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2021-03-31-accounts
Trustees' Annual Report for the period
From Period start date To Period end date
01 04 2020 31 03 2021

Section A Reference and administration details

Charity name Sussex Homeless Support Other names charity is known by none Registered charity number (if any) 1175229 Charity's principal address 35B, Providence Place Brighton Postcode BN1 4GE

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

1
2
3
4
5
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7		 Trustee name Office (if any) Dates acted if not for whole year Name of person (or body) entitled to
appoint trustee(if any)
Tim Rogers Chair
Amber Roffey-John
Claire Herlingshaw (Resigned 10/12/2020)
Steve Spencer (Appointed 10/12/2020)

Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)

Name Dates acted if not for whole year

SHS Trustees Report 01 04 2020 to 31 03 2021

August 2022

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Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information) Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information) Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)
Type of adviser
Name
Address
Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)
James Deans

Section B Structure, governance and management

Description of the charity’s trusts

Type of governing document

Constitution

How the charity is constituted

Association (CIO)

Appointed by existing trustees Trustee selection methods

Additional governance issues (Optional information)

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant, about:

The charity is entirely staffed by unpaid volunteers without paying wages to anybody. While the need for fundraising applications and other administrative support grows it is anticipated that paid staffing for up to one FTE is possibly required in future.

The trustees believe the highest uncontrollable operational risk that the charity faces is that the incredible generosity of volunteers and supporters may become overwhelmed or exhausted by the sheer volume of need from those in emergency accommodation, rough sleepers and homeless people in the area the charity operates in. Note that in addition to this ‘normal’ risk, the dramatically increased workload during the Covid-19 crisis from late February 2020 onwards also coincided with the need of many volunteers to shield or self-isolate all of which was an unforeseen risk. Therefore the charity continues to seek additional volunteers and donors while demonstrating to existing volunteers and donors how essential and highly valued their contribution is and how it is reaching directly and immediately the people who need it the most - at the lowest possible overhead.

The highly public visibility of activities such as the Sunday Street kitchen (expanded during Covid-19 from 1 to 8 Street Kitchens per week) and the emergency accommodation buses (suspended during Covid-19, and unfortunately vandalised while out of use) mean that there is also great public trust, which is essential to maintain, in the more behind the scenes food parcels, emergency kit / clothing and rehousing assistance from emergency to more settled accommodation assistance that donations are also used for (all of which were also dramatically expanded during Covid-19).

After the loss of the Sackville location in March 2020, the Firsland location on

SHS Trustees Report 01 04 2020 to 31 03 2021

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lease until November 2022 is considered secure. However, the main office and kitchen at Shoreham Road are subject to a rolling lease with a notice period of one month so, although relations with the Landlord have been both long term and cordial, eviction at relatively short notice is always a possible risk.

For insurable risks to the operation and activities of the charity there are multiple insurance policies in place. The charity insures all the operational vehicles funded via donations. The charity insures buildings as appropriate, funded via donations. The charity insures, under a Charities and Community Groups policy from Markel UK, against public liability, employer’s liability, occupational personal accident, trustee liability and professional indemnity, this policy is funded directly by the Chair until at least 28[th] March 2023.

The charity receives support from and offers support to other organisations operating with the vulnerable homeless community of Sussex and beyond – in some cases this is practical swapping or sharing of excess donated items, via the Surplus Food Network (Brighton), the Neighbourly scheme and the wider “Community Works” initiative, whilst in other cases this has been practical assistance in helping other homeless supporting organisations simply feed their clients (for example, pre-pandemic, Antifreeze Brighton and Help for Veterans on the Sackville Estate). At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic SHS co-ordinated with Gatwick Airport who generously offered over 26,000 long life (no refrigeration required) airline meals such as breakfasts and tuna bakes – while SHS took 2,000 of these we also coordinated with charities from Southend to Bristol (and points in-between) so that the entire 26,000 meals were collected at the same time by these multiple charities. Similar very kind offers came from so many different businesses forced to close at the start of the pandemic (who immediately thought of others in need rather than their own concerns), where we could not use or store all the supplies offered we contacted other charities still operational to try to get maximum benefit and minimum wastage of these offers.

The ‘normal’ weekly Sunday lunchtime street kitchen is further supported by the weekly attendance of the Street Vets (caring for pets of the homeless) and the fortnightly attendance of Law Stop (offering legal advice). During the pandemic the Street Vets continued to attend while Law Stop offered online support (Law Stop have since opened offices in Brighton to continue to offer support).

Section C Objectives and activities

Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document

“THE OBJECT OF THE CIO IS: FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT, THE RELIEF AND ASSISTANCE OF PEOPLE IN NEED BECAUSE THEY ARE HOMELESS AND ROUGH SLEEPING IN SUSSEX BY THE PROVISION OF COLLECTING FOOD AND USEFUL HOUSEHOLD ITEMS THEN DELIVERING THEM TO HOMELESS PEOPLE, USING FOOD COLLECTED TO RUN STREET KITCHENS TO GIVE FOOD TO HOMELESS AND OTHER RELEVANT MEANS TO RELIEVE THEIR SUFFERING INCLUDING THE COLLECTION AND PROVISION OF HOUSEHOLD ITEMS, AFTER TESTING, TO HOMELESS PEOPLE GETTING INTO THEIR FIRST HOMES OR HOSTELS.”

SHS Trustees Report 01 04 2020 to 31 03 2021

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Under the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 the trustees believe that Sussex Homeless Support faithfully follows guidance of operating for the Public Benefit within Sussex for the homeless and rough sleeping community under the description of purpose categories of Section 3 (1) within (a) ‘the prevention or relief of poverty’ and (d) ‘the advancement of health and saving lives’. Further, in co-operation with Street Vets, SHS also facilitates activities for the Public Benefit to the homeless and rough sleeping community of Sussex under category (k) ‘the advancement of animal welfare’ within Section 3 (1).

Using donated food and food waste collected and kindly donated from various sources and a limited amount of purchased food we cook and deliver a street kitchen every Sunday lunchtime at the Clock Tower in Brighton, bringing people together - anyone across the whole age spectrum from young care leavers left homeless, to elderly people left in hostels with no support or friends. Sometimes as many as 180 or more people might join us, a number below 150 is exceptional even in the most inclement of weather. These numbers increased massively during the pandemic for the Sunday lunchtime service as other sources of sustenance were unavailable to clients, sometimes as many as 250 clients per Sunday lunchtime.

Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects (include within this section the statutory declaration that trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit)

With most frontline services closing down at the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 the street kitchen went from once a week to 8 times a week at peak pandemic from March 2020 through to early September 2020 – this was a 7 nights a week Street Kitchen at the ‘Elevator’ on Brighton Sea Front plus the continued Sunday lunchtime service at the Clock Tower. For the first two weeks of this operation we received incredible on-site support from the local Police to ensure social distancing and safe operation (after which they continued to offer financial support via the Police Community funds) and regular visits from St John’s Ambulance and others to ensure the health of our clients. This massively increased service is reflected in our increased usage of the Surplus Food Network where we would now take up to 2.5 tons per week of food, that would otherwise be waste, versus closer to 1.25-1.5 tons per week last year – this has proven to be an invaluable source allowing us to maintain high quality and nutritious food despite the, sadly, increasing demand. At the Street Kitchens we continued to offer hot food but also packaged meals we had prepared for clients to take away for re-heating wherever they were staying as part of the ‘Everybody In’ scheme. This meant even with as ‘few’ as 50 clients on some ‘Elevator’ evenings this still resulted in a minimum of 225-250 meals, usually above 300 meals, provided each evening. From September 2020 onwards we reverted to two Street Kitchens per week – Thursday night and Sunday lunchtime – at both we continued to offer hot food but also packaged meals we had prepared for clients to take away for re-heating such that we have continued to prepare over 1000 meals per week.

Our support for another local charity (Antifreeze Brighton) by providing cooked food for their lunch service to 40-50 people every Monday was suspended as they closed at the onset of the pandemic. Their drop-in centre model has remained closed post-pandemic with clients on appointment only and/or virtual contact – so this support is not expected to resume as they are no longer operating in the same way as of the date of this report.

We continued to assist Help for Veterans on the Sackville Trading Estate with food bank support until, like SHS, they were evicted from Sackville Trading Estate during March & April 2020 to allow the site to be redeveloped by the owners. Many of their needy clients do still join our Homeless & Emergency Accommodation clients on Sunday lunchtimes to benefit from the supply we offer of 3-4 carrier bags of supplies (around £50-£60 per week of food supplies

SHS Trustees Report 01 04 2020 to 31 03 2021

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per family at retail cost, though in most cases these are donated or heavily discounted items purchased by SHS). Overall there has been increased pressure on this service as many of the official sources of discretionary funds, ‘normal’ cheap sources of food and a wide range of charitable services in our local area closed during the pandemic and some have not returned to normal operation post-pandemic. Apart from at Street Kitchens we still provided a further 15-25 sets of food supplies in carrier bags per week to drop-in clients.

Donated clothing, toiletries, sleeping bags / tents etcetera are made available on demand / request based on need throughout the whole week and also at the Street Kitchen every Sunday lunchtime (toiletries and similar items were offered at the nightly ‘Elevator’ Street Kitchens too). We have been fortunate to able to source a wide range of essential food and non-food products via In Kind Direct at 20% of cost price to meet both regular and exceptional needs as well as to fill gaps in other generous donations we have received. We also deliver food (and other essentials) in deliveries / drops to a limited number of people who are socially-excluded, of restricted mobility or isolating during the Covid-19 pandemic - acting like a food bank delivery service.

At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic it was clear that shared accommodation like the night shelter buses was untenable and, at times, illegal. So, the night shelter buses were closed and those in residence were advised and all successfully supported into alternative accommodation – some of which has now become permanent. Unfortunately, while then unoccupied, the night buses were heavily vandalised.

For people in need entering/remaining/leaving emergency accommodation along with those finally able to become homed we offer support with household and clothing items throughout the year donated via volunteers, supporters and generous local businesses – many people have had to ‘lose’ their possessions during this time through lack of storage and so have no suitable seasonal clothing and not even a knife, fork, spoon, plate, bowl or cup (let alone a kettle or suitable bedding / basic furniture). In addition, those being moved off the streets during the pandemic under the ‘Everybody In’ scheme had similar urgent needs, often exacerbated by the closure of common areas. The need for this support therefore exploded (putting SHS resources, volunteers and finances under heavy strain) caused partly by the closure of our night shelters but mainly by the ‘Everybody In’ scheme where those ‘housed’ urgently needed household items and food as not only did they arrive ‘In’ with nothing but many clients who were already in Emergency Accommodation lost the use of communal areas for both cooking and relaxing with shared TV/radio (and even access to communal kettle for simple beverages like tea, coffee, cupa-soup or pot noodles was blocked). This apparent inability to even time-slot communal areas meant that over the period from March to September 2020 we supplied more than 1200 household electrical items such as kettles, microwaves, toasters and mini-grills – some were donated new/boxed, some were donated second-hand (so serviced and electrically tested by SHS) and some had to be purchased by SHS.

The charity has not received any National Government or Local Government funding so has no explicit risks in losing such funding. Note that, despite extreme extra workload SHS undertook during Covid-19 at considerable extra cost, the Charity was inexplicably denied (on, at best, the most spurious of grounds) any of the additional National Government or Local Government funding throughout the Covid-19 crisis. This complete lack of National Government or Local Government Covid-19 crisis funding being received by SHS continued, with SHS remarkably being denied any funding from the time the

SHS Trustees Report 01 04 2020 to 31 03 2021

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pandemic hit in March 2020 to the date of this report in August 2022. SHS was one of very few Charities that stayed operational ‘on the streets’ and increased street kitchen operations from 1 to 8 per week from March to September 2020 with the overwhelming and unprecedented support of our volunteers, local Emergency services and other local businesses, donors, councillors and MP’s. At this time SHS also stepped in to provide food, clothing and other essential items (including radios kindly donated by Tesco and other household electrical items) to those Homeless clients put into often ill-equipped accommodation (with paltry ongoing support) as part of the ‘Everybody In’ scheme – for which we received the princely sum of £0 support from the Covid Step Up funds nor any other Local & National Government agency funding.

Due to lease restrictions we were again unable to proceed in 2020 with our future objective for 2019 to help people retain control of more of their possessions by offering lockable/secure storage facilities but this remains an ambition if premises allow.

Work was continued to ensure the charity complied with best practice in soliciting and handling of public donations as recommended by the Fundraising Regulator – with whom formal registration was subsequently made in October 2018 and renewed in October 2019 and October 2020.

The Local Authority continues to very kindly approve SHS applications for 100% rates relief thus removing the risk of liability of over £3300 per year. Guidance suggests this 100% relief will be continued in the next financial year but cannot be guaranteed.

The charity holds no investments and assets comprise of a refrigerated transit van purchased from donated funds from Family First, a second van donated by the Chair, a 4x4 car for towing Pod & local journeys with small items, donated goods still awaiting distribution and donated / loaned equipment such as office equipment, fridges & freezers, cooking & food/drink service equipment etcetera. After the enforced closure of the Bus Shelters at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic the assets of the two double decker buses and the single deck bus were vandalised – leading to the sale of the single decker bus and one double decker bus in May 2020 while the remaining double decker bus was repaired & converted to operate the Street Kitchen more effectively.

SHS Trustees Report 01 04 2020 to 31 03 2021

August 2022

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Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)

The onerous day-to-day management of the charity is undertaken by James Deans (in a voluntary and an entirely unpaid capacity throughout the whole period to date). In addition, where any bursaries, attendance allowances, expenses or other payments were offered for his presence on committees or in consultations these were in all cases paid directly and in full to the Charity and James Deans received £0 benefit (the Charity benefitted to the tune of at least £800 via this route in this financial year).

The day-to-day operations of the charity could not function without the considerable time and incredible effort put in by the unpaid volunteers throughout the year. All the people who help us deliver these services are willing volunteers and they get as much from the events as the people they help. The volunteers come from all backgrounds and they also include both past and present members of the homeless & rough sleeping community themselves. Many volunteers were obliged to shield or self-isolate during the Covid-19 pandemic at the same time as the need for SHS services grew dramatically – the incredible extra efforts of existing volunteers (and subsequently new volunteers) was absolutely crucial in supporting the vulnerable at a time many other Charities dramatically reduced or even closed their operations completely due to similar pressures.

You may choose to include further statements, where relevant, about:

The efforts of supporters and volunteers within both local companies and local branches of national companies in advocating for the charity within those companies for both corporate and customer support / donations has been and remains equally essential to the continued operations of Sussex Homeless Support. The charity relies on the generous continued donations, mainly of goods and services, from volunteers, supporters and local companies (or local branches of national companies). These donations are fundamental to the operation of the charity and it could not function without this continued incredible generosity. With the inability to continue street collections or fundraising events during the pandemic the goods and fundraising described, allied to some generous cash donations from individuals and businesses plus grants from charitable foundations made continued operations possible.

Roche and their staff had been (and continue to be) a regular commercial supporter of SHS and so early in the pandemic they made available to SHS some much in demand community grade PPE and Covid test kits that made operation of the Street kitchens safely possible for both volunteers and clients. Very limited Celebrity backed events and celebrity / corporate appeals for support, alongside the many willing volunteers undertaking sponsored challenges, were possible during the Covid-19 pandemic but online charitable auctions were continued with generously donated goods, services and memorabilia. In addition, the sponsorship funds of £19,132 raised during the 2019 Big Sleep Out arrived in April 2020 providing a much needed and timely boost to funds.

The charity was invited to exhibit and/or participate in much fewer events than pre-pandemic during the period. This gave us less opportunity to keep the general public aware of what the charity does, solicit further volunteers and, at some events, solicit donations. This meant additional pressure was put on using Social Media, fortunately eliciting generous support and responses for which we are extremely grateful. As with many other day to day activities, details are recorded on the public Facebook page in both words and pictures.

SHS Trustees Report 01 04 2020 to 31 03 2021

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Section D Achievements and performance

The Street kitchen operated every Sunday lunchtime throughout the entire Summary of the main period with some additional services also operated over holiday periods such as achievements of the charity during Christmas, New Year and Easter when some other regular services from other the year organisations for the homeless & rough sleeping community cease operations. The typical number of meals served per Sunday averaged over 170 - a number below 150 is exceptional even in the most inclement of weather. These numbers increased massively during the pandemic for the Sunday lunchtime service as other sources of sustenance were unavailable to clients, sometimes as many as 250 clients per Sunday lunchtime. At the Sunday Street Kitchen we continued to offer hot food but also packaged meals we had prepared for clients to take away for re-heating wherever they were staying as part of the ‘Everybody In’ scheme meaning up to 700 meals could be offered on a Sunday. On the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic many other services for the homeless curtailed or ceased operations entirely. SHS therefore immediately increased meal services to offer a seafront hot meal and takeaway service at the ‘Elevator’ on 7 evenings a week in addition to maintaining the Sunday lunchtime service. This meant even with as ‘few’ as 50 clients on some ‘Elevator’ evenings this still resulted in a minimum of 225-250 meals served per evening, usually above 300 meals, as takeaway meals for the next day were also provided each evening. From September 2020 onwards we reverted to two Street Kitchens per week – Thursday night and Sunday lunchtime – at both we continued to offer hot food but also packaged meals we had prepared for clients to take away for re-heating such that we have continued to prepare over 1000 meals per week. In Summary, from March 2020 through September 2020 SHS provided massively larger amounts of food and other essential toiletries etcetera as well as more frequent assistance to a large number of vulnerable people over an extended period with absolutely no Governmental or Local Authority Funding at a time when street collections and other fundraising events became impossible and many existing SHS volunteers had to shield or self-isolate. Over the period from March to September 2020 we supplied more than 1200 household electrical items such as radios, kettles, microwaves, toasters and mini-grills – some were donated new/boxed, some were donated second-hand (so serviced and electrically tested by SHS) and some had to be purchased by SHS. Number of meals cooked per week directly for other charities was reduced to just some former Help for Heroes clients only from early March 2020 onwards as providing cooked food for the Anti-Freeze drop-in lunch service for 40-50 people every Monday was suspended as Anti-Freeze closed at the onset of the pandemic. Their drop-in centre model has remained closed post-pandemic with clients on appointment only and/or virtual contact – so this support is not expected to resume as they are no longer operating in the same way. However, this reduction was dramatically overtaken by the food, toiletries and other essentials desperately needed on a daily rather than weekly basis from SHS to supplement the often negligible or very limited support they received beyond a bed & roof under the ‘Everybody In’ scheme. Number of food parcels distributed to people in emergency accommodation or via Help for Veterans per week was typically in the range of 30-40 parcels prepandemic. A surge in needs occurred at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020 peaking at over 175 parcels per week and this continued at only a

SHS Trustees Report 01 04 2020 to 31 03 2021

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Section D Achievements and performance

marginally reduced level until late summer 2020.

Number of one-off ‘emergency accommodation to more settled accommodation’ packs of assorted furniture, appliances, bedding and general household goods was typically 4-5 per month with some peak months hitting 10 packs. A surge in needs occurred at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic as homeless people were put into emergency housing with little or none of these essentials provided – this surge grew to 30 a week for April and early May 2020 and continued above 4 per week from June 2020 until falling back in early summer. A further slightly smaller surge to 5 per week occurred during most of the winter 2020-2021.

The two double decker buses were reconfigured during the 2019-2020 year to accommodate a total of 19 beds with the second bus housing two couples sections. A single deck bus was acquired in October 2019 to become the female / family only emergency offering and this was barely commissioned when all the buses had to close in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. After the enforced closure of the Bus Shelters at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic the two double decker buses and the single deck bus were vandalised. To avoid costs of scrapping vehicles SHS were able to sell the single decker bus and one double decker bus in May 2020 while the remaining double decker bus was repaired & converted to operate the Street Kitchen more effectively.

The charity has funded the subsidised cost of training key volunteers in skills such as first aid, catering / hygiene, mental health first aid and potential suicide recognition first aid. This training has continued, with Covid-19 restrictions in some instances, with the ongoing support of St John’s Ambulance – who also regularly attend the Thursday night Street Kitchen to support both clients and volunteers.

Jim Deans has been invited to speak at and/or give evidence to various corporate, local authority and governmental committees and agencies where he has endeavoured to honestly and openly represent the views and needs of the rough sleepers and homeless of Sussex while explaining what the charity itself tries to achieve on the ground. Where any attendance allowances or other payments were offered for his presence on committees or in consultations these were in all cases paid directly and in full to the Charity and James Deans received £0 personal benefit (the Charity benefitted to the tune of at least £800 via this route in the current financial year being reported).

Substantial effort continues into giving face to face guidance and hands on support / personal advocacy to those who find homelessness has left them without access to medical services of GP’s or Dentists and unable to access benefits to which they are entitled (but cannot claim in person any longer due to procedural changes that put those with literacy and/or computer literacy/access issues at a considerable disadvantage) and which they desperately need. While very difficult to quantify this activity, as it varies from as ‘few’ as 5 cases a week to as many as 5 cases a day, the value is clear to those receiving the support in both material and mental health terms – being at a personal low point and being confronted with obstacles to getting basic food, shelter or medical care that feel and (in some cases due to lack of skills, knowledge or expertise) are insurmountable leaves vulnerable people feeling incredibly desperate and despairing.

The Charity took part in the World Wide Big Sleep Out event on 7[th] December

SHS Trustees Report 01 04 2020 to 31 03 2021

August 2022

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Section D Achievements and performance

2019 by staging a local Brighton version at Hove Lagoon supported by many local businesses, musicians and other local organisations alongside valuable support from the Local Authority, Police and other Emergency Services. While all the costs of the event fell into the previous financial year (where the cash receipts were also received as income), the substantial sponsorship income of £19,132 generated centrally by the event was received in April 2020. In addition, a number of one-off donations totalling almost £35,000 and £12,000 were received in April 2020 and May 2020 respectively as many organisations and individuals recognised we were one of the few Charities still directly working face to face with those in need in Brighton – their timely kindness is greatly appreciated as it had a huge effect on what SHS could offer to clients in such desperate need. Without these timely and substantial sources of income the massive extra demands placed on SHS during the pandemic could not have been met as, although there were incredible extra donations of goods in March & April 2020 from so many companies and individuals, substantial purchases were necessary to bridge the gap between donated and required goods to operate.

SHS identified that without more housing our work in supporting the homeless would never end. With so many people waiting on accommodation, at one stage it was close to 200, we were looking at options like buying property or renting property and even importing units from China to adapt when we met a local architect Stewart Hendon. With Stewart’s support, a plan was hatched to design & build small units, requiring no permanent deep foundations, but utilising technology used in Canada & Scandinavia so we could make these units so well built and so well insulated that the environmental overhead and running costs would be low. If we could design them to be built using a workforce of supporters and even the homeless themselves with just the relatively limited support, when needed, of professional tradesmen for as few aspects as safely possible. We set a budget of £15000 for the prototype and knew we could move as fast as the funding would allow. Work had progressed such that the exterior is complete including windows, doors and cladding. However, the loss of the Sackville location followed by the Covid-19 pandemic meant the project was forced into ‘mothballs’ into a secure yard in Arundel where the pod remains. Multiple attempts to find an initial site for placement of the first (and possibly a second) pod have continued to be sought but despite best efforts no site has become available (and, for example, some Council owned sites that have been lying idle for very many years have seen sudden efforts to bring into alternative (non-SHS) use within a very short period after SHS applied for permission to temporarily use the sites). A project to support the mental health of clients by offering one-to-one counselling during coastal fishing trips was generously funded by a regular supporter of the charity in memory of a loved one – this resulted in the purchase of a boat for £5,500 in May 2020 which was refurbished and used throughout the summer and will continue to be used in following years as and when weather conditions allow. Early signs are that clients are finding it beneficial, further feedback will appear in the next Annual Report. There are no serious incidents or other matters that trustees should have reported to the Charity Commission but have not done so. However, the submission of the accounts and this report are later than ‘normal’. Apart from understandable delays caused by responding to and coping with restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic SHS has faced additional problems as we were forced into two office/warehouse relocations during the pandemic which

SHS Trustees Report 01 04 2020 to 31 03 2021

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Section D Achievements and performance

both increased workload and has made it difficult at times sourcing relevant paperwork. Because of this past and ongoing workload in 2020, 2021 and 2022 we realised that we would surely miss the 31[st] January 2022 Accounts deadline for this set of accounts and reports. Therefore, Jim Deans phoned the Charity Commission in mid-January 2022 (just after an automated email reminder from the Charity Commission on 17[th] January 2022) to request an extension to the deadline. The Charity Commission said to Mr Deans that firstly they aren't doing extensions any more, secondly they are getting around 60 calls a day asking for extensions because of Covid-19 so, thirdly, the Charity Commission are still going to record and report on their register the fact of late submission but is not going to be issuing fines or penalties for late submission. So at SHS, while knowing we were going to be late, we have actively got on with the Accounts as best we can with the intention throughout to complete them urgently, within the constraints we have as a small Charity with no paid staff.

SHS Trustees Report 01 04 2020 to 31 03 2021

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Section E Financial review

Brief statement of the charity’s
policy on reserves
Details of any funds materially in
deficit		 The charity policy is that reserves are to be held in regard to designated
donations in respect of continued expenditure against such designation. There
are currently no designated funds remaining to be carried over to the next
financial year.
The charity holds no formal reserves as at 31/03/2021 though the bank account
/ Paypal account did stand at a combined total of £50,765.47 as of that date
with no exceptional known potential liabilities.The balance at 31/03/2021 is
considered to be well above the more normal £8000-£10,000 balance but
because of the ongoing pandemic and it’s proclivity to cause sudden and
massive explosions of need the Charity had continued to seek donations
beyond the “normal” fundraising profile described in the next paragraph.
The charity raises funds and seeks donations of goods to directly and
immediately service the needs of clients. The charity policy on accumulating
any financial reserves are that these are actively maintained only to meet
known or predictable future financial obligations for supplementing donations
of goods to operate street kitchen / emergency night shelter bus
accommodation and also for rent, insurances, rates and utilities, vehicle
maintenance and statutory fees. In effect the charity attempts to maintain
funds to cover such foreseen expenses for up to one month in advance. All
other required donated equipment and funds are raised as needed by clients by
using public appeals to meet those immediate needs of clients.
The charity does apply for corporate, government, charitable trust and local
authority donations and grants as available and appropriate in order to mitigate
where possible the need to call for public donations. However, no local
authority or government grants have actually been received. The Local
Authority has, however, kindly allowed the applications for full 100% rates
relief.
The charity normally does step up fundraising (including an annual auction of
items generously donated by local companies and individual supporters) and
also steps up donated equipment gathering activities in the run-up to
predictable adverse weather conditions in order to be able to respond
immediately to client needs while appealing in parallel / later for public support
to replenish funds and equipment as they become close to exhausted. The
Covid-19 pandemic adversely affected many 2020-2021 efforts and will do so
again for at least part of 2021-2022.
None

Further financial review details (Optional information)

SHS Trustees Report 01 04 2020 to 31 03 2021

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You may choose to include additional information, where relevant about:

Regarding the numbers in the accounts it should be understood that these relate purely to the collection and disbursement of monetary funds and their subsequent use to deliver charitable services by SHS. There is no clear way to identify the far more substantial value of donated goods that are collected, processed / stored and distributed by SHS direct to those in need using, for example, what could be perceived as the overheads of having premises to store, cook and otherwise work with donated items and what could be perceived as overheads of vehicles required to collect and distribute donated goods. However, even assuming all premises, all vehicle costs, insurances of all types and, for example, all fuel only being used for vans (when in fact much was previously used for the generators for heating and lighting the buses) are treated entirely as pure overheads we believe we are ensuring a very high proportion of both cash and goods donations make it to the end cause and are making a positive difference to the cause of supporting the homeless, rough sleepers and those in emergency accommodation.

The charity maintains a public Facebook page where regular posts show weekly activities at the Street Kitchen, special events and regular appeals / pointers to Amazon lists etcetera for specific goods needed at any one time. The postings were stepped up during the pandemic so those in need, as well as donors and volunteers, could see the extra services being provided during the pandemic. This provides a very public window for donors, those in need themselves or just interested members of the press / general public to see how donations go direct to those in need with only the most minimal overhead. Everyone understands that we have had to put fuel into the generators to heat and light the bus shelters, put fuel in the vans to operate the street kitchen and to regularly collect and distribute donated goods and for the charity to be insured for vehicles, premises, public liability etcetera – so although these costs could strictly be viewed as an overhead they are vital to operating the charity and dramatically reduce cash expenditure on items by collecting freely donated items. Similarly, utility bills do need to be paid as even the donated food for the street kitchen does require cooking.

The General Public and the Homeless / Rough Sleeping community both need and deserve to see clearly that the overwhelming majority of all donations of cash, goods and services go directly to those in need in a fashion that is open and transparent – the charity believes it achieves that objective and produced a documentary film during 2019 to further demonstrate SHS activities, as the resources and expertise to do so were offered free of charge by generous supporters. The pandemic has so far prevented any follow-up documentary.

Section F Other optional information

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in notes to the accounts and comply with the charity’s governing document, the Charities Act 2011 and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities published on 16 July 2014.

The accounts were externally examined independently under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011.

The trustees (Steve Spencer , Amber Roffey-John and Tim Rogers (Chair)) believe that in light of the above activities, statements and policies they can confirm that they have complied with their duties with due regard to the guidance on Public Benefit for the charity Sussex Homeless Support.

The Chair and Trustees would again like to express sincere gratitude to everyone who has in any way helped or supported the work of the charity – “ Thank you to everyone for everything you have done to help provide incredible support throughout the pandemic and beyond to those who are unfortunately in need of SHS services. We hope you

SHS Trustees Report 01 04 2020 to 31 03 2021

August 2022

13

all realise the difference you make to the lives of those seeking our help and we also hope as many of you as possible will continue to help and support us in future whenever and however you can. The incredible extra efforts made by all concerned as the Covid-19 pandemic hit in March 2020 are far beyond what could ever have been expected (and these efforts continued way beyond expectations into this and the next reporting period after 31/03/21 too). Many local and national charities reduced services offered for all or part of the pandemic and, while SHS were forced by Government guidelines to close the Bus Shelters, the amazing work of SHS volunteers expanded dramatically in all other areas incredibly quickly and for an extended period. The homeless and rough sleeping community continue to show their trust and their gratitude every time they take the courageous step of asking for help from SHS and other incredible local charities, of course we still look forward to the day they no longer need our help as their situations hopefully improve but, in the meantime, I thank them all for placing their trust in us. We would also like to thank the local Police, Fire, NHS, Ambulance and St John’s Ambulance staff plus members of the Local Authority staff who frequently stepped in to help support both SHS activities and the homeless and rough sleeping community generally during the unprecedented situations that have arisen during the pandemic. We remain totally amazed, immensely grateful and humbled by the efforts of our volunteers and the kindness and generosity of every one of you who supports SHS”.

Section G Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) Full name(s) Tim Rogers Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) Chair Date 24th August 2022

SHS Trustees Report 01 04 2020 to 31 03 2021

August 2022

14

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For the period from To 01 04 2tr20 31 03 2021 Section A Receipts and payments Unrestricied funds Restricted fund¥ EndowrrFent fund¥ Total funds La¥tytrar tot￿ rftarpst E to nyarnl£ toth? nearnJt£ to thp rthireBt£ A1 Receipts Cash Collectsons l Donations Bank aid don8t￿n8 Auciion and other 8v8nts Incoff Rtrfun¢s 231 12fj.04fj 25.748 1.339 231 126.046 25,748 1.339 8,289 31.096 4Q,427 Family Fir5tVan Puthase I nInr￿re Sub total(Gross incomè for ARJ 153A65 151365 77,612 A2 Asset and Invgsthwnt sal•s. {see table). Sub total 153,365 153,365 77,812 A3 Payment8 StFeet Kitthen. Bu5 Shetters and Food Bank Extras'1 Vehicle insurances, laxe5. re Vehide and Gererators fvel Utilities Gas. Ewric, Water, Internet. 24.314 25,6 S,3S8 24,314 11,121 11,399 7,392 12298 27,417 t2.298 27.417 14,291 16.699 Rent and Rates Wa 8S Bankin l excha e rate fees Projeths e g Homdess LNing Pt, N•v Bus. Boat Evnts8*ira cc6ts, PrtntirYJ aThY 370 370 9NI 9.041 12￿37 16,229 Sub total 10&703 108,703 Notes on a ments "1 This is the expe￿Ilture on extra Fterns to suFpknwnt of gotyjs in order to dir• offerthe ￿r¥ICe "2 Th8 d)8rity oFer8ts8 8ntW81y wth voluntsers. zero wages are pavj l exFons•s for BVJ Sleep Out ￿$t year. Cash wKome arri¥¢d Wyear, sp)￿Sh￿ ino)me aTTived lh￿ yeaf. A4 A8$et and in￿$1M•￿t purchases, see table Van Purchases Other vehicle urchases Sub total 108,703 108,703 92,434 Net of receipts/(payments) AS Tran8f8r¥ b8twe•n funds A6 Cash fund8 la8t y￿r end h funds this year end 44.662 . 44,662 14.622 6,105 50.767 6,105 50.767 2Q,727 6.106 CCXX Rl aCC(￿ntS ISSI 1810812022

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unrostri¢t•d fvnds to E Rg8trict?d funds to r￿reSt£ Endowmcnt fund8 Categories D&tsi18 B1 Cash fvnds 27,439 Payr 326 Total cash funds 60.767 OJNS}I UnYe8tricted funds to wrest e Restrlcted fund8 to r￿restE Endowment fundB to ￿￿[￿¥t Detail$ B2 Othor monetary a88ets Fund towhl¢h 888et tion DèiaiE8 Cosiioplion•ll Cury8rtvaiyp onal Fund to which Deiaas Cgstlopb"onall Curfynl valu• onal 1,300 B4 A88ets rotalned for thè ¢harity'¥ own use Refn9eraied Van Unresthctèj 405 Krtchen fiX￿￿e￿and fitb"rg5 803t Prr¥￿t 3.667 Fund towhKh reLrytes Amount du• When du• onal Delails 85 Llabiliti88 Sgned by one Or1￿ tru5ees o bèhalf of all ￿ Iru8te08 SNJnatutE Prknt Name Date of rov TimR Chair CCXX R2 accounts ISSI 1810812022

Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Sussex Homeless Sllp￿rt CIO I report 10 the trnsiees on my examination of the acc(wnts for the peri(xl 01 April 2020 to 31 March 2021. Responsibilities and basis of report As the charity truwes of Sus5e% Homelesssupport CIO you are responsible forthe preparation ofthe accounts in accordance with the requirements ofthe Chariiies Act 2011 ('the Att.). I in Tespect of m) examination of SLssex Homeless Support CIO ac¢ounts carried out under section 145 of the ?01 l Act and in cawinly out m!, examination I have followed all the applt¢able Directions given bj the Charity Commission under section 145(5Xbl of the ACL Independent examiner's sttement I have completed m¥ examination. I confirn) that maierial matt¢rs have come to my attention in c(mnection with ihe examination giving me cause to believe in an￿ material reS￿Ct.. accounting records were noi kept in respeci of Sussex Homeles5 Support CIO as required b), secrion 130 of the Act: or 2. th¢ acc4>unts do acwrd with those re¢ord& I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection wilh the examsnation to whi¢h attention should be drawm in this rew)rt in order 10 ¢nabie 41 proper understanding of the accounts io be reached. Signed by Justine Ryall dress: 4 cacia Av¢n Hove Sussex BN3 7JT Dale= 3rd August 202