2022-12-31-accounts

ightwatch Annual Report 2023K* ThiQuEqn'sAwird

Contents

The Nightwatch Philosophy	3	Kids at Nightwatch	13
Chair’s Report	4	Donations	14
30 Years of Nightwatch	5	Treasurer’s Report	16
Resettlement Report	9	Independent Examiner's Report
		to the Trustees of Nightwatch	18
Committee Members	9
		Accounts	19
Numbers We Serve 2022	10
		Information for Volunteers	22
Hardship Fund	10
		Nightwatch - Legal Information	25
Our Thanks to	11
		A Busy Nightwatch Night	26
Nightwatch Award Winners	12
		Useful Numbers	28

The Nightwatch Philosophy

hostels and so on. We address people’s own wishes, working with them to encourage independent living and refurnish new accommodation.

Nightwatch is a charity founded by members of the community in Croydon who were concerned about homelessness. We believe in local solutions for local problems.

Still entirely voluntary, we have been running for more than forty years, adapting to new conditions and applying ourselves to the challenges of homelessness in today’s Britain. Our core activity is a meeting point that is staffed every evening where we give basic help with food and clothing and address more profound needs.

We help people who are street homeless, in squats and other inadequate accommodation, in hostels, in bed and breakfast accommodation, and those who are housed but still need support to help prevent them from again becoming homeless.

Our philosophy is that we treat homelessness as a fluid rather than a steady state – people in need are constantly moving through the system: getting out at the top (becoming housed and needing no further help) or falling off the bottom (becoming street homeless). Our objective is to try to keep people’s motion upwards, so our intervention is tailored to individual needs and aspirations. We assist some people out of street homelessness, others out of

For former homeless people who wish to keep in touch with us, we can help with expensive items such as cookers and fridges, which are beyond their means but without which life is squalid and unpleasant. By maintaining such contact, we help to prevent future homelessness.

Where appropriate, we supply materials to help in re-entering education such as books or travel cards; and we supply appropriate clothing (such as working boots) for people looking for work.

The clients we see have a variety of backgrounds but often have institutional life in common – they have been in children’s homes, psychiatric care or the armed forces, and a number are ex-offenders. Significant problems frequently seen are mental health, drugs, alcohol and marital break-up. It is an important part of our work that we treat all people as individuals and tailor our advice and assistance to their needs. People cannot receive advanced levels of help unless they are willing to address their problems, but everyone gets some help appropriate to their level, with the promise of more as they progress towards independent living.

This work is time consuming and labour intensive, we are the largest volunteer organisation in our borough and we are at work every day of the year.

Nightwatch Annual Report 2022 3

Chair’s Report

The big news this year was our receipt of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, said to be the MBE of community volunteering, which is an honour for all those who contribute to Nightwatch.

We were also put forward this year for the Faith and Belief Community Award which recognises our contributions across the different faiths in Croydon. There is more about these awards on pages 12 and 13.

The challenge of 2022-3 has been our location, a matter which has been under discussion since 2011 when the redevelopment of the Queen’s Gardens started. We went to meetings where we were assured by the designers of the gardens and the developers that there would be a place for us in the new Queen’s Gardens. As the development proceeded the gardens were boarded off and we worked under the canopy of Bernard Weatherill House. When the hoardings came down it was clear the new gardens, with large play areas and a part of the land taken by new build housing, was no longer right for our service, there wasn’t a place for us. To add to our problems, the council wanted to let part of their property and didn’t want us to be in front of their building when they were trying to attract tenants. We had discussions with deputy mayor Cllr Lynne Hale and council officers about where we might be if we weren’t there but the council did not come up with any solutions. We have been working further down the road, within sight of the council buildings and the gardens, to maintain continuity and ease of access.

The last night at Bernard Weatherill House for the Tuesday team.

----- Start of picture text -----
The queue at Bernard Weatherill House
----- End of picture text -----

4 Nightwatch Annual Report 2022

30 Years of Nightwatch

Since 2022 was the 30th year I have been Chair of Nightwatch I thought I would share some of the highlights of the last three decades.

When I took over after an Annual General Meeting in 1992, volunteer teams went out on three nights of the week. Nightwatch had developed quickly after its founding in the parish church in 1976 and sixteen years later had four hostels, the running of which took a great deal of effort. The old committee wanted to move on to new things and changes to the law relating to Houses in Multiple Occupation made it difficult for small charities to run hostels. We decided to give them to the Croydon Churches Housing Association as an organisation better able to deal with property.

As the new chair, I saw that there was a continued need for street-level work in homelessness in Croydon, and I resolved to have teams going out every night. For that we needed more volunteers, a bigger premises, more food and more money; 1992-3 was spent addressing these challenges.

Our new premises was supplied by a church which made a large space available on condition we did not advertise we were working from there; it has been a blessing. We went out six days a week in 1992 and seven in 1993; since then we have been out every night of the year. We reckon that we have served a third of a million meals. There were difficulties in the first year with maintaining volunteer numbers, on one night I did the run on my own, though there were fewer clients then.

In the 1993 report I wrote ‘The number of people we have been seeing has been creeping up this year from an average of 10 in 1992 to an average of 15 at the end of 1993.’ In 1994 we recorded the highest number of people yet, at 40. They were mainly men with 5-10% women. At this time

we were spending £4000 a year, a very low cost for a daily service.

By 1996 we had more than 70 active volunteers and were spending some £12,000. The clients were changing, we were seeing many people who lived in hostels and had been there for years. World events also impinged on our little community in Queen’s Gardens. No sooner had we said goodbye to the young man from Belgrade in former Yugoslavia than we were looking after refugees from the war in Chechnya and people fleeing from wars in the Horn of Africa.

Resettlement

It became clear to us that the problems of homelessness did not stop once people had somewhere to live. A new tenant of a council or housing association property was given a key and a tenancy agreement but had no furniture or anything resembling a home. Clients found problems in coming to terms with life in accommodation where they had the challenge of bills, redecorating and cleaning which could be overwhelming. Renewed homelessness after being given accommodation was far from unknown.

In response we set up a team to help people in new accommodation, in a scheme called ‘Settling In’ which we launched in 1996 supported by the Tudor Trust and City Parochial Fund. Volunteers purchased furniture and household items and made sure newly accommodated clients were comfortable and able to cope. In 1998 we started receiving funding from the National Lottery for resettlement which meant much more resettlement, at a higher level, but also more monitoring and management jargon to learn. I reported in the 2001 annual report ‘We are plagued by an obsession with statistics and measurement past the point at which measurement is reasonable, and long past the point where diminishing returns have set in and the time and effort involved in measuring detracts from the main work of the organisation.’

5

Nightwatch Annual Report 2022

At the end of the century the volunteer co-ordinator’s report shows we had 100 volunteers, some doing nightly food distribution, others making sandwiches, buying clothing and doing other tasks for Nightwatch. For the 25th anniversary in 2001 we issued a special annual report with a historical section titled 25 Years of Caring. We received a Millennium award which allowed us to revamp the image of the charity, with a new logo and stationery, for the first time supplementing blue (which we had always used) with mustard for the moon on the Nightwatch logo which we had designed for us. We soon entered the 21st century in earnest with a website.

New Arrivals

By 2004 we were reporting on large numbers of asylum seekers and hostel dwellers coming to the service. Both of these were related to national problems: the emergence of people smuggling as a major crime, and the shortage of move-on accommodation so people who were in hostels stayed in them for years.

We produced leaflets in Arabic to explain we are voluntary and not the government with unlimited resources and applied to Lloyds/TSB for a grant specifically for clothes for asylum seekers. Government crack-downs on people smuggling reduced numbers.

We had been seeing eastern Europeans from 2002 but the accession of east European states to the EU in 2006 and 2010 increased the number of east Europeans to a third of our client group. We were dealing with a second wave of immigrants from EU who did not have the work or language skills or contacts to thrive in the UK. We responded with Polish leaflets, work clothing such as steel toe-capped boots, and referred them to organisations like Routes Home which would help them to return if they could not find work.

In one of our worst experiences, on 17 September 2004 I was woken by a call from the police to say two homeless people had been attacked the previous night, one in the gardens. One 65 year old man was left dead, another had life-changing injuries. We gave every assistance to the police who within days arrested a 20 year old man from Andover, Hampshire. At his trial in 2005 it emerged he had committed five attacks on homeless people in the same week. No reason was given for his behaviour; he was given two life sentences.

We began to be more involved with London-wide and national organisations, joining the Soup Run Forum and Housing Justice which were umbrella organisations. We notably contributed to resisting the attempt to ban soup runs in Westminster which we saw as an early attack that would be followed by an assault on similar services all over the country.

6 Nightwatch Annual Report 2022

When rioting took place in Croydon in August 2011, a Nightwatch team was out as usual. Arson associated with the riots meant some 100 households were displaced and scores of people were made homeless. Nightwatch volunteers are skilled in dealing with crisis homelessness and saw to immediate needs: bedding, cooking and tableware for homeless individuals and families. Croydon council found accommodation and we furnished the properties of the 11 individuals and families whose cases we were allocated. We received the 2012 Voluntary Group of the Year award at the Croydon Community Civic Awards, for ‘a local group leading the way in volunteering.’ I received the Team London Peace Award from the London Mayor for restoration work after the riots. To add to the list: volunteer Bob Sleight got a lifetime achievement award in 2015 and Sally Bruce was Volunteer of the Year in 2014. The year 2012 saw us contributing to the Croydon Food Network when the period of heavy food bank use was starting up, by 2013 we were seeing 80 people on a Sunday with 50-60 on a weekday.

We had a public dispute in 2013 when the local police commander claimed we were connected to anti-social behaviour but when this was questioned it was conceded that our service was disciplined and organised. It was then claimed that our clients were committing anti-social behaviour somewhere else and we were, in the terms of advanced police jargon, an ‘anti-social behaviour generator’. It was proposed to ban us from using the Queen’s Gardens, a notion we said was immoral, politically inept and open to legal challenge. The council refused to back the police proposal and it was ‘shelved’. Our argument had been with the police at policy level and did not affect our good relations with working police officers who continued to refer people to us and come to us for advice.

Money worries

In the second decade of the 21st century we were in financial difficulties. Council cuts meant they had stopped the small grant they were giving us, along with those for 40 0ther community groups. Over a short period of time the financial crash meant large funding bodies like the Wates Foundation stopped giving grants and the Lottery money we had been receiving for eight years ran out. A further application to the Lottery failed, perhaps because the financial crisis meant many other groups were competing for grants, including sporting bodies which were looking towards the 2012 Olympics. For all these reasons, we had problems and had to suspend some of our services.

I felt we should up our profile, look for new funding opportunities and in particular start regarding Croydon businesses as part of the local community to which we could appeal for support and volunteers. We took part in the Croydon Business Excellence Awards (Charity or social enterprise category), allowing us to meet business leaders. We were commended at the awards in 2016 and won in 2017.

For our 40th anniversary in 2016 we staged a conference on the theme ‘Help Meet the Challenge of Homelessness’. The Lord Lieutenant of Greater London Kenneth Olisa came to address the conference, as did the Local Government Minister for Housing Marcus Jones. Our annual report this year was the first in colour as we wanted to showcase our activities.

Nightwatch Annual Report 2022 7

Wednesday night’s team with the civic Mayor Cllr Alisa Flemming

Marcus Jones MP Local Government Minister

Within a few years, by 2020, the policy of raising our profile had paid off with income of £70,000 and reserves in excess of £100,000; we were ready to face anything. This was just as well because the world had to face the Covid crisis and we did our bit in our small corner of it. Memories of this are recent, so to be brief: volunteers were stepping down because they were self-isolating or looking after someone who was; we were unable to get food supplies from our usual supermarkets whose shelves were bare and almost all services for homeless people in Croydon had closed, leaving us with double the usual number of clients. We organised food from a retail supplier who would have been supplying restaurants which were now closed, and from Simply Lunch; we put out an appeal for help for young people to take over the evening service temporarily, and we organised the clients with social distancing, chalk lines on the pavement, masks and sanitisers. We pulled through Covid and the civic mayor held a reception for us where those who had served during the epidemic received a Covid 19 Nightwatch badge.

By the end of 2022 we were as healthy as we had ever been, with a good income and dedicated volunteers, thoroughly deserving a national award for their work.

Jad Adams

8 Nightwatch Annual Report 2022

Resettlement Report

We make full resettlements for former homeless people in new accommodation which means substantial amounts of furniture including cookers, beds and fridges.

This totalled 25 resettlements in 2022, lower than the 34 in 2021 which reflects the continuing shortage of low-cost housing to which our clients could move on. The continuing effect of disruption from Covid is also evident, as is the continuing problems caused by the council’s financial situation which results in underfunding and staff posts left unfilled. The total resettlement bill in 2022 was £17,205 compared to £20,073 in 2021.

Of the resettlements, seven were female, making 28 per cent. Normally a third of cases are women. While still outnumbered by men needing help, the percentage of women coming to our meeting place has been going up. We used to talk confidently of women making up 10 per cent of our client base, now it is nearer to 20. On December 18 when we did a count (on the very busy pre-Christmas night) we saw 106 men and 24 women, so 22 per cent.

We give £50 vouchers for B&Q for people who are in new accommodation and need paint, brushes, paper etc so they can decorate it.

We also made 116 deliveries of ‘small’ items short of full resettlements. This compares with 89 last year. These are required because, for example, if a client’s fridge or cooker stops working, they cannot afford the repair or replacement, and we can help out. Former clients often come to see us even though they have been settled for a long time, requesting help with high-cost household goods like this.

We work mainly with the recycling charity Emmaus who receive donations of unwanted furniture from members of the public; they store and recondition it and deliver it to our clients as we request them to do. Their contact details are on the back of this report booklet. We paid them a total of £11,474 which is comparable to last year (£11,528).

Work related expenditure totalled £979, significantly lower than the £11,887 in 2021, due to post-Brexit changes in the labour force (most of the people accessing work clothing were East Europeans).

We supplied two reconditioned laptops and would have supplied more but devices are difficult to obtain. We increased our supply of microwaves as they are the most economical mode of cooking. We gave out 16 charged mobile phones so people could keep in contact with us, with Streetlink, the council and other services which can help them.

Committee Members

Please use emails to contact committee members for non-urgent communications

Chair

Jad Adams 020 8699 6718 [e-mail]

Secretary

Nicky Edwards 07828 144645 [e-mail]

Treasurer

Roger Davies 07749 007094 [e-mail]

Volunteer Co-ordinator

Ayesha Sharma until July 2023 then Fiona Satiro 07867 491 978 [e-mail]

Fundraising officers

Cindee Low 07403 456756 [e-mail]

Nana Acquah 020 8405 8712 [e-mail]

Committee member

We also help clients with vocational support such as 60 pairs of steel-toecapped working boots and working trousers for people doing heavy work. Other vocational support included hedge trimming tools.

Tony Packwood [e-mail]

9

Nightwatch Annual Report 2022

Numbers We Serve 2022

In 2022 there was as average of 77 people on Sunday night which was equalled by Thursday night. Consequently, the estimated total contacts we served throughout 2022 was a record at 22,000 compared to 15,000 in 2021. Over the last 10 years, its estimated that there were 170,000 servings made to people expressing need in Croydon.

----- Start of picture text -----
25,000
Roger Davies
20,000
15,000
Nightwatch
Total contacts
10,000
5,000
1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
----- End of picture text -----

Hardship Fund

Figures rounded for clarity. In 2022 the Fund distributed £22,800 compared to £15,000 in 2021.

The largest amount was again service charge debts accumulated in hostels and supported accommodation. Since 2019 the Fund has given £74,000 which has included £43,000 for service charges.

2022 saw a large increase in the provision of fuel vouchers for customers to top up payment cards for utility payments (£3,100).

The payments ranged from the provision of Christmas presents for children to rent arrears. Emergency accommodation was incurred when people had arrived at Nightwatch with completely homeless, one a family with a child.

Roger Davies

----- Start of picture text -----
No Reason Amount
16 Service Charge 12,552.52
96 Fuel Vouchers 3,127.80
3 Rent Arrears 2,844.18
3 Utility Bill 1,810.82
1 Council Tax 1,427.94
1 Training Course 390.00
2 Emergency Accommodation 295.00
2 Presents 160.00
1 Furniture 150.00
1 Removal costs 57.00
110 Total 22,815.31
Average Payment 207.41
----- End of picture text -----

10 Nightwatch Annual Report 2022

Our Thanks to COVEKSLJIIE 00 access INSURANCE Aegys Smart SmdrL Care For￿1 ameyl Qethical eth5TII fsb Insurance SeThice 4.N.D GLEMNET COthIUtr4CATK)NSFORWSIÈSS ()111(r QMMUt4lTYr Ta¥$ iusl Iwtil GREGGS 1 sll"¢ets alicad London ¢ Catalyst [1 B LONGLEY TESCO The Midcounlies Cthop& TLDallas BARRATT PEVIIQPMKNT¥ Mlecz Towergate Riskline orbit ca Priscilla's Teo Room Café & Bakery WILLMOTT DIXON SINCF 1B5-. Nlghtwatch Annual Report 2022 11

Nightwatch Award Winners

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service is the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK and is equivalent to an MBE. It aims to recognise outstanding work by local volunteer groups to benefit their communities.

Chair Jad Adams and Treasurer Roger Davies went to the Tower of London to receive the award from Sir Kenneth Olisa, the LordLieutenant of Greater London.

We hired a burger van to share a celebration of the QAVS with the clients.

Nicky and Sally Bruce represented us when Nightwatch was invited to a Buckingham Palace garden party.

12

Nightwatch Annual Report 2022

FAITH AND BELIEF COMMUNITY AWARDS

Nightwatch was nominated for the 2022 Faith and Belief Community Awards which reward community groups, demonstrating how Londoners from all faiths and beliefs can work together for a fairer and more inclusive city. We are a secular organisation but we are notable for bringing together individuals and groups from all the major faiths to help the homeless and vulnerable in Croydon.

Kids at Nightwatch

----- Start of picture text -----
Local children help packing Christmas
presents for the clients
----- End of picture text -----

Nicky Edwards and Cindee Low received the award from Sir Kenneth Olisa at a ceremony in Westminster Abbey.

Children come and help us in the hall when there is a lot to do. They don’t have any contact with clients.

13

Nightwatch Annual Report 2022

----- Start of picture text -----
14 Nightwatch Annual Report 2022
Chris shows part of a donation from Croydon College
Pirate Productions again kindly donated the proceeds of their panto to Nightwatch
Children from Fairchildes volunteering for Nightwatch A colourful cake donation from Merridian High School in New Addington
----- End of picture text -----

Carmel cuts a cake donated for the Royal Jubilee

Donations

Hot food on Thursday night courtesy of Nutan, Rita, Achintya and Tarun

15

Nightwatch Annual Report 2022

Treasurer’s Report

The chart shows a full range of receipts, expenditure and reserves over the last 13 years. The expenditure in 2022 illustrates the improved service that occurred during and since Covid. In comparison to 2018 total expenditure increased from £48,287 to £91,217. The spend on food preparation increased from £10,850 to £28,550 as a result of providing addition snacks each

night and larger food bags. The provision of toiletries and sleeping bags increased from £1,911 to £5,876. The major change was the introduction of the Hardship Fund with a spend of £22,746. The other factor is the increase in the number of contacts from 15,000 to 22,000 per year.

Yearly Financial Figures

----- Start of picture text -----
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Receipts
Donations 15,400 10,000 25,200 43,000 25,000 42,400 46,650 74,000 63,928 50,101 92,684 30,133 61,453
Virgin Money 10,733 14,223 26,263 34,543 19,825
Lottery/Gift Aid 33,000 27,000 1,281 747 482 1,484 373
Grants 17,700 31,000 20,200 16,200 16,200 6,000 2,000 4,700 13,100 0
Interest 336 468 258 12 790
Total Receipts 66,100 68,000 45,400 59,200 41,200 48,400 46,650 74,000 78,278 70,240 132,786 66,173 82,440
Expediture
Food and Preparation 1,000 2,100 1,800 9,400 9,300 9,250 10,500 9,350 10,850 15,122 11,310 16.683 28,550
Clothing 3,600 2,500 3,300 4,300 4,800 4,700 3,800 3,400 2,527 1,960 4,219 6,116 5,856
Training 2,300 850 1,900 1,700 2,300 14 46
Toiletries/Sleeping Bags 300 200 2,200 2,450 1,900 1,100 1,911 2,280 2,606 3,934 5,876
Gifts/Donations 1,700 800 2,000 1,800 1,900 1,600 1,700 2,236 2,749 5,380 3,489 2,885
Hardship Fund 10,466 18,331 15,178 22,746
Resettlement 41,500 26,100 14,700 17,800 13,800 29,800 27,500 8,500 23,803 26,744 14,230 20,073 17,205
Total Clients 50,400 32,350 19,800 35,600 33,600 50,400 45,300 24,050 41,327 59,320 56,091 65,471 83,165
Core Costs
Office/Premises 5,400 7,200 4,900 4,700 3,500 2,800 2,650 3,350 3,932 3,504 3,420 4,158 5,462
Rent 2,000 2,600 3,800
Insurance 1,400 1,400 1,350 1,300 1,400 1,350 1,400 1,450 1,256 1,276 1,276 1,204 1,198
Audit 800 700 700 850 750 750 650 600 625 605 660 851 660
Total Core Costs 9,600 11,900 10,750 6,850 5,650 4,900 4,700 5,400 5,814 5,384 5,356 6,212 7,320
Operational Costs 60,000 44,250 30,550 42,450 39,250 55,300 50,000 29,450 47,140 64,704 61,447 71,687 90,484
Net 6,100 23,750 14,850 16,750 1,950 -6,900 -3,350 44,550 31,138 5,536 71,339 -5,514 -8,044
Capital/Special 7,800 1,000 11,000 1,686 1,445 1,045 973 732
Covid 19 56,173 17,031
Total Expenditure 60,000 52,050 31,550 42,450 39,250 55,300 61,000 29,450 48,827 66,148 118,664 89,690 91,219
Balance 6,100 15,950 13,850 16,750 1,950 -6,900 -14,350 44,550 29,451 4,091 14,121 -23,518 -8,779
Total Reserves 14,282 30,232 44,082 60,832 62,782 55,882 41,532 86,082 115,533 119,721 133,842 110,325 101,546
COIF 42,017 17,173 72,261 92,598 98,163 108,421 88,432 74,222
HSBC 14,282 30,232 44,082 60,832 62,782 13,865 24,359 13,821 22,936 21,559 25,422 21,892 27,324
----- End of picture text -----

16 Nightwatch Annual Report 2022

The following reviews include figures that have been rounded for clarity.

Total Receipts

Income

Income was a record at £82,400 (ignoring the major Covid year 2020) and compares to £66,200 in 2021. Major donations were from Croydon Churches £3,000: AP Croydon Council £7,000; George GoodSir Charitable Trust £5,000; Legacy from the Day family £8,386; Waitrose £2143 and Zurich Community Trust £17,333. Contributions from individuals via JustGiving amounted to £19,800.

Expenditure

Expenditure was another record (ignoring Covid again) at £91,200 compared to £89,700 in 2021. Food preparation increased from £16,900 to £28,600 reflecting the increase in numbers, even though the Floating Churches supplied sandwiches each night in the winter months. Payments from the Hardship Fund increased from £15,200 to £22,750 partly due to the provision of 96 Fuel Vouchers worth £3,000 during the later months. 91% of the expenditure went to client services, 8% to core costs (insurance, audit etc) and 1% to capital.

----- Start of picture text -----
140,000
130,000
120,000
110,000
100,000
90,000
80,000
70,000
60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
----- End of picture text -----

Total Expenditure

----- Start of picture text -----
140,000
130,000
120,000
110,000
100,000
90,000
80,000
70,000
60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
----- End of picture text -----

Total Reserves

Reserves

With a income of £82,440 and a total spend of £91,217 the reserves reduced by £8,777 to £101,546. This is still a robust financial position. However it is intended to reduce the reserves to 9 months expenditure by continuing with the Hardship fund.

Roger Davies

----- Start of picture text -----
140,000
120,000
100,000
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
----- End of picture text -----

17

Nightwatch Annual Report 2022

Independent Examiner's Report To the Trustees of Nightwatch

I report on the accounts and notes to the accounts for Nightwatch, Charity number 274925, for the year ended 31st December 2022. These accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The trustees of the charity are responsible for the preparation of accounts; they consider that the audit requirement under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act), does not apply. It is my responsibility to:

• examine the accounts under Section 145 of the 2011 Act.

• follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners made under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

• state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent examiner’s report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner’s statement

Based on my examination, no matter has come to my attention which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect, accounting records have not been kept in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act, or that the accounts presented do not accord with those records, or comply with the accounting requirement of the 2011 Act. No matter has come to my attention in connection with my examination to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Carol Thomson ACA ICAEW 124 RANBY ROAD SHEFFIELD S11 7AL Date: 13th March 2023

18 Nightwatch Annual Report 2022

Nightwatch

RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT

For the year ended 31st December 2022

	Notes	Unrestricted	Restricted	2022	2021
Receipts		General	Funds		£
Voluntary receipts
Grants and gifts received		81,650	-	81,650	64,676
Tax refunds under Gift Aid			-	0	1,484
Other receipts
Interest received		790	-	790	12
Total Receipts		82,440	-	82,440	66,173
Payments
Payments in furtherance of the charity's		objectives
Direct costs	2a	83,899	0	83,899	82,505
Overheads
Indirect Costs	2b	7,320	0	7,320	7,185
Total Payments		91,219	-	91,219	89,690
Net Receipts/(Payments)		(8,779)	0	(8,779)	(23,517)
before transfers
Transfers between funds		-	-	-	-
Net Movement in Funds		(8,779)	0	(8,779)	(23,517)
Balances B'fwd		110,325	-	110,325	133,842
Balances C'fwd		101,546	0	101,546	110,325

The notes on pages 21 form part of these accounts.

19

Nightwatch Annual Report 2022

Nightwatch

STATEMENT OF ASSETS & LIABILITIES

For the year ended 31st December 2022

1. Fixed Assets

Nightwatch has no fixed assets.

The charity has use of the premises at the Quaker Meeting house in Croydon, for preparation of food.

2. Bank & Cash Balances

Cash Balances Note HSBC COIF Assets & Liabilities Assets Gift aid tax recovery not yet received Liabilities Unbilled fee for Independent Examination	2022 2021 £ 27,324 21,893 74,222 88,432
	101,546 110,325
	2022 2021 £ - - 690 660
	660 660

3. Other Assets & Liabilities

The accounts were approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf on 17th May 2023 by Jad Adams

Signed

20 Nightwatch Annual Report 2022

Nightwatch

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

For the year ended 31st December 2022

1. Accounting Policies

The accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis with a statement of assets and liabilities.

2a. Direct costs Food, distribution and preparation Clothing Client Training Special Needs i.e Toiletries Gifts Resettlement Hardship Fund Covid 19 Relief 2b. Indirect costs Equipment General Administration Insurance Independent examination	General Restricted Total Total Funds Funds 2022 2021 £ £ £ £ 28,550 - 28,550 16,683 5,856 - 5,856 6,116 46 - 46 0 5,876 - 5,876 3,934 2,885 - 2,885 3,489 17,205 - 17,205 20,073 22,746 - 22,746 15,178 735 - 735 17,031
	83,899 - 83,899 82,505
	- - 973 5,462 - 5,462 4,368 1,198 - 1,198 1,204 660 - 660 641
	7,320 - 7,320 7,185

3. Employees

There were no employees during the year.

Amounts paid to trustees relate to reimbursement of expenses only. No trustees is remunerated for trustee services.

21

Nightwatch Annual Report 2022

Information for Volunteers

Nightly Teams

Volunteers go out in teams every evening. You should have contact details of other volunteers on your team. Volunteers decide themselves how they handle the work. Some go out and also make sandwiches to take; others collect sandwiches from volunteer sandwich makers; others collect from shops that give us unsold food. Some teams take out more elaborate food than soup and sandwiches. Whatever you wish to do, claim the cost from our treasurer unless we have supplies in the hall (e.g. sandwich fillings).

If anything prevents your usual routine (very bad weather, for example, stranding some volunteers in the south of the borough) buy ready made-up food from whatever shop is available: a garage, supermarket or fast-food outlet. Get a receipt and claim the cost. Maintenance of supply is more important than cost.

There should always be at least one man in a group. There should be a person designated as group leader (normally the most experienced person) to whom members should speak if they are unable to go out on a night. The group leader should try to find a replacement if necessary.

A volunteer should also talk to the group leader if they wish to stop volunteering for Nightwatch. The group leader will tell the volunteer co-ordinator. It is important that the volunteer co-ordinator always has a picture of the way each night is working. We do not want to be in the situation where a couple of people leave from one night and the first the volunteer co-ordinator hears about it is when there is a crisis and the night is completely uncovered.

Our volunteers have to be over 18, confident and levelheaded. The age limit is to prevent teenagers from being exposed to experiences for which they are not yet emotionally equipped.

It is advised that all who come into contact with people who fit our client group profile should have Hepatitis B inoculation. You can get this from your GP who should not charge as you are ‘at risk’ but if you are charged, claim from Nightwatch. The injection is not one of the most unpleasant ones but it does have to be boosted twice in the first year to give full protection.

In the Kitchen

Remember we are running a catering operation and the highest standards of food hygiene must be maintained. Please keep the kitchen clean and respect the needs of other users. Drain unused soup in a strainer and throw it in a bin (solids block the sink or toilet). When rubbish bags are full, throw them out in the big green rubbish bin outside. Recycle tins in the separate bin.

If we need things such as dishcloths or bags, just buy them, keep a receipt and claim the cost. In general, you can always buy things you need for our work such as torches. If you are in any doubt as to the appropriateness of anything you want to get, speak to the treasurer.

Anything placed in the fridges must be labelled with the date. Treat unlabelled food as out of date and throw it away. Remember that our clients sometimes take away food to eat for breakfast so the food you give them must have sufficient shelf-life to stay unrefrigerated until the next day.

Reports

Note on the daily log which volunteers were out and which clients we have seen (where you know the names). Note anything unusual which will help following evening: tension, arguments between clients, unexpected behaviour. Note the total number of people. Team leaders often also post reports on WhatsApp.

You may take clothing requests but do not under any circumstances assure people that the things they ask for will be provided by the team on the following Sunday. Any requests you make will not be seen by Sally and the clothing team until Sunday, then won’t be bought till the following week and won’t be supplied until, at the soonest, the next Sunday.

Where people are sleeping out and obviously in dire need, by all means supply them with sleeping bags or blankets from the store but note that you have done so.

Parking Permits

We have three parking permits which allow us to park in Fell Road (and nowhere else). If you want to take one, please return it to the log book when you return to the hall. We have had difficulties with people taking permits away and not returning them, to the considerable inconvenience of other volunteers.

We have public liability insurance.

22 Nightwatch Annual Report 2022

At the service area

Always stay within sight of other volunteers. You may need to speak confidentially to a client but do not go far from the main body of volunteers.

Ideally, one person at least should have a mobile phone with them. Threats against volunteers are very rare, but if made should result in withdrawal and then evacuation of the site if you feel unsafe. Incidents of serious violence should be reported to the police immediately. Volunteers should not carry any cash with them when in the service area and if clients ask, they should be made aware of this policy.

More common is argument between clients in which volunteers are not involved, but the same principle applies: neither we nor the clients should have to be in a violent situation. Other clients will often try to calm a situation down if there is an argument. Stand aside and let them do it, they are probably more experienced at this than you. Do not get involved and try to settle a dispute rationally – it probably isn’t about anything accessible to reason.

If there is trouble down in the service area, make it clear you cannot work in these conditions and you will have to withdraw. If trouble persists, withdraw and if there is no improvement, leave.

In general: always leave the service area together. Never leave one person talking with a client while the body of volunteers goes back to the hall. Do not be alone with clients unless in a controlled environment. This is partly because of the fear of unpredictable behaviour, but also because many of our clients could reasonably be described as ‘vulnerable adults’ and public authorities insist that we should take steps to ensure the clients cannot come into danger from volunteers.

Hardship Fund

We operate a Hardship Fund which is intended to provide one off hardship payments that will overcome a short-term financial problem and relieve the receiver of immediate worry. Please just send the name and contact details of the applicant to the Treasurer who will review the position and gain approval for payment from the other Trustees.

Children

Volunteers must not deal with children directly. There are public policies of screening volunteers and protecting the safety of children with which we do not comply. As we almost never see children alone, it has not proved necessary for us to adopt the cumbersome procedures necessary for organisations which do. The needs of our clients’ children should be addressed via their parents.

Obviously this rule must be interpreted in terms of common sense and charitable behaviour: occasionally we see child runaways in the service area who should be spoken to with appropriate concern.

Equality Statement

Nightwatch is committed to serving the homeless community of Croydon. Our services are available to all regardless of gender, racial origin, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability or mental state. The sole qualification to be in receipt of help from Nightwatch is to be present at the service area at 9.30pm expressing need.

Our volunteers are drawn from the community of Croydon and are accepted on the basis of their willingness and ability to make a long term commitment to the needs of the homeless. No other consideration is taken into account.

Resettlement

Resettlement volunteers organise furniture deliveries from Emmaus which is a charity that recycles furniture. Home visits sometimes do take place but you must be careful: whenever you are visiting a client at home make sure you write down the address and leave it with someone you know. Visits should be brief. Women volunteers should not be alone with male clients in their flats, and everyone should act with caution.

23

Nightwatch Annual Report 2022

The Committee

The committee oversees resources and the interpretation of policy which is set by the Annual General Meeting that takes place in summer. It consists of a chair, secretary, treasurer, volunteer co-ordinator, fundraiser and an administrator. Committee members are happy to help, so feel free to contact them but everyone is a volunteer so time is limited. If you have problems which you can sort out yourself, please do so. For example, if volunteers expect to be short on a particular night, try to sort the problem out before asking the volunteer co-ordinator’s help.

Current voluntary organisation practice urges us to have a grievance procedure. Anyone with a complaint should take it up with their team leader. If resolution is not easily possible (or the team leader is the person complained of) we have designated the secretary as the committee member responsible for investigating and resolving grievances.

Ethical Standards – Nightwatch

Nightwatch is committed to maintaining the highest standards in its operation. The following guidelines are presented to give clarity on our procedures regarding personal behaviour.

There are situations in which inappropriate interactions are possible: between clients and volunteers and between volunteers themselves. These guidelines are written with the understanding that some clients are vulnerable to exploitation, while some are manipulative and prone to exploit others, including volunteers.

Any inappropriate behaviour or comment by a client towards a volunteer should be reported to the team leader that night, who will judge whether it is grave enough to be reported to the volunteer co-ordinator or committee. Volunteers should immediately withdraw from conversation with a client who exhibits inappropriate behaviour towards them or uses unacceptable language.

Volunteers are expected to act in an appropriate manner, so as not to bring Nightwatch into disrepute. Volunteers are responsible for reporting any action that may endanger ourselves or our clients, or damage our reputation.

Volunteers should not be alone with clients. On occasions when it is necessary to visit a client where they are living, a volunteer should have someone with them. If solo working is inevitable, they should not enter the premises but stay at the door or meet in a public place.

Volunteers should not have relationships with clients outside of friendly assistance. If a more intimate relationship occurs, either the volunteer or client must stop engaging with Nightwatch (the volunteer must cease volunteering or the client must stop being a client).

Inappropriate language or behaviour between volunteers themselves should be challenged. If persistent, it should be reported to the team leader. If the team leader is implicated, it should be reported to the volunteer co-ordinator.

If any volunteer is concerned about the behaviour of another volunteer towards volunteers or clients, they should in the first instance discuss it with their team leader or the volunteer co-ordinator. If the volunteer is not happy then they should contact the Chair directly, or another committee member.

24 Nightwatch Annual Report 2022

Nightwatch - Legal Information

The name of the charity is Nightwatch, it is sometimes known as Croydon Nightwatch after the site of its activities. The charity number is 274925 and the mailing address is PO Box 2576, London, SE23 3ZH. The trustees over the period for which this report was compiled, the calendar year of 2022, were Jad Adams, Roger Davies, Nicky Edwards, Nana Aquah and Fiona Satiro. The secretary was Nicky Edwards.

Nightwatch is governed by a constitution which was adopted in 1976 when the charity was founded and updated in 2003 and (for minor changes requested by a funder) 2005. Its objectives are the care and treatment of persons in need who are homeless, rootless or suffering from psychological or physical infirmity or who by reason of adverse circumstances or being a discharged offender, are in need of help in acquiring a settled way of life. We are further dedicated to the education of those persons so as to develop their physical, mental and spiritual capacities that they may develop full maturity as responsible individuals and members of society, that their conditions of life may be improved.

The main activities taken in relation to these objectives are the maintenance of a meeting point in the Queen’s Service area in central Croydon every night of the year at which we meet homeless and other needy people. This reporting year we supplied food, clothing and other personal items and provided a constant, caring presence in what were often chaotic lifestyles. We gave advice and guidance. We also provided furniture and essential household items to resettle formerly homeless people into new accommodation; and assisted with household goods those who are accommodated but could not afford such items. We assisted with the provision of working clothes and other items to help people into work or education. We operated a hardship fund making one off payment to overcome short term financial problems. A breakdown of these activities is in this report, as is an account of the charity’s deployment of its more than 150 volunteers.

Trustees are elected at an Annual General Meeting from volunteers from among the active membership. Nightwatch is run by a voluntary Executive Committee elected by the Annual General Meeting.

The Committee meets four times a year to review the activities of the charity including fund raising, the approval of the annual report and accounts prior to their submission to the AGM. The Committee also oversees such issues as insurance, health and safety, assessment of risk, and compliance with legal requirements. It also reviews our contacts with Croydon Borough Council, with funding bodies and with outside agencies doing complementary work. As part of the internal control system, a budget is prepared at the beginning of the year. Management accounts are prepared each quarter, and reviewed by the committee with significant variances being investigated.

The Trustees are required to prepare financial statements for each year. The financial position of Nightwatch is set out in the accompanying annual accounts. The trustees agree that an audit is not required for the financial year, but according to the provisions of the Charities Act 1993 an independent examination is required. Our independent examiner is Carol Thomson Bsc ACA (ICAEW) of 124 Ranby Road, Sheffield S11 7AL. Our bank is HSBC.

The Nightwatch practice on reserves is to maintain in a COIF account a sum at least equivalent to nine months’ unrestricted expenditure commitment corresponding to £67,000 in cash terms. The trustees are satisfied with the reserves position of the charity. As at 30 December 2022 our reserves consist of £101,564 which will be reduced over two years by an annual spend of £20,000 on the Hardship Fund. There are no restricted reserves. Charity law requires us as Trustees to prepare financial statements for each accounting year which record the receipts and payments of the charity for the year.

We are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable us to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011.

We also have a responsibility to safeguard the assets of the charity and to take reasonable steps to prevent fraud or any other irregularities.

25

Nightwatch Annual Report 2022

A Busy Nightwatch Night

A page from the log which is filled in every night by the team leader after coming back from seeing clients.

There should be enough volunteers to handle any challenges, preferably one volunteer for every 5-10 clients

The team leader is responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the operation and for the safety of volunteers and clients

Number of clients noted. 120 is a very high number Attention to clients’ needs

Note on general tenor of the evening and whether there is food left for the next day

Work with the authorities to safeguard a vulnerable member of the public

A warning about bad behaviour from one of the clients

Our parking permits (of which there should be three) are logged in

Another troublesome client, crime number noted

26 Nightwatch Annual Report 2022

Nlghtwal£hAnnual Report 203 27

Useful Numbers

Emmaus (for furniture donations)	0300 123 2001
	[e-mail]
Street Link(for street homeless people)	0300 500 0914
www.streetlink.org.uk (online referrals)
Palmer House(Hostel)	020 7870 8850
	105-107 Lansdowne Road, CR0 2BN
Croydon Council Single Homeless Service	0208 760 5530
Routes Home(for foreign nationals)	020 3092 7455
	www.mungos.org/routes-home/
Croydon Refugee Day Centre	020 8689 4527
West Croydon Baptist Church, Whitehorse Road, CRO 2JH
[e-mail]
CAYSH(Croydon Association for the Young Single Homeless)	0208 683 0227
Croydon Turn around(14-21 year olds)	020 8760 5530
From 25 March 2022 the Turnaround Centre is closed until further notice.
You can still call for advice and support.
Crisis Skylight	0203 848 1700
	12 Surrey Street, CR0 1RG
Rape Crisis South London	020 8683 3311
Freephone Helpline	0808 802 9999
MIND in Croydon	020 8668 2210
[e-mail]
Albert Kennedy Trusthomelessness among LGBT+ young people:	020 7831 6562
[e-mail]	www.AKT.org.uk
Citizens Advice Bureau Adviceline	0800 144 88 48
For help claiming Universal Credit	Freephone: 0800 144 8444
	www.citizensadvicecroydon.org

www.croydonnightwatch.org.uk

Nightwatch - Homeless Charity

@WeAreNightwatch

@WeAreNightwatch

Financial donations can be sent via www.justgiving.com/nightwatchuk

PO Box 9576, London, SE23 3ZH

Email: [e-mail]

Trustees: Jad Adams MA FRHistS; Roger Davies MSc; Nicky Edwards

Registered Charity No 274925. Cover picture: Traveller at Wellesley Road tram stop by Luke Agbaimoni www.tubemapper.com

Cover pictures: Nightwatch volunteers out during 2020 by Thelma Gossel Registered Charity No 274925. Trustees: Jad Adams MA FRHistS; Roger Davies MSc; Nicky Edwards; Nana Acquah MSc; Fiona Satiro MCIPD FRSA