Lewes Open Door Annual Report January 2023 to December 2023
We have continued to support guests who are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness or in emergency or temporary accommodation or who have recently been in such accommodation. The majority of our guests are in private rented accommodation in the centre of Lewes which we helped to negotiate. We have close contact with the owner of the accommodation and have helped resolve many disputes. Unfortunately, due to lack of available housing, most of our guests, being single men, are very unlikely to be offered accommodation by the council.
At any one time we are supporting around 20 people on and off during the year with food, clothing, toiletries and home comforts. We also conduct outreach work to help people to find appropriate advice and services including health and dental services. We have continued our work helping people to access and attend hospital or GP appointments and dental treatment, and visited one guest regularly over Christmas when he was rushed into hospital – taking him books, juice and little treats During the year we helped facilitate a service helping hard to reach people to get tested for Hepatitis C, then treated if applicable, which was invaluable to some of our guests. We have attended, on a weekly basis, the Malling food bank which is hosted at Kings Church in Lewes on a Monday and it is widely known in the Lewes community that if someone needs our services, that is where they will find us.
Having suspended our drop in service as it was not being used, we held a number of discussions among the trustees and others to consider our strategy. We concluded that our charity was doing work that no other service in our area is doing. The needs of our guests are increasingly complex and increasingly unmet by statutory services. This has led us to conclude that our services are essential to our guests. We review this on a monthly basis.
We have strengthened our relationship with Fitzjohns Food Club (formerly known as Fitzjohns Food Bank) and held three community celebration events with them during the year at which our guests mingled with the local community and church members and enjoyed the food and entertainment on offer. This was an opportunity to reduce the social isolation which is often experienced by those who experience homelessness and housing insecurity.
We have also increased our contacts with those at the local authority who are responsible for housing issues and have managed to help a small number of our guests into more long term accommodation. This has been an opportunity to help them create a new home as we sourced kitchenware and furniture for them and assisted with home decoration. Their gratitude at this life changing experience has been humbling to witness.
We have made a number of donations to the Acts 435 charity which is an online platform which hosts requests from people in need who are suffering a financial crisis. We restrict our donations to those in the immediate Lewes area to ensure we
comply with our charitable objectives. We have helped with needs for carpets, washing machines and beds during the year.
We have 2 designated volunteer outreach workers who visit people in temporary accommodation and on the streets, to offer additional emotional and practical support. We are lucky to have a place to store our supplies in council premises and during the year handed out a number of tents, sleeping bags, warm coats, boots, socks and underwear as well as toiletries. We have also provided kettles and microwaves to guests in temporary accommodation.
We continue to be members of East Sussex Homelessness Forum, whose aim is for all partners to work with the local authority, statutory and commissioned agencies with a vision “To work collaboratively to bring an end to rough sleeping in East Sussex and prevent people from rough sleeping in the future”. We continue to take an active role in bi-monthly meetings, as well as several subcommittees, and believe we are helping to formulate improved strategies and help the voices of rough sleepers and the homeless to be better heard. Rough Sleepers Initiative, including outreach workers and health professionals, have continued to help our guests and we support them with help verifying rough sleepers for the annual count.
We support some of our clients with train tickets or by volunteers driving them to alcohol and drug support agency in Eastbourne. We have helped our guests open Bank Accounts and apply for copies of missing Birth Certificates. We also negotiated a special rate and then supported a homeless guest to access a local leisure facility, which he needed after suffering a stroke.
We have taken opportunities to speak to other groups about our work including Lewes Castle Rotary Club and Ringmer Mothers Union to increase awareness of our work and the issues of homelessness generally. We also facilitated the participation of one of our guests in an art exhibition run by a local church as part of the community ArtWave event by providing him with canvases and art supplies and helping to transport his work to be displayed. He was able to sell some of his work which was both a financial and psychological boost to him.
Quotes from some of our guests:
“LOD have been there, in such kind ways, sometimes I don't know what I would've done without them........ Am always so grateful...... But they ask for nothing back....... Love em”
“Thank you for being there threw some tough times you have really bin there for me and Sarah thank you much keep safe god bless”
"Blessed be those that give shelter from the storm"
When someone new comes through the town we always contact Lewes Open Door for help"
LEWES OPEN DOOR, have helped me in more ways, than I realise...... Not only via support, and wise words, but ACTUAL HELP!!!, In the real world..... They've helped me, by supporting me, at friend's funerals, which was so appreciated, and on literal,
financial help , with refunds etc, on little things, I can't afford..... ..... Sometimes, I don't know how I would've managed to get thru, without these people!!! And they do this, for no financial rewards, literally, outta the goodness, if their hearts...... I can't speak highly enough, for them..... But I can't!!!! They're, absolute, angels....... And they've stayed with me, through thick and thin.... And it's, mainly, been thin..... But they were like rocks....... Got more respect, than I can get across!!!!!! Love you, LOD, and thank you...... God bless
Charity Name No (if any) Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For the period Period start date Period end date To from 1/1/2023 12/31/2023
Section A Receipts and payments
| Section A Receipts and payments | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Receipts Gifts and donations 10,436 Loan reoayments and refunds 300 Golders Green Foundation 1,000 Kewes Town Councilgrabt - - - - - 11,736 - - Sub total - Total receipts 11,736 A3 Payments Premises rental - Insurance 414 Telephone and internet 562 Expenses 10,213 Shower van - Training 12 Penalty 100 - Sub total 11,301 - - Sub total - Total payments 11,301 Net of receipts/(payments) 435 A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end 29,704 Cash funds this year end 30,139 Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ Sub total(Gross income for AR) A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). A4 Asset and investment purchases,(see table) |
to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Restricted funds |
to the nearest £ Endowment funds |
Total funds to the nearest £ 10,436 300 1,000 - - - - - 11,736 - - - 11,736 - 414 562 10,213 - 12 100 - 11,301 - - - 11,301 435 - 29,704 30,139 |
Last year to the nearest £ |
| - - - - - - - - - |
10,436 | 8,942 | ||
| 300 | 1,781 | |||
| 1,000 | 1,000 | |||
| - | 1,880 | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| 11,736 | 13,603 | |||
| - - - |
- | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | 11,736 | 13,603 | ||
| - - - - - - - - - |
- | 3,855 | ||
| 414 | 404 | |||
| 562 | 695 | |||
| 10,213 | 6,343 | |||
| - | 2,661 | |||
| 12 | 940 | |||
| 100 | ||||
| - | - | |||
| 11,301 | 14,898 | |||
| - - - |
- | |||
| - | ||||
| - | - | |||
| - | 11,301 | 14,898 | ||
| - | - - - - |
435 | - 1,295 | |
| - | - | - | ||
| - | 29,704 | 30,999 | ||
| - | 30,139 | 29,704 |
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Categories B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B3 Investment assets B5 Liabilities B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees |
Details General funds Details Details Details Details Signature Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) |
to nearest £ to nearest £ 30,139 - - - 30,139 - OK OK to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Print Name Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) |
to nearest £ Endowment funds |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| OK | |||
| to nearest £ Endowment funds |
|||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| Current value (optional) |
|||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| Current value (optional) |
|||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| When due (optional) |
|||
| Date of approval |
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