Time to be Out
Trustees' Annual Report, 13th June 2021 - 12th June 2022
Charity Number 1183884
Website: www.timetobeout.org.uk
Names of the charity trustees
| Name of trustee | Role(if any) | Dates(if not for the wholeperiod) |
|---|---|---|
| William Roche | Chair | |
| David Sylph | ||
| Malcolm Wren | Treasurer and Charity Commission contact |
|
| Flore Lekane | ||
| Noor Boksh | ||
| Richard Basch | until 3rd April 2022 | |
| Drew Richardson | from 3rd April 2022 |
Constitution
Charitable Incorporated Organisation, dated 12th June 2019
The objects of the charity as set out in its governing document:
TO PROMOTE SOCIAL INCLUSION FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT BY PREVENTING PEOPLE WHO ARE REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS WHO IDENTIFY AS LGBT+ FROM BECOMING SOCIALLY EXCLUDED, TO RELIEVE THE NEEDS OF THOSE PEOPLE AND TO ASSIST THEM TO INTEGRATE INTO SOCIETY, PARTICULARLY BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY BY:
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PROVIDING WORKSHOPS, ADVOCACY AND GENERAL SUPPORT
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INCREASING AND CO-ORDINATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEMBERS OF
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THE ABOVE COMMUNITIES TO ENGAGE WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES
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RAISING PUBLIC AWARENESS OF THE ISSUES AFFECTING REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS WHO IDENTIFY AS LGBT+, BOTH GENERALLY AND IN RELATION TO THEIR SOCIAL EXCLUSION
Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects.
We attempt to prevent the social exclusion of LGBT+ refugees and asylum seekers in the following ways:
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Offering casework support so that people can successfully claim refugee status, allowing them to work and integrate fully into society
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Providing befrienders, who, amongst other things, help people with practical matters (such as registering with a doctor or dentist)
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Arranging social events and fostering social contacts to break down isolation
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Where necessary offering 1:1 English language tuition
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Referring people to other agencies and appropriate sources of support (e.g. with housing)
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Granting a small 'Next Steps' allowance to people who come off Home Office support when they obtain refugee status and Leave to Remain (e.g. so that they can pay a deposit on a flat)
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Providing hardship funds in cases of emergency (e.g. when Home Office support is not available through delays and technical problems)
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Providing data vouchers or SIM cards, so that beneficiaries can remain in touch with their befrienders, their legal representatives, the Home Office etc.
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Giving talks and presentations to community groups about the special needs and circumstances of LGBT+ asylum seekers and refugees
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Collaborating with other groups to put pressure on decision makers to develop policies that do not further stigmatise and isolate the people we are supporting
Summary of the main activities and the impact of our work in 2021-22
Casework
Our volunteers supported around 35 individuals. In some cases we were able to help them find lawyers to represent them and we regularly attended meetings (in person or online) between asylum seekers and their legal representatives. As the Home Office returned to holding substantive asylum interviews in person, our volunteers were able to sit in with four asylum seekers as they put their case. 7 of our beneficiaries were granted Leave to Remain this year, and we were able to support them with 'Next Steps' grants and practical support as they integrated into British society.
Befriending
Ten volunteers acted as befrienders, keeping in touch with otherwise isolated asylum seekers by phone and meeting them in person (as Covid restrictions began to be eased). These volunteers were able to help with practical problems and emergencies (such as technical problems with Home Office support, meaning that some people who would otherwise have been totally destitute had access to hardship funds).
Social Events
During the Covid lockdowns Time to be Out set up weekly online social meetings between asylum seekers and volunteers. These continued even after restrictions were lifted. Since November 2021 we have held a monthly social event for LGBT+ asylum seekers at the City of Sanctuary building in Sheffield.
In July 2021 we funded visits to the seaside for most of our beneficiaries, and in October 2021 hosted an Art Day in York. We also funded regular visits to York to attend the monthly LGBT friendly Mass at the Bar Convent.
English tuition
Five volunteers supported beneficiaries whose first language is not English through online tuition (and occasional meetings in person). Through the generosity of donors we were able to lend laptops to the tutees to help with their language learning. Other volunteers were able to signpost some of our beneficiaries to language courses available in local colleges.
Financial Support
34% of Time to be Out's financial support to its beneficiaries was devoted to telephone data. It is essential that our service users are able to keep in contact with each other, with befrienders, with their lawyers and other sources of support. We were able to provide £20 per month (usually in the form of vouchers) to over 30 individuals.
22% of the spending went on Hardship and Emergency payments. If people's mobile phones broke, we were able to fund repairs or basic replacements. A number of our beneficiaries were entitled to Home Office support (currently about £40 per week for people in Home Office housing and about £8 per week for those in hotels), but at times their payment cards stopped working or were not activated promptly. We were able to provide emergency assistance to avoid them falling into total destitution until the crisis was resolved.
We received a payment of about £2000 this year as Gift Aid entitlement from HMRC. The trustees decided to allocate these funds to a new budget: 'Winter Clothing and Footwear'. All our beneficiaries over winter 2021-2 were given £50 that had to be spent specifically on warm clothing or footwear (some of the people we were supporting had only recently arrived in the UK and were not equipped for winter).
Through the support of LUSH, we raised funds for period poverty. We were able to provide period products for 8 female asylum seekers for 5 months.
For further details, see the accounts and breakdown of the budgets attached to this report.
Collaboration and awareness raising
During this financial year, we were particularly concerned about the impact on our current and potential beneficiaries of proposed new legislation and changes to the UK asylum system (e.g. the Nationality and Borders Bill, the Rwanda plan, proposals relating to Linton on Ouse, near York). Our trustees and volunteers worked alongside other agencies to point out the potential adverse effects on LGBT+ asylum seekers of these proposals. We wrote to all of the MPs in the north of England about this, and two Members of Parliament invited us to meet them personally to brief them on the implications.
Volunteers from Time to be Out continued to collaborate with other organisations and agencies in order to foster the social inclusion of LGBT+ asylum seekers and refugees. We were invited to give a number of talks to general refugee organisations to raise awareness of the special circumstances and needs of LGBT+ asylum seekers.
Plans and priorities for 2022-23
Now that Covid restrictions have been lifted we hope to host more social events. We will continue with the monthly Sheffield socials, and we have applied for funding to host a similar hub on Teesside. If there are sufficient resources, we will also look into arranging similar regular meetings in the Leeds / Bradford area.
We very much hope that the large number of asylum seekers currently 'stuck' in the system waiting for a Home Office interview or waiting for a decision after such an interview will be granted refugee status. If so, we hope to be able to provide them with 'Next Steps' funding and support them as they apply for housing, for jobs or to study, ensuring that they become fully integrated into UK society. This is the most important way in which we can fully realise the charity's objectives and combat the social exlusion of LGBT+ asylum seekers.
Time to be Out
Income and Expenditure 13th June 2021 to 12th June 2022
Balance carried forward |
£2 831.61 |
|---|---|
Total Income |
£15 628.28 |
| Total Expenditure | £15 813.63 |
Balance |
- £185.35 |
Balance carried forward (£2 831.61 - £185.35 ) |
£2 646.26 |
INCOME
Restricted Grant Funding
| Two Ridings Community Foundation, paid 24th August 2021 | £2 000.00 |
|---|---|
| (to be spent on hardship funds, phone data and emergencies by March 2022) | |
| Lush Retail, paid 2nd December 2021 | £388.83 |
| (to be spent on Period Poverty) | |
| Crowd funding appeal (via Giving Com Ltd), paid 3rd August | £490.30 |
| (to pay an asylum seeker's examination fees) | |
| Total Restricted Income | £2 879.13 |
| Unrestricted Income | |
| HMRC Gift Aid 2019-2021, paid 29th September 2021 | £2 006.26 |
| One-off individual donations directly to the bank or in cash | £4 126.94 |
| One-off individual donations via the Just Giving button on the website | £776.95 |
| Donations from monthly standing orders / direct debits | £5 839.00 |
| Total Unrestricted Income | £12 747.14 |
Total Income 2021-2022
£15 628.28
EXPENDITURE
Restricted Spending
Two Ridings Community Foundation
| Next steps | |
|---|---|
| £100 to 2 asylum seekers who obtained Leave to Remain October 2021 | £200.00 |
| Data payments, September and October 2021 to 25 asylum seekers | £850.00 |
| Hardship and emergency payments | £966.80 |
| Total | £2016.80 |
| (overshoot of £16.80 taken from unrestricted funds) | |
| Lush | |
| 5 X £10 per month paid to 8 female asylum seekers (February - June 2022) | £400.00 |
| (overshoot of £11.17 taken from unrestricted funds) | |
| Crowd Funding via Giving Com Ltdpaid to asylum seeker taking exam | £350.00 |
| [identity of the beneficiary witheld for reasons of confidentiality, but available | upon request] |
| Entered under 'Next Steps' budget | |
| (remaining £140.30 transferred to unrestricted funds, with permission) |
Amount transferred to unrestricted funds, with permission: £140.30 - £11.17 - £16.80 = £112.33 Total Restricted Expenditure £2 766.80
Unrestricted Spending
| Data vouchers (to 39 beneficiaries in total) | £4 550.00 |
|---|---|
| Hardship and emergency payments | £2 491.96 |
| Casework and befriending | £1 207.68 |
| Social events | £486.63 |
| Art day 25/9/21 | £627.91 |
| English teaching materials | £130.08 |
| Next Steps | £400.00 |
| Winter clothing and footwear (£50 to 27 beneficiaries) | £1 350.00 |
| Administration (printing, insurance, web hosting etc.) | £998.13 |
| Volunteer Expenses | £804.44 |
| Total | £13 046.83 |
Total Unrestricted Expenditure + Total Restricted Expenditure
£15 813.63
Spending 2021-2022 Next Steps Data Hardship & emergency Periixl Poverty Casework and befrierIng S(Kial events An day English teathing Winter clothing & footwear Volunteer expenses Admift Iwebsite. Insuran ¢? Winter clothing & footwear Hardship & ernergency Art day Nextsteps Social events Period Poverty Data Admin (website. insurance etcl Volunteer expenses