Time to be Out
Trustees' Annual Report, 13th June 2022 - 12th June 2023
Charity Number 1183884
Website: www.timetobeout.org.uk
Names of the charity trustees
| Name of trustee |
Role (if any) | Dates (if not for the whole period) |
|---|---|---|
| William Roche | Chair | |
| David Sylph | ||
| Malcolm Wren | Treasurer and Charity Commission contact |
|
| Angela Carter | ||
| Noor Boksh | ||
| FloreLekane | until 29thJanuary2023 | |
| El Parnham | from 29thJanuary2023 | |
| Drew Richardson |
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:
-
PROVIDING WORKSHOPS, ADVOCACY AND GENERAL SUPPORT
-
INCREASING AND CO-ORDINATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEMBERS OF THE ABOVE COMMUNITIES TO ENGAGE WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES
-
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:
-
Offering casework support so that people can successfully claim refugee status, allowing them to work and integrate fully into society
-
Providing befrienders, who, amongst other things, help people with practical matters (such as registering with a doctor or dentist)
-
Arranging social events and fostering social contacts to break down isolation
-
Where necessary offering 1:1 English language tuition
-
Referring people to other agencies and appropriate sources of support (e.g. with housing)
-
Providing hardship funds in cases of emergency (e.g. when Home Office support is not available through delays and technical problems)
-
Giving talks and presentations to community groups about the special needs and circumstances of LGBT+ asylum seekers and refugees
-
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 2022-23
Casework
We actively supported 50 LGBT asylum seekers as they pursued their claims with the Home Office. Although we are not lawyers and cannot provide legal advice, we were able to explain the overall system to people and helped them build their confidence in telling their stories. We were allowed to sit in with 8 people during their Substantive Interview about their asylum case and our volunteers gave evidence at 7 Asylum Tribunals. 16 of the people we worked with were granted Leave to Remain and we were involved in helping them take the next steps so that they can now live independently in the UK.
Befriending
Half a dozen volunteers kept in regular touch with asylum seekers, both online and in person. We also continued to encourage peer-to-peer support in an attempt to break down isolation (particularly at a time when people are being sent to live in 'remote' places - e.g. Ashington rather than Newcastle, villages outside Doncaster rather than Sheffield).
Social Events
Our volunteers organised weekly online (Zoom) social events and a monthly lunchtime meeting in central Sheffield. We arranged and paid for outings to York for regular social events with faith-based organisations, for York Pride and for a visit to York Minster. We paid for people to travel from around Yorkshire and Teesside on a day out to Scarborough in August 2022.
English tuition
Four volunteers provided 1:1 online tuition for LGBT asylum seekers, allowing them to develop their language skills in order to take more control over their asylum claim and preparing them to integrate into society after they win their case.
Financial Support
We were able to help relieve destitution when asylum seekers were waiting for their Aspen cards to be activated (or when there were technical problems with the system). Overall, we disbursed over £2000 in hardship payments, about £1200 to help with phone data and SIM cards and we were able to distribute £600 worth of shopping vouchers to buy winter clothing for people spending their first winter in the UK.
Collaboration and awareness raising
We have been actively involved in the Yorkshire and Humberside Community of Practice, which brings together all the local charities involved in supporting refugees and asylum seekers. We were able to use this forum to point out the particular problems facing LGBT+ asylum seekers and we made a number of useful contacts as a result.
We were asked to give talks to a number of LGBT groups (e.g. the York inclusive rugby club) and other agencies (e.g. Amnesty International, York University). We are active members of the Centre for Language and Social Justice Research at York St John University.
On behalf of our beneficiaires, we were active in engaging with MPs across a range of political parties and others in an attempt to challenge the plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. Since we are currently supporting a claimant who has fled Rwanda because of his sexual orientation we have little doubt that the plan is an assault on the human rights of LGBT+ asylum seekers.
Plans and priorities for 2022-23
It is clear that the Home Office system for making decisions on asylum claims is breaking down. The backlog is enormous and we know people
who have waited three years before being invited for a Home Office interview and others who have waited two years or more for a decision after their interview. The effect on people's mental health and the deskilling that results from such a long wait while being unable to work, study or plan for your future is profound. We shall do our best to mitigate the worst of this.
The backlog is having a serious impact on housing. Hotels are being used inappropriately and LGBT+ asylum seekers are increasingly at risk from hostile attitudes both in the surrounding environment and from fellow asylum seekers in shared housing. Much of our work in the coming year will have to involve supporting people in this increasingly hostile context.
We now have more beneficiaries in the West Yorkshire area, so we shall look into setting up a monthly social event on the model of our Sheffield meetings. We shall consequently need to develop our pool of volunteers to enable this development.
The passing of the Illegal Migration Act in July 2023 will have profound effects on our beneficiaries and the future of our charity.
Time to be Out
Income and Expenditure 13th June 2022 to 12th June 2023
Balance carried forward £2 646.26 Total Income £24 567.25 Total Expenditure £18 520.41 Balance £6 046.84 Balance carried forward (£2 646.26 + £6 046.84) £8 693.10
DETAILS OF INCOME
Restricted Grant Funding
| National Lottery Community Fund | £8 200.00 |
|---|---|
| (to support LGBT+ asylum seekers in the Teesside area, | |
| to be spent before September 2023) | |
| Unrestricted Income | |
| Donations from monthly standing orders / direct debits | £7 |
| 109.00 | |
| One-of individual donations directly to the bank or in cash | £5 |
| 875.80 | |
| Donations via the Just Giving button on the website | £3 382.45 |
Total Income £24 567.25
DETAILS OF EXPENDITURE
Restricted Grant Funding
National Lottery Community Fund
Local bus passes for beneficiaries in Hartlepool, Stockton, Thornaby and Redcar £2 253.80
Social events £682.16 Administration (information leaflets etc) £150.65
Clothing and food vouchers (Primark, Asda and Tesco) £1 600.00
Phone data £605.00 Volunteer travel expenses £157.73
Total Expenditure £5 449.34
(Balance to be spent by end of September 2023,
£8 200 - £5 449.34 = £2 750.66)
Unrestricted Expenditure
| Unrestricted Expenditure | ||
|---|---|---|
| Social Events (e.g. Shefeld monthly meetings, visits | to Pride) | £3 |
| 894.70 | ||
| Winter clothing vouchers | £650.00 | |
| Next steps | £200.00 | |
| Phone data | £1 370.00 | |
| Hardship and emergencies | £2 192.40 | |
| Casework, befriending and English teaching | £2 | |
| 497.57 | ||
| Administration (printing, insurance, web hosting etc.) | £1 | |
| 113.76 |
Volunteer travel expenses £1 152.64 Total unrestricted expenditure £13 071.07 Total restricted expenditure £5 449.34 Total unrestricted expenditure £13 071.07 Total expenditure £18 520.41