REGISTERED CHARITYNUM8ER.. 1175186 Report olthe Trurtee5 ond ond Unoudited Financia15tatements fvr the year end 31st LYecember2024 Swansea Asylum seeke￿ Support (SASSJ Bellomy Morgan & Westwood Jomesons Holl Foundry Road Morri5ton Swansea SA6 8DU Swonseo Asvlum Seekers Support ISASSI Content oAfinancia15totements fvr the year end 315t Decemlw 2024 Pt7ge Report of the Iru5tee5 i-ii Independent Exorniner's RepDrt 12 Receipt5 & Payments Account with Bolonce Sheet 13 Mnvpment nf Fiind. 14 Stotement of Fin¢7ncialArtivities 15 CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Trustees, Annual Report for the period From 1st January 2024 To 315t December 2024 Charity name: Swansea Asylum Seekers Support Charity registration number: 1175186 Objectives and Activities Summary ofthe Purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document SASS is a person-centred. grassr¢x)ts. very local organisation. which offers a personal welcome to asylum seekers and refugees in our city. We 8UPPOrt their welfare by meeting basic needs. We support their wellbelng through social and cultural opportunities (the regular dropins and othèr 8Ctivilies), and by referrals to and advocacy with other services. And we seek to empower them through education and training. opportunrties to gain confidence and skills by volunteèring. making friénds with local p8opl8 and so becoffling familiar with UK life. and opportuniti85 to contribut8 to running the organisation as Lived Experience Advisors or Truslees. Vthen we 8ay %ve'. we mean asylum seekers and refLsgee8 (ASRS) and othèr local people, togethèr. Our mission In 8ASg is to treat asylum gcckcrs and rcfugccs a3 fricnd8. fcllow voluntccrJ. fcllow mcmbcrg, not 'L￿[￿rILl¥l i¥¥, LIivii1¥ ui u¥¥i¥'. M¥ii1￿1¥* Iii¥y ¥¥yluiii Ul refugooc or othor local pooplo. Voluntoorc with no livod oxporionco of tho asylum system are valuable contributors, and they also benefit in many ways from th•ir involv•m•nt. Ttrk• rsch mix of local$ and n•wcorn•rs at our gathcrlngpa ond events is e3a•entiol to everything we do. Our vlslon is lo a community of mlrtual aid in which asylum seekers and refugees help each other. and help other Ic(al people. as much as local people help them. And by Y￿rkIng this way, we will move the worfd a little bit rJn%ftr In niir visinn Summary ofthe. maln activities in relation to those purposes for the public benefrt, in particular, th8 activities. projects or service8 identified in the accounts. Two weekly dropin sessions of three hours each, 50 weeks a year W¢lMme lo Play scheme operaie¥ at both drop-ina, plu¥ ?pe¢ial event$ during SGhool holhdays, Petsonal support for ASR individuals and families new to Swansea, those needing emergency support due to loss of ASPEN cards, NRPF, transition from asylum seeker to refugee slatus. housing and transport Issues, school places andlor generally understanding systems in WaleslUK. Infomal En91ish language classes, both face to fa￿ and on Zoom Additional aduR courses, mainly in partnership Y￿th Adult Leaming Wales, with regular creche Volunleer recruitment. induction and development. Opportuniknes for SASS members to gain food hygiene, first aid and other qualtfications in preparation for future employment Infomial support for asylum claims using the Right to Remain toolkrt Prowdin9 Opportunities for ASRS to voluntè8r within SASS in a variety of roles Support for ASRS through provision of clothes, household rtems, toiletries, krtchen e ui ment, to and books elc DigtnbLrtion of items to eligible per8on8 on behalf of the City and County of Swansea and Welsh Governmengt e.g. school holiday fo¢)d vouchers, period products Publishing and art project8 - Opportunities to participate and a platfomi for expression. Awareness raising a¢XOSS th8 Crty through public events and ￿rSonal contacts, partnershlps arKI meetlngs vlth a wlde r8nge of clvll soclety organisations, govemment departments and teams. churches, faith rou s as well as individuals The Trustees have regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit. Statement confiming whether the Iruslees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on ublic benefit Additionol Infomiatlon (optional) You ma choose to include further statements where relevant about.. Policy on grant making NIA Policy on social investmént including program related investment Contribution made by volunteers NIA SASS is v8ry privil8g8d to h3V8 313rg8 group of committ8d volunteers. Some have volunteered for many years. Volunteers, roles inde ESOL (English language) leachers, kitchen chefs and hèlpers, welcome desk team, l￿frI8nder8, translators, assisting in Welcome lo Play, donation management. S8t up and clear up b8for8 and aft8r drop-in 888810n8. 88ylum c88e 8UPPOrt. delivery dnver8. and more. SASS could not fundion and deliver its objectives Wlthout the help and commrtmenl of these volunteers. Approximately 118 active volunleers qave time lo SASS in 2024. (X Ihat number, 52% are asylum seekers or refugee8. The rest are members of the l¢xal Swansea communily Almost all of the Trustees are also active volunteers, helping at drop- ins. welcoming newcomers, befn'ending, giving individual support. SASS benefrts from thousands of volunteer hours over the year. We estimate 11.8000 hours (50 y￿ekS x 118 x av8rag8 2 hours) SASS has a very successful partnership with Discovery (Swansea Universrty's Volunteering Ofganisation). That Pdl Iii¥i¥liiy ¥ili4bl¢d 4iLuil 12 ?ilud¥iii¥ Iv ¥uluiileer at SASS drop-in sessions during 2024. Volunteering builds well￿Trng and imwoves future chances for ASRS For both ASRS and local community, volunteenng creates struclure to the daylweek, grows self-confidence, enables new friendships to grow and flourish. builds social capital. maintains and develop5 employabilty skills and a sense of progress towards a better future. Many benefit from references from SASS which help them progress in employment or education. Other Achievements and Performance Summary ofthe main achievements of the charity, identityin9 the drff8r8nc8 the Gharity's work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to $oGiety as a whole. 2024 was a year of substantial growth for SASS. This growth illuslrates that the cost of living crisis hit asylum seekers and refugees (ASRS) very hard. In August 2024, SASS ¢on¢ud¢d a nee¢s analysis ¢olloding r¢¥pon%et at Iwo dropins from approximately 330kn of those attending the session. 70.4% said that they sometimes or often WO￿led about having enough to eat. 70% said that they do not always have a balanced diet. Qther key findings were starK 65% said that they or a family member wp.rp. p.xpp.np.nr.Ing hp.21th r.hAllp.nw fj10k said thAI rln nnt havp 8crp.ss to essential household items. 90% are not in work (most prevéntèd from Qing so beGause they are asylum seekers.) 40% said that their children face challenges in school due lo lan9ua9e barriers, long distance to travel to school, cuttural differences andlor lack of resources or tools (e.g. home compulerl. 85.2% reported that they had a pressing legal need. 33% said that they did not have le9al representation. A recent review and evaluation report commissioned by the Trustees stated. two clear characteristics made SASS support stand oul. working in a needs-led and person-centred way to meet a wide variety of needs," working In a relationship-based way. not a process-based way. Our work alleviates poverty (free healthy meals, other donations e.g. hygiene products, money saving Intormation-sharing) and alleviates mental suffering (safe spaces to meet. friendship, individual advi￿ and advocacy) Our actlvliles bulld confld8nce and provld8 tool3 for 881f- Improvement and progress towards a successtul lite (language skills, other tr8inin9). Individuals are empowered through opportunitie3 to vuluriteei. lo take a lead In ¥olunteer teams. and to contrlbute to the organisation's governance in Advisory Group meetings or as trustees. Ouiii iy 2024, 111¢ Tiu¥l¥¥b wiibulle(I Ili¥ tslo4rt Igillil diid Ilieii i eview¥d Job rol￿￿> and aclivitic J o fopault. SASS continuep to omploy o Volunteer Development Worker. People Support Worker, Play Leader, ESOL Coordinator. and Activities Leader who Goordinales drop-in voluntoor le8mg (welcome desk, krtch8n9. donations) and org8ni8eg 8A,88 rnnlrihi Ilinn8 In pxlprnAI pvpnts aNI artivilipg 81 Ir,h a8 Rp,fi iop.p. W09k. All workgrs work ¢on$cignts'ously providing support to m¥ny ASRS. Addltlonal Infomiatlon (optinnal) You ma hoose to include further statements where relevant aboLrt'. In 202312024 we did not set ourselves numerical targets for the achievements listed below. ive have put systems in place to do so from 2025. Welcome: 1011 (unique) individuals came to a Friday dropin session during 2024.. 549 came on Saturday. 60% ￿turn more than on￿. 20% attend at least 10 times. Average Fnday attendance". 143., 71 on Saturday. I hal's an Increase ot 57% over 2023. Those attending come from 50+ different countries as well as local Swansea volunteers. About half are families (often woman with Child￿n), half Indiv￿Ual$. some unaccompanied minors. Over 200 children belween the ages ot 3 and I t* registered to attend the Welcome lo Play group On average 35-50 attend èach week. At Christmas 2024, 93 children came to a drop-in wrth their parenus. Welfare A hot meal is prepared and served at every drop-in by a team ofASRs and local volunteers. Takeawa boxes are available as well. Exad numbers Achievements against objectives set aren't available but about 8000 meals were served in 2024 with another 750 takeaways provided. 2482 toiletry and ¢leaning Items were given toASRs dunng 2024 plus at least 500 more donated as part of the Cwtch Mawr partnership. 200 warm packs V￿re distnbuted using a grant from National Grid. Period products were provided to ASR girfs and wom8n. Bu¥ Iidv¥I is exp￿1]?•1¥￿. Tli¥ weekly dlluwdiice fur ali asyluivi i £49.18 or £7.03 per day. In 2024, an adult day bus ticket C051 £6.CNJ, leaving £1.03 for fotsj, dothes, all other expenses. A family day ticket cost L1ts.VU which Is ot their daily allowance. bAbb bought and distributed £5800 uf bus IiLkvis" duiiiiy 2024 dlluwiiig ASRS lu uirTl¥ lu diuwiiis. volunleer, altend we1cc￿e to Play and family activities during the holidays, education groups and othèr èvènts. Uslng a grant from Ciiy and County of Swansea. a supermarkel voucher was given to familbes to provide some food during the summer holidays. 125 ¥tyliuul dg¥ Lliildieii wliu¥e Idiiiilies die Pdil ol Ilie SASS Luiiiiiiuiiily each received a £20 voucher. Duiidliuiis uf blvllig¥, kilL4i¥f? Iluu￿1iUkj il¥iTl¥, b¥dJiiiy ¥liu¥¥ yie available at dropins at least hvice a month. These gifts are provided by individual donor8 and othér organi88tiori8. SASS 6t3ff and volunlo8r8 provid8 fvd3y-a-w8ok phon8 ba88d and faco-to- fgce personal Support, help. advice and 8dvocacy io individu819 and families. The support covers Ihe lull gamul olASR needs including health, housing, food. emergency payments. educationlschool places. hate crimes. signposting to other services. translation. interpreters. drivers. support for Hnmp nffirp qigninfj, qiihqlanlivp in1p￿l￿w4 many nlhpr qiiprip.8 and Wallbelno Much of the pradical help listed above contributes to improved w811-'b8inA. In addilion, vollinleering enhances well-being as well as improving employability and future life chances. This applies toASRs as well as to the local volunteerslallies who want to create, encourage and maintain welcome for sanctuary seekers In Swansea. A number of activrties take place at separate tableg during drop-ins including a 8ewing group. art81craft8. playing board gam88. Th88e enabla those attending to make new triends. to relax. to enioylleam new skills, Just to talk to others. A FAN 9roup (conversation groupi is a popular part ol evèry drop-ln. Each week the group has a topic to discuss. Everyone contributes as much or as lrttle as they ieel able to do. Empowemient Engli¥h {ESOL) daajes take pla¢e at the drop4ns and on zoom throughout the V￿k. They allowASRs, beginners and more advanced, to gain language 'sur¥ival' skills. to practise and improve their English, ask questions. to help plan sessions. They are W by volunleers, several of thom ASRS thcmsolvos. Gaining and improving English skills is a crucial pre-condition to communty integration and cohesh)n. Approx 400 leamers attended drop-in or Zoom dasses over the year. Zoom Glasses are partioulorly voluoble for houvebound womcn A partnership with Adult Leaming Wales (ALW) means that four addilional ESOL classes meet during the w8ek using contexts 8Ltsch 38 Family l e.arning, Fmployahilty, l rfp. in Walp.8IiJK to gain hoth English skills and c8rtrficato accr8drting their ￿aMing. These clas5e5 have a crecte which SASS provKJes. enabling parents (mainy mothers) of preschool children to attend.. a unique facility in Swansea. SASS M¢mb0￿ Gan att¢nd training, often provided by Swansea CounGiI of Voluntary Servi￿$ (SCVS). Subjects indude fitsl aid, safeguarding. siqnpostinq, mental health first aid, playwork. Kitrhpn 1p.am vnliintp.p.r8 gain Fnnd Hyoip.np. rprttfirate.s ijsing an online course that is available in English and other languagès. At the end of 2024, SASS had 13 Trustees: seven of them are asylum seekers or refugees. Awareness Raising During 2024. a group of SASS ASRS and Trustees devised and developed a Snakes and Ladders game.. the Asylum Seeker5 version. At the invitation of the then president of UNISON, the group took the board game to their Ildliurldl Loiirvieil￿ iri Biigliluri wlieie Iliey explairied arvj deiiiuiislidled il to delegates. Since then the game has been used in a number of training andlor awareness raising events. Visit by Torstsn Boll. MP and Julie Jamos MS. In 2024 our fundraising leam {Ilie Fundii)g aiKI D¥v¥lopii)ent Coi))Inittee of the Board of Trustees) met Its oblectlves by ralslng sufflclent funds to match expenditure and so maintain reseDies. Raising money through grant applications is constant labour. We are very grateful for steady income from local supporters, standing orders, and for diverse unsolicited donations from individuals and organisations. Some significant grant8 from the Local Authority and others contribLrt8 to tumov8r but not to incom8 b8caus8 théy are 100% Spent on rtems for ¢haniable distnbution. Perfomance ol fundralsing activities 4ayo4iiibl ￿￿'¢cliveS set Inv8stm8nt perfomance against nhjprtive5 NIA Flnanclal R6vl6w R8view of the charity's financial pogition at the erKI of the period Income - £200,018 Expenses- £194,689 Total Ro8orvo8 - £109.386 Unrestrlcted Reserves - £73,369 Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why ihey are held Reserve Pollcy adopted for 2024: 75% {9 month8) of a year of essential basic services, to guard against a drop or delay in planned grant income. Essential basic services include 2 drop-ins per week and 8 days work per week of essential staff. At the end of 2024 we held suffioent reserves to cover g months of basic services. This policy equates to approximately 5 months of full lurnov8r with current activities. Rostrlcted Roserves - £36,017 Unrestrlcted Reserves - LlJ.JbY Amount of reserves held Reasons for holding zero re6erye6 Details of fund materially in deficit Explanation of any ￿n￿rtaIntIeS about the charrty Continuing as a going concern NIA NIA Seè statsm•nt 8xplalnSng reserves above Additional inforniatlon loptlonal) You ma hoose to include further statements where relevant about: The charity's principal sources of fund3 (inGludifvJ any fundraising) A) Donations SASS has significant local finanaal support, for which we are very grateful. Members of the IoGal communrty (contributing monthly by standing order, or with one-off donations) raised about £17,000 in 2024. A further £10,C￿0 was received from L8igh Day Solicrtors. Leigh Day Solicilors staff chose SASS to receive donations of £10,000 per annum for 3 years, starting In 2023. A further £4,984k was re￿IVed in 2024 from Unison as part of the national presidenl's Ghanty of the year 2023124. B) Main grants Lloyd8 Bank Found8tion- Unrestricted grant of £50,000 over 2 years starting in 2023. £25.000 received in 2024. PostCL*Ye Communty Twst- Unrestnl r.r. swansea IHglld*f¢odl Ccswansea ILo¢al l5wdiis￿l5￿rnn￿I fvodl Ceswartsta Iwinterlgodl llw1drL￿ & Yvund Q>mrnunily FoundaiionwIC05tOI￿￿I Mty)ndanco Foundat￿￿ NaI￿n￿16r1d'5 LwrnmyThitv ktsit¢rs Sham TM4* SDUth W¥l•i Pdl S* Ixm?s Iwarm Spacosl 4.472 4,750 VrAUnteerE¥4￿￿￿s rAtsrfe•rT￿n1I 1,792 ?,[￿7 G79 65 Y3 0.234 19.053 174 2.IiK T*kq SUFS .257 7.138 5,?70 6.$70 39 7.378 4,758 >41 io, 10.345 3,741 & Ewr*i% 4JA 24.glu 113M• B1101 705 IT. Pnnitysiaihmffjt, Postw, Td•phon•s 1,481 390 8,702 I3￿14 1,626 Ml•¥•lpwk Glft Ald lJni5Q 8ook Sil Lloyd5 O*Dk fouTrd4tkin '¥li Ddy Sull&lwi& IKJmmiitli1*5 Ifu51 310 Non lood hefflsiel&tir4 row¢* P¢Md dymty 318 2,400 rA2 27. io.rK)J >27 lJ,1? 1,890 2$.¢ I,oJ• s￿,1&ern￿rI op ups ny4pL* un**¥ti*l•d Fun G4S76 3.17S 1,500 J.45 2.300 ranwrtatk) r•nsler liornSUN to>lSS 100 ).)00 iJ.•86 x￿.11B 116.7n 200.118 146.777 BALANQS•IEEf31 DE(EMOER 2024 2024 2024 2023 F￿ed￿ss*satcètt uNehtA Bank 109386 104,057 T{￿hn15*S￿rto1Y 103W7 39,fj41 iiyveirt Uabllde5 49) 450 5.329 13965 lo3￿7 Total Fund5th￿velY 36 89￿? SWANSEA ASYLUM SEEKERS SUPPORT Registered Charity Number 1175186 Moverneni In Funds FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024 Balance 0110112024 Balance Expenditure 3111212024 Income Share Tawe- ISASS Account) Austin Bailey Awards for All Soulh Wales Pollce Moondance TNL Communities First Iwelcome To Playl BBC Children in Need TNL Communltles First (Group Outin8sI C C Swansea ILocal Giving) C C Swansea (Coast Grant) C C Swansea (Period Dignity) C C Swansea Enabling Communities CC Swansea CYP CC Swansea IDlrecl Foods} CC Swansea ICoa5tl CC Swansea (winter food) CC Swansea1Summer food) National Grid's Community Malter5 Community Foundation W (Cost Of LNlngl Restrlcted Funds 893 576 2.750 20.1XKJ 1,500 2,758 14,116 -31 1,860 7,744 9,41XI 3,471 10.611 3,191 35,260 8,457 24,910 261 343 9,961 9,960 76 76 2.832 2,400 4,750 2,352 4,472 1,894 4,750 1.149 643 2.352 1,51XI 1,780 2,100 1,500 1,180 1,830 270 5,000 5.000 13,270 101,231 io,i)00 112,892 537 35,888 24,227 Core Lloyds Bank Foundation Lei8h Day Solicilors Post Code Communities Trust Volcano Project Unrestrlrted Funds 58.221 13,333 7.761 23,513 27,5C io,c( 25,0(K) 1.039 87,052 29,850 29,963 10,712 22,434 51,883 10,870 ' 7,050 2,566 1,000 73,369 460 79,775 93,459 SHARE TAWE-1SBA55G Account) 55 174 ity) 129 GRAND TOTAL 104,057 200,118 194,789 109,386 SWANSEA ASYLUM SEEKERS SUPPORT Registered Charity Number 1175186 Statement of Financial Activities FOR ThE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024 Unrestricted Restricted Endownment Funds Funds Funds Totsl Funds Prior Year Recelpts Donations Charitable Activities 59.552 174 576 60,128 174 40.049 144 General Grants From Government/Other Charities 27.5 112.316 139,816 106,227 87.226 112.892 2LIJ,118 146,420 Payrnents Raising Funds Charitable Activitie5 Separate Material Item Other 93,559 101.231 194,789 132,362 Total Payments 93,559 101,231 194,789 132,362 Flow of Funds Net of receiptsllpaymentsl Transfer between Funds Cash Funds last year end Cash Funds this year end 16,3321 11.661 5,329 29,755 79,316 72.984 24,291 35,952 103,701 108,936 89,643 103,701 Signature Print Name Date Signed by one or two trustee5 on behalf of all the trustees 0910912025