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2022-03-31-accounts

~~Annual~~ report

Trustees report for financial year ending March 31[st] , 2022.

FY 2022

Be: Trans Support and Community Charity Number 1186132

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Be: Trans Support and Community

Introduction

The Trustees are pleased to present the annual report for the 1[st] of April 2021 to 31[st] of March 2022.

Be: Trans Support and Community or Be North is registered as a CIO, charity number 1186132. Be North was formed from a community interest group in the North East of England originally established in March 2010. We have developed over the years to have an impact both locally and nationally, contributing to causes that benefit Transgender people and those that they come into contact with.

The object of the CIO is,

To promote equality and diversity and to eliminate discrimination in relation to transgender people in the North East of England for the benefit of the public by:

a) providing advice and support services for transgender people.

b) promoting education and training and raising awareness in relation to all aspects of transgender health and social care needs and related equality and diversity issues with the aim of eliminating discrimination.

c) cultivating a sentiment in favour of equality in particular by the provision of information and advice.

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Report from the Chair

I am incredibly proud of the group of volunteers who run and contribute to Be, we are and will always be community-led and our mission of delivering personal empowerment to members of the community via the many avenues which we engage with has had a positive impact on many lives. Our inaugural year as a charity has taken place in a very challenging environment, which has seen us operating throughout the pandemic, finding new ways of working to ensure we continue to reach those who need us. Be North has become a lifeline for those individuals who have become intensely isolated during the pandemic, with our support services being more in demand than ever before.

Our support services,

May 2021 saw our return to in-person support, using space generously provided to us by ReCoCo – another registered charity in Newcastle upon Tyne. Since restarting face-to-face sessions, we have seen attendance rise sharply. Prior to the pandemic, we would regularly hold sessions for 10-15 people, our virtual sessions would see between 4-10 people each week. Currently, we average between 30-35 attendees at any given session.

We have seen that the isolation of lockdown over 2020/21, the rising hostility to trans people in the media and general discourse, as well as the ever-expanding delays in accessing healthcare are having an incredibly detrimental effect on the mental and physical wellbeing of those we support. Our support services are helping to address this situation by providing spaces for trans people to socialise in a safe, protected environment, offering help and advice to individuals on a variety of topics, including signposting and assisted access to other services.

Our project work,

We remain a partner in the Transforming Futures partnership, funded and supported by the National Lottery Community Fund, which aims to create lasting change for trans communities in the healthcare and criminal justice systems.

We are a partner in the Trans Lives North East project, which aims to bring awareness and education to those organisations and professionals who work with people who may identify as transgender. This year saw the return of the in-person conference, hosted in Newcastle Civic Centre. The conference is aimed at community members, service providers and the wider public. Representatives from Be attended the conference, providing speakers as well as promoting the charity and our partner services.

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Our Healthcare project has been able to resume more fully this year, as we held more sessions with various areas of the NHS. A key area we were able to impact was in our work with Northern Cancer Alliance and Healthworks Newcastle – were we helped to develop materials and inform inclusive policies and working practices around trans people in cancer care. We also helped to deliver a webinar with Healthworks and provided cancer awareness sessions to community members. Our focus on sexual health has also renewed, with Mesmac and Shine (local sexual health charities) providing sexual health advice and access to STI testing and PrEP to the community.

Our wellbeing work has also been boosted by the addition of regular yoga groups, these are open to all members of our community and are hosted by us at our space in ReCoCo in partnership with LGBT+ Northern Social Group. We had hoped to provide swimming sessions in this financial year, however we were unable to find an accessible facility able to provide private sessions in a suitable location – our work in this area is ongoing.

Events,

We have led the community organisation of 2021’s Trans Day of Remembrance event. The event supports those who wish to remember those lost to transphobic violence over the preceding year and bring the community and allies together to stand in solidarity over action we can take in our part of the world to reduce discrimination against Transgender individuals.

We have participated in several pride events, this both promotes the work of the charity and gives us a platform to talk about issues that effect trans people in society. Unfortunately many of these pride events, Northern Pride being the most notable, had not yet returned to in-person events and were conducted mostly online.

To conclude ,

This year has been very difficult for trans people, with the effects of the pandemic still being felt widely. Our efforts this year have helped more people than ever before, as we have seen attendance at group events and general engagement far in advance of previous years. We are aware of a need to expand our group of volunteers in order to adjust to this rapid growth and to continue providing a quality service in the areas we are already successful - while also expanding further in our programme work to benefit the public and achieve our charitable objectives.

Chair – Katie Marshall

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The Charity

Be: Trans Support and Community is constituted as a CIO by association, the most recent updated version of governing document was adopted on the 3[rd] of November 2019 and the charity was established by the following Trustees:

Katie Marshall Felix Helianthus Gemma Dellbridge Amy Tysoe Ellen Mellor Sonya McChristie

The charity was managed during this period by:

Katie Marshall – Chair Felix Helianthus – Vice Chair Gemma Dellbridge - Operations Director Amy Tysoe – Finance Director Ellen Mellor – Secretary

Alice Skye – Communications James Anderson – Project Manager Liam Irwin – Board member Steph Bloomfield – Board member

This financial year we have only conducted the minimum number of trustee meetings required since our last AGM in June 2021 we conducted a general meeting in February 2022 to discuss our need for volunteers and the ongoing management of activities by the charity and planned for our AGM IN July 2022 to discuss the previous year and agree on this report. The AGM was delayed to an EGM as the number of trustees reduced to our minimum number during this period and did not take any further decisions until a new secretary was found and appointed - this is due to be voted and approved by the members on 04/12/2022 at a general meeting and we will be increasing the number of trustees subject to approval by the members. This report will be subject to approval on the same date.

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Governance

All charity trusties have been supplied with a copy of the governing document, guidance around being a charity trustee and the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.

All documents relating to the management of the charity and materials regarding safeguarding have been made available to all members and trustees who carry out activities on behalf of the charity. Training has been provided for all trustees and elected members for safeguarding both Adults and children.

The trustees have met regularly throughout the period and both the governing document and the guidance on public benefit are supplied as supporting documents.

The objects as set out in the governing document are as follows:

To promote equality and diversity and to eliminate discrimination in relation to transgender people in the North East of England for the benefit of the public by: a) providing advice and support services for transgender people. b) promoting education and training and raising awareness in relation to all aspects of transgender health and social care needs and related equality and diversity issues with the aim of eliminating discrimination.

c) cultivating a sentiment in favour of equality in particular by the provision of information and advice.

The main activities in relation to the purposes for public benefit are as follows:

Provision of facilitated spaces for trans people to receive support and socialise Provision of materials both digitally and physically that provide advice and awareness around aspects of health and social care needs for transgender individuals.

Local project work that has a direct benefit to both Transgender people and those around them such as assisting with access to healthcare and services

National project work in partnership with other organisations to deliver larger projects that fulfil the aims of the charity and benefits large populations of transgender people.

The organisation of local events that directly bring awareness and education around issues of equality and diversity.

Providing advice and consulting with organisations and services to directly benefit transgender people and their families.

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Achievements and performance

In planning our activities for the year we kept in mind the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit at our trustee meetings.

The main activities are as follows:

Specifically, we achieved:

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Financial reports

Profit and Loss Be: Trans Support and Community Date Ron9e' Apr 01. 2021 to Mar 3l 2022 ACCOUNTS Apr 01, 2021 to Mar 31, 2022 rect Public Support- In(thvid4￿I Contrikxrtiors (Recwriryl E350.LW) Dlrect Public Supwrt- lTralvicknl Contributior £414.13 Indlrect Fljbllc Support £1,85923 S•rvSces Pn)vided £l.Crf)O. Total I￿011￿* 623.36 Tatol Colt olGogds Sokl £0.00 fxou Profft 623a6 Op•rntlng Exp•ns•s Controct S•rvlc•s £195.25 Event5 £83.80 tT Servkes E207A8 Refreshments £250. Transoction F• £13.20 Total Op•ratlng Exp•ns £749.73 N•t Profit Q873.63

Balance Sheet B•: Trans Support and Communlty As OF Mor 31, 2022 ACCOUNrs Mar 31. 2022 Cosh and Bank DONR EO.05 Lloyd5 Be.. Tr8a5urerfs Account £S.883.99 Paypal £391.02 Totol C¢)sh ond Bonk £4275.06 Oth•r Curmnt Total Oth•r Curr•nt AM•ts £0.00 AV Equlpnwnt £41.$7 Total Lonpt•rni AM•t• £41.57 Totol AM•ti £6,316.63 Lkblltthl Currnnt Li¢*iliti•i Total CuTr•nt Llabilltl•s £0.00 Long-t•rrn L6gbIl￿￿9 Totol LO￿t•rnI Lbobllttl £0.00 Tottsl L￿billI £0.00 10

Equity R•tain•d Earnings Profit for all prlor years £3,443.00 Prollt bekn Apr 1, 2021 and Mor 31, 2022 £2,873.63 Total R•toln•d Earnk £6,316.63 Total Equlty £6.31&63 11

Declaration

The above report has been approved by the trustees.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees,

Name: Katie Marshall Position: Chair of trustees Date: December 4[th] 2022

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