## **Residents United Forum - Report to 30 November 2024** ## **About RUF** We are Residents United Forum. We call ourselves RUF for short. We are a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (also known as a CIO). We were registered with the Charity Commission on the 17[th] November 2023 and our Charity Registration Number is1205784. RUF is governed by a set of rules called a “Constitution”. RUF is led by and for disabled people mainly in the London Borough of Newham. The RUF trustees are representatives of different local groups, all Newham residents with lived experiences as disabled people and carers. ## **What RUF does** RUF helps disabled people and their carers in Newham to raise their voice and advocate for change. Disabled residents’ efforts to speak up has been met with resistance from decision makers and has resulted in little change. Our mission is to make Newham an accessible and inclusive borough for all disabled residents. We aim to build lasting working relationships that support statutory bodies to embed true co-production within the decision-making processes, adopt an inclusive approach, and strengthen the voices for all disabled residents. RUF provides information to disabled people to help them access services, entitlement and opportunities; training and support for disabled people; and represents the views, needs and interest of disabled people. We want improved service provision that better supports disabled residents to fulfil their potential, to be treated with dignity and respect. We want to remove societal barriers and improve attitudes and working cultures that support and promote inclusion, where disabled resident’s rights are upheld, eliminating all forms of racism, inequality, and discrimination within Newham. ## The first Trustees of Residents United Forum are: |**Name**|**Organisation**|**Date to stand for re-election as a trustee.**| |---|---|---| |Sandra Amoah|ASK User-led Mental Health Group|17 November 2027| |Sarifa Patel|Disability Reps Forum|17 November 2027| |Yamoundow Nije|Newham Parent Carer Forum|17 November 2025| |Christine Dolyak|Disability Reps Forum|17 November 2026| |Prabhudas Tanna|Senior Learning Disability Group|17 November 2025| ## **What we have been doing** This report says what RUF has been doing in the year since our last report and covers the period 18 November 2023 to 30 November 2024. We did not receive any new grants or donations during this period. We have been working to deliver the projects that we received grant funding for during the previous year. We continue to work on the steps on our ladder to build our organisation. When we complete a step on the ladder we colour it green. In the year covered by this report we succeeded in: - Opening a bank account - Applying for more grants – we are waiting to hear whether we have been awarded more funding - Setting up digital storage of our documents and records on a system called Trello ## **What we achieved** We completed our project Hidden Voices which was funded by Greater London Authority Building Stronger Communities. The focus of this project was to create changes in the way disabled people are heard and listened to. We were aiming for change where: - Disabled people are empowered and not discriminated against - Disabled people’s voices are heard, listened to and acted upon - Disabled people are valued, and treated with respect and dignity - Newham is an inclusive and accessible borough for all. We held workshops on four topics which are really important to disabled people and carers in Newham: Adult Social Care Charging; SEND Educational Needs; Male Carers; and Housing Issues. We invited disabled people and carers from across Newham to these events, to listen to their experiences and concerns. We captured their experience and the changes they want to see in our second published report. This report is our second “Call to Action” which we are sharing with decisionmakers and people who hold power across Newham. As part of our next project “Hidden Voices” we have trained 21 disabled people and their carers in Newham to be able to advocate for their rights and for support to meet their needs. The training is aimed at empowering disabled people and their carers to identify their own needs and maintain choice, control and independence in their lives through advocacy. **Our inclusive approach to disability** When talking about Disabled People we include people with: physical impairments, sensory impairments, mental distress or mental health issues, people with learning difficulties or learning disabilities, people with long term health conditions and hidden impairments, people living with HIV or AIDs and people who use or have used drug or alcohol services. We also include disabled people of all ages, including disabled children, disabled young people and disabled parents. **Our first AGM as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation** On the 16[th] February 2024 we held our first Annual General Meeting (AGM) at Plaistow Fire Station who kindly allow us to use their community room free of charge. At the AGM we celebrated our first birthday as an “official” organisation. The AGM was very well attended by people experiencing a wide range of disabilities and was also attended by the Director of Newham Council Adult Social Care. ## **Next Steps** We took a break for 6 months during the summer of 2024 due to personal circumstances of Trustees, but we have commenced activity in the winter of 2024. We are busy applying for grants and will be seeking help in early 2025 to recruit additional trustees. We plan to carry on working on the steps on our ladder, continuing to build the capacity, reputation and profile of the organisation. We have funding to purchase our own website address and are looking at options to buy in accessibility support to increase our capacity to deliver our ambitions. **The money we have received and spent** The money that RUF has received as grants and donations is being held by another charity on our behalf – One Newham. Now we have successfully opened our own bank account, we are arranging with One Newham to transfer the funds they are holding for us to our own bank account. We did not receive any new income during the year. We have been spending the grants we received in the previous year. We are committed to spend £1,150.00 of the funds we are carrying forward to next year on specific items of expenditure to complete our grant commitments, such as printing our Hidden Voices report. We did not spend all of the £10,000 grant awarded to us by the GLA for our Hidden Voices project. The GLA had already paid us (via One Newham) £9,000 of the grant but have confirmed they will not pay then remaining £1,000 instalment. |**Income**|Nov 2023|Nov 2024| |---|---|---| |Roots Incubator Grant|£5,000|£0| |Westfield Community Fund–2 Grants|£1,000|£0| |Building Stronger Communities Grant|£10,000|£0| |Donations from a Trustee|£130|£0| |**Total Income**|**£16,130**|**£0**| |||| |**Expenditure**||| |Roots Incubator Fund – cost of research report,
meeting expenses, accessibility support and support
from Inclusion London|£3,852.96|£0| |Fee for support with Charity Registration|£500|£0| |Building Stronger Community Fund Hidden Voices
Project – for help with public advocacy training for
disabled people, events and meetings and promoting
events|£5,786.32|£1,909.15| |**Total Expenditure**|**£10,139.28**|**£1,909.15**| |||| |**Net**|
**£5,990.72**|**-£1,909.15**| |||| |**Money carried forward from last year:**|£0|£5,990.72| |**Adjustment to GLA grant final instalment not**
**being paid to RUF:**|£0|-£1,000.00| |**Money carried forward to next year:**|**£5,990.72**|**£3,081.57**| |||| We are very grateful to the Greater London Authority for their help, guidance and support through as we delivered the projects funded through our first grants. **Contact us: 07904 285020** **Our website www.ruf.org.uk/** **Our Address** c/o One Newham, Community Links 105 BARKING ROAD, LONDON, E16 4HQ **Our email address ruf123.info@gmail.com** **These accounts and report were approved at our AGM on 21[st] February 2025.**