and organisations who have made donations to JIGSAW over the past year:

We have also received online donations from Amazon Smile and the PayPal Just Giving Fund

We have held a number of car boot sales and tabletop sales throughout the year, and we have raised an amazing £631.02 including the tea and coffee money collections. My thanks go to all our members who have donated items for sale and helped to man the stalls.

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Attendances April 2023 to March 2024

There was a total of 254 attendances including 30 new attendees.

Throughout the year we held a total of 26 meetings:

We vary the venues and dates for the coffee mornings each month and we held our first ever weekend coffee morning on Saturday 29[th] April. By doing this we hope to enable carers who work different shifts or work Monday to Friday to have an opportunity to attend for a supportive chat. This arrangement also works well for any new carers who may wish to meet existing carers in a more relaxed informal setting for the first time.

These coffee mornings allow carers more time to talk in depth about their struggles and gain support from other carers. We are extremely grateful to the staff at the London Road Waitrose store who book the community room free of charge for our coffee mornings.

We send out anonymous feedback forms after every meeting and we will continue to take on board any comments and make improvements.

Monthly meetings

Our programme of regular monthly meetings from April 2023 to March 2024 has been varied and informative:

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Committee meetings were held on: 22[nd] May and 23[rd] October 2023, and 26[th] February 2024

We are extremely fortunate to have such a committed and enthusiastic group of volunteers on our committee and I value all their ideas and contributions. One of our volunteers, Kim is standing down from the committee this year. I would like to thank her for all her support and kindness to new carers she will be sadly missed on the committee.

We now have two vacancies on the committee. Expressions of interest are welcome from carers who have attended our meetings regularly over the last year.

Website and Social Media

In addition to our regular meetings, we also have an online presence and huge thanks goes to Darius for managing and maintaining our amazing website and for all his time and hard work. Darius is the glue that holds JIGSAW together sending out all the adverts for our meetings and co-ordinating our online virtual meetings. He collates all the anonymous feedback carers give us following each meeting and he manages our Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) accounts ( see attached reports ).

Networking

We continue to maintain contact and attend meetings with organisations throughout Worcestershire:

Co Working with Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust

Following the Care Quality Commission (CQC) report in January 2024, our volunteers have actively engaged with mental health care professionals and have voiced our concerns about proposed service changes and highlighted the potential strain on unpaid carers.

In March representatives from JIGSAW participated in a pre-consultation event giving the views of carers on the proposed Reconfiguration of Adult Mental Health Inpatients and Rehabilitation Services

The HAWC NHS Trust are reviewing and updating their Carers Policy. In April we were invited to share our views about the ‘Prepared Carer’s Checklist’ in a Zoom meeting with Karen Bent, Patient Engagement Officer.

In July we were asked to comment on documents developed by Scott Parker, Director for Improvement in the HAWHC NHS Trust. We were able to provide constructive feedback to

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Jane Thomas, patient engagement officer and Sue Harris, Director of Strategy and Partnerships on the ‘Behaviours for All - Patient and Carers Experience’ project aimed at improving staff, patient and carer experience when using Trust Services

Training and workshops

In November we invited Bill Say, psychologist, from Just Say Training to deliver a session on De-escalation Techniques. This session had been requested by a number of carers, so we arranged this bespoke training to address specific issues faced by our carers when they are faced aggression from their family members in a psychiatric emergency.

Pilates sessions for Carers

Run by Debbie Sankey (balancedbee71@gmail.com). Sessions take place at the Malvern Victoria Bowling Club in Malvern Link every Tuesday evening. Relatives and carers are welcome to join us or try a taster session

Certificates of Appreciation

In July we held a presentation event at the Malvern Hills Science Park. We offered our sincere thanks and presented framed certificates of appreciation to our supporters:

WhatsApp Group

I’d like to thank Sarah one of our committee members who has set up the JIGSAW WhatsApp group for our regular members. This has proved really helpful for the little details and keeping us in touch in a friendly and informal way.

Longstanding volunteers

I would also like to extend my heartfelt thanks to our longstanding volunteers and committee members, Polly, Cyrus, Hazel, Angela, Sarah, Kim, Carolina, and Brendan for supporting me in running JIGSAW.

Future Plans:

Re-design of Publicity Materials

We are having our publicity materials updated and hope to have our new tri fold leaflets and posters approved for printing very soon. They will feature the KAVS logo along with all our other sponsors. Thanks goes to Polly and her daughter who have been working on this

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project for us. They have done an amazing re brand. Thanks also goes to Tom Wells our local county councillor for providing the funds for this project.

New Sessions – A facilitated Reflective Group

We are due to pilot a new closed bi-monthly group starting in July. Some of our longstanding carers have participated in our meetings over the years. They offer support to new carers but there is little time at our meetings to address their ongoing needs and emotional struggles. Sessions will be run by trained psychologist, Rachel Morgan and paid for from JIGSAW funds. The sessions will offer carers time to reflect on the impact of their caring role and to focus on their wellbeing needs and develop more fulfilling lives.

Future meetings:

August – an update about Neighbourhood Mental Health Teams in Worcestershire September – Question and Answer Session about psychiatric medication

We also hope to arrange a craft workshop in the autumn

In the year ahead, we will definitely be focusing on ‘future proofing’ JIGSAW. We have talked about contingency plans, but we need to address this issue to keep the group running now and into the future.

We will keep reaching out to carers across Worcestershire and will do our very best to represent their views and contribute to developments in the NHS, Social Care and the Voluntary Sector

-o-

Sue Nichols JIGSAW Secretary

July 2024

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JIGSAW - WORCESTERSHIRE MENTAL HEALTH RELATIVE & CARER'S SUPPORT GROUP

INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

INCOMING RESOURCES
Donations and Legacies
National Lottery Community Fund
Funds Raised
TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES
RESOURCES EXPENDED
Room Hire
Secretarial Services
Speaker/Training
Consultancy
Telephone
Insurance
Stationery
Web Site Management/Marketing and Publicity
Computer Costs
Sundry Expenses
NET INCOMING/(OUTGOING)
RESOURCES
TOTAL FUNDS BROUGHT FORWARD
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD
TOTAL CASH FUNDS		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
4,052
0
655
4,707
0
300
200
0
87
96
45
2,519
244
108
3,599
1,108
159
1,267
1,267		 Restricted
Funds
£
0
2,331
2,331
-2,331
2,331
0
0		 Total Funds
2024
£
4,052
0
655
4,707
0
300
200
0
87
96
45
4,850
244
108
5,930
-1,223
6,986
5,763
5,763		 Total Funds
2023
£
5,250
5,996
702
11,948
294
294
110
225
63
96
38
6341
200
85
7,746
4,202
2,490
6,692
6986

JIGSAW - WORCESTERSHIRE MENTAL HEALTH RELATIVE & CARER'S SUPPORT GROUP

STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES 31 MARCH 2024

2024 2023
£ £
Liabilities
Room Hire 0 45

The Statement of Financial Activities were approved by the Board of Trustees and signed on their behalf by:

Trustee

Date