# ANNUAL REPORT **A P R I L 2 0 2 2 - M A R C H 2 0 2 3** ## **OVERVIEW** Once again DASH has adapted and responded well to the needs of refugees and people seeking asylum in Kirklees this year. We appreciated feeling welcome in our offices at The Quaker Meeting House in Paddock. We were feeling thankful to see people again. Lockdown had taken its toll on both staff, volunteers and clients, the isolation from home working and the increase in hotel accommodation had tested our resilience. Around 46,000 people were detected crossing the English Channel in small boats in 2022. Just 4% of people who arrived in small boats in 2021 have had a decision, waiting times get longer and the backlog grows whilst people who have fled the most traumatic experiences are often waiting years for a decision about their asylum claim. DASH now operates within three major departments, Legal, Welfare, and Integration. Multiple projects run within these departments such as Asylum and Immigration, Outreach and Drop-ins, Asylum Guide, Substantive Interview Preparation, Integration and Partnership, Asylum Support, Fresh Claim etc. Strengthening the Legal Department was part of this years target. New ventures such as the Immigration service and Substantive Interview Preparation project were introduced. The Integration and Positive Change Project has interlocked legal and welfare support. DASH runs 4 drop-ins per week, providing support to initial and dispersed accommodation clients. The Welfare Support Projects offer more than 20 services, the Legal department offers 13 services. 2 out of 4 drop-ins are held at the Initial Accommodation sites. One drop-in is held at the Friends meeting House with hot lunch and a relaxed art session, the other at The Mission in the town centre. DASH has supported an average of 110 clients each week ranging from single men to families. DASH has worked with multiple partners and has started offering training on Asylum to our partners. We are receiving positive feedback. ## **HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR** This years Ramadan month reflected the positive relationship between DASH and its partners, receiving prayer mats and dates from the local mosques. The Iftar dinner was very successful with over 70 people attending from the local community, clients and volunteers, the food was delicious, home cooked by our client volunteers. The Pop Up Cinema welcomed over 100 people from clients and local people to enjoy Bollywood and delicious food. Our Pizza Day held in a local village welcomed over 100 people from the local community to enjoy alfresco lunch, learn about DASH and contribute to the fundraising. We have developed a partnership with Growing Communities/Sanctuary Kirklees, where we support clients to attend a session a week in Golcar on an allotment type project and organise and support our clients to attend Sanctuary Suppers. We attended a partnership/fundraising event with the Kirklees Young Employee Network at the university of Huddersfield where our staff members managed to fundraise money for DASH. We were part of the Lawrence Batley Theatre Open Day. It was great to share our knowledge and work with local communities and different services. We had regular Coffee and Catch ups with volunteers who are generously giving their time to assist in any way possible especially during this current challenging time! As previous award winners, we were invited to join the panel at the Kirklees Diversity, Equality & Innovation Conference and Awards 2022. A room full of solidarity and an inspiring panel of business leaders sharing their innovative approaches to equality in the workplace. Mike Prior took part in the Ilkley Triathlon to raise funds for our work. It was 500m swim, 14.5k bike and 4.8k run. He did it, 197th out of 291! Thank you, Mike, for all you do for us! We attended the Yorkshire Integration Festival - a beautiful celebration of the positive impact made by migrants and refugees in Yorkshire and Humber. Our incredible volunteers showcased their diverse range of cultures and customs that all contributed to making our region a special place to live. Our clients have been able to access support and services, feel safe and establish friendships and connections in their local communities. Our projects have enabled a positive experience of living in Kirklees, preparing our clients for the next stage of their lives, regardless of the outcome of their application. We have held events for Refugee Week, Volunteer Week, Christmas celebrations, open door lunch at a weekly drop in, welcoming visitors from the local community along with clients. We have worked to develop partnerships with local organisations to better connect with the refugee community and have expanded our legal programmes and services. **This year has been both challenging and rewarding! We are now a leading charity in Kirklees delivering Integration, Legal and Welfare Support to people seeking asylum.** ## **THERE IS A LEGAL CRISIS!** There just aren’t enough Solicitors, only 50% of our clients are able to secure legal representation. Changes in Legal Aid Contracts has meant many solicitor firms are no longer offering Legal Aid. The majority of people who reach the UK seeking safety from violence, war and persecution need to apply to seek asylum when they arrive. The Home Office have recently introduced a questionnaire for those who arrived into the UK before June 2022 from Eritrea, Libya, Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq. It requires an applicant to put in writing a significant amount of detail about their asylum claim, almost to the extent of a witness statement, but with complicated questions and unclear guidance. This has increased our workload in both assisting with the questionnaire but also disseminating information in order to prepare our clients to expect a questionnaire and if they have a solicitor to contact them immediately as there are only 30 days to complete it. For those without solicitors we are supporting with completing the questionnaires. ## **PROJECTS AND SERVICES** We are developing new training programmes for our volunteers, providing volunteering opportunities for clients and local people who are supporting in all areas of work. **The Asylum Guide Programme and Welfare Support has supported with:** - Providing Asylum Guide sessions in 11 languages with the help of DASH’s Asylum Guides and Interpreters. - Navigating the complexities and restrictions associated with the asylum process and asylum support system, and the impact that this can have on their integration. - Facilitating people seeking asylum and refugees to understand their rights, responsibilities and entitlements, and are able to exercise them to pursue full and independent lives. - Providing training workshops so that people seeking asylum are supported to understand the asylum system and their rights and entitlements throughout the process, and are able to engage with services. - Supporting access to NHS services including assisting with registering at medical centres, opticians and dental practices and helping plan for visits to hospitals or specialist appointments - Providing support and advice on how to access services such as food banks, migrant groups and legal advice. - Providing support to access English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) assessments and ESOL classes - Providing assistance, helping to identify and access community activity to support integration. ## **OUR WORK IN FIGURES** ## **LEGAL** Home Office Correspondence – For various reasons 333 Fresh Claim 23 Tribunal Correspondence 85 Immigration Application 8 Leave in Line Application 13 NRPF Application 0 Substantive Interview Preparation/QA 57 Exceptional Case Funding application for Legal Aid 5 Obtaining Expert evidence and Legal Reports 11 Solicitor referral 92 **ASYLUM SUPPORT** Section 95 application 23 Section 95- subsistence only 27 Section 95A 20 Relocation Requests 20 Maternity (Change of Circumstances) 6 ## **WELFARE** Total Welfare Clients 1,956 Newly registered client 548 Total Languages 21 MEARS related issues 51 ASPEN Card issues 47 Migrant Help Communication 56 Home Office Communication 136 Food bank referrals 36 Total bus passes 563 Total phones 60 Total Sim Card 269 Clothing referrals/vouchers 153 GP Registration/Communication 99 HC2 Applications 69 Mental health referrals 24 Signpostings/Referrals/3rd party Comms 180 ## **TRUSTEES** Chair – Jane Fowden (Left Oct 22) then rotating Chair Treasurer – Karen Wood Secretary – John Atherton (Left Feb 23) Andrew Tomlinson Allison Porter Pete Evans Jihad Omer Mohannad Almohammad Alabo Firas Shihab Julie Park Shabeer Nazi Sophie Ballinger **We rely on our volunteers, 55 volunteers donated 108 volunteer hours (about 3 full time staff hours) every week. We couldn’t do what we do without them. Thank you to everyone who has supported us this year, the DASH team will continue to support people seeking asylum in Kirklees with your help.** ## **DASH Treasurer's Report – Financial Year 2022-2023** Author: K Wood – Treasurer Date: October 2023 This report covers the financial accounting period from 1[st] April 2022 to 31[st] March 2023. The organization has grown through the last year, with 2 additional employees. Work in the welfare area has expanded and there are now at least 3 drop-ins each week. We have been pleased to receive funding from the Justice Fund to support our work assisting our clients to access the legal process to remain in the UK. Some of our projects extend beyond one year – the rise in cash reserves to **£196,333** reflect that these funds will be used over a longer term. Our total income during the year was **£247,672** , the majority of which came from grants. - The Tudor Trust: This grant provided **£32000** in this financial year, to help to cover management costs. Tudor also offered a further **£2,000** to support the welfare of staff and volunteers. - KMC: **£35,000** to fund a Welfare Support worker - Refugee Action: **£17,793** to support the Asylum Guides project. - Blue Thread: **£32,090** to support work on Asylum casework. - National Lottery: **£47,980** to support outreach work. - Justice Fund: **£28,634** to support legal and casework - James Reckitt Fund: **£15,400** funding for essential clothing for our clients 1 We continue to be supported through donations from both individuals and organisations. Nearly half of public donations are made regularly and we are especially grateful for these. Our total outgoings for the year were **£207,698** . Of this total, DASH spent £39,324 on direct financial support to clients in the form of client destitution payments (£22,237), the payment of client legal expenses (£500) and digital connectivity phone/data( £11,013). Staff costs were our most significant outgoing (£146,178), with a further £6,012 spent on hiring office space in the Quaker Meeting House in Paddock and other general expenses including IT support, professional interpreter services plus stationery, printing and general admin costs. We began the financial year with funds of £156,359 and these increased over the year so that we ended it with a cash balance of £196,333. Our funds are designated to salary costs and expenses for our projects, ensuring a sustainable service for our clients. DASH ended the 2022-2023 financial year in a good financial position, allowing the organisation to expand operations wider to support our clients. 2 CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Receipts and payments accounts CC16a Forth• pertod from To Section A Receipts and payments UnMtrf¢t•d lunds R8Strictgd fund$ Endowmant funds t•ttr• £ Total funds Last year toth• nsarwl t•tl* rw••t £ (knls Lknalbn5 111, fB.6a9 ti1427 221309 109.n8 11.376 FurKttras1 O￿TrI Su inGCY 1,8BO 185 40.763 14 1,621 Sub tot*l(Gross Income forAR) 14245 114427 247.672 106.021 A2 Ass•t and Inv•gtment galo S¢A> total rot0ir9ce￿ts 134.245 113,427 247.672 166,021 men akni trnvd COBIS tbslitulkn sUFWt Clknt tleccmYUrkathy￿ and dala aknt su aknnl In c05t g￿ni èx $53 237 427 427 ÈS Ir8nsI8IMx $erykes St81[ ¢osi$ QryuiÈr Insurance Vc4untÈèr axFW￿S otfice rent G05ts VID protectkn exp£n5es Events Furft¥lSYw) And oth2r c0616 178 649 430 91 518 Sub total 5D.W2 1¥708 207.699 1ThOJ8 A4 A•••t and lTr¥e8tmgnt purchase#, Is•0 tabhl S￿> total Tot•lpaym•nts $0,992 156.708 207,fA9 126,638 N8t of r8c•iptslpaymentsJ A5 Trnnsl•rn b•tw••n fund$ A6 C•8h lund8 last yoar •nd C*$h funds thls yearond 83.254 43.281 39.973 39.3B3 64,991 148,249 91,369 8.088 156.360 196,333 116,976 156.359 Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period R•$trf¢t•d fund8 Endowm•nt fund• Details funds to nfrw•Bt£ CGXX R1 accounts ISSI B1 Cash funds 26.361 8¢ctyJnl 118,748 1136 rotal cash lunds 148,245 48,088 Unrn8trfct•d funds Re#lrfct•d fund• Endowm•nt funds to r**•6t £ Details to nsare•t £ tojwrmt £ to wNch 4M••t Cwr•rtval Details B3 knieBtm•nt as••ts lowNch rdmrt v*1 Details Colt IrWrrnll B4 Asstts rotalrnd for tho charity's uso lowN£h Vknn Detalls B5 Uabllltl•s Syned by orse ort*rJ bu8t888 on bahalT of all tho tnJ81008 SvJnaturg Fknnt Nama Date ol approval a?Iiol 2Y CQXX R2 Bc£ounts ISSI 2711012023 CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES | Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examlrbees Report Report to the trusteesl members of DASII On accounts for the year ended Charity no {if any) 31 M(U(A 1013 11818J£ Set out on page5 l a*43 L I report lo the INslees on my examination o charity {Ihe Trust") for the year ended 31 the ccounts of the above 1013 Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust. you are responsible for the Pfeparalion basis of report of the accounts in accordance V￿th the requirements of the Charrties Acl 2011 {"the Acl"). I report in respecl of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of Ihe 2011 Act and in carying out my exarninalion, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 14515llb) of the Act. I have completed my examination. I confirn that no material matters have come lo my attention {ether in connection with the examination which grves me Cause to believe that in, any material respect.. accounting records V￿re not kepl in accordance with seclion 130 of the A￿ or the accounts do not acctyd with the accounting records Independent examiner's statement I have no concems and have corne across no other matters in connedion vrith the examinalion lo which attention should be drawn in order lo enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Please delete the words in Ihe bracke¢s if they do not apply. Signed: ?A Dale: 09 loi Name: Z oko, b Fk2£sa Relevant professional qualification{s) or body lif any).. eA 044J C ILAP Address: lJ£Sg U462L ER October 2018