2024-12-31-accounts

Nig twatch 109 PAR CROYDON '- ' Annual Report 2025

igh 109 CROYDON T¢M ,' NlghtwatchAnnual Report 2024. 25

Contents

The Nightwatch Philosophy	3	Our thanks tO	9
Chair’s Report	4	Secretary’s Report	10
Helping Nightwatch	5	Treasurer’s Report	12
Resettlement Report	6	Accounts	14
Committee Members	6	It’s panto time – Oh yes it is	18
Numbers We Serve	7	Information for Volunteers	20
Hardship Fund	7	Legal Information	23
Helping at Christmas and Harvest Festival	8	Useful Numbers	24

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 2024 - 25 3

Chair’s Report

The story this year has been one of numbers, a steady if undramatic increase in the overall number of people we see. We have often seen seeing in excess of 90 people. This is a result of the cost of living crisis and a reduction in the

spending power of people on benefits or low incomes. The numbers become a challenge because at some point we reach the maximum capacity which a small charity can manage: there is a limit to the amount of food volunteers can purchase and process.

It makes a great difference that we have sandwich donations from Simply Lunch and, over the winter period, Croydon Churches. Other supporters from the community, notably Hindu, Sikh and Muslim groups, provide hot food.

We were very happy that in the civic year 2024-5 Nightwatch has been one of the two charities adopted by the Civic Mayor, Cllr Kola Agboola. We have very much appreciated the honour and enjoyed working with the council’s charity team. I or a committee member attended functions at the Farleigh Golf Club, Braithwaite Hall, the Royal Tandoori, Enish Nigerian Restaurant and many other events which raised money for Nightwatch and the Family Centre in Fieldway. The Civic Mayor came out with us one night in January, distributing pizzas donated by Tops Pizzas.

Mayor Kola Agboola on the Nightwatch line serving pizza to our clients

Allergens

UK Food Information Amendment, known as Natasha’s Law, obliges us to list all allergens (as do all other food servers, whether commercially or not). There was excellent work from Nana in establishing which of the extensive regulations applies to us and from Nicky in dealing with Croydon’s Environmental Health inspectors. Between them they produced laminated cards for informing clients of allergens and a check list for team leaders to note the allergens in the food we are supplying each night, for official records. We are working to make sure our operation is compliant in every way.

----- Start of picture text -----
W/C Nightwatch Cleaning Schedule, January 2025 – Please tick as appropriate W/C W/C W/C W/C
Daily M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S
Clean work
surfaces
Sanitise
work
surfaces
Clean
probe
Empty bins
Dispose of
used cloths
Mop floors
Sundays:
Weekly
Cooker, Fridge,
door handles
Table *
with blue cloth roll
Any surface cleaner
* Specific surface sanitiser, follow instructions on bottle, with blue cloth roll
Opening Checks Use Specific wipes
Closing Checks
Comments
Allergens
Sandwiches
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓ ✓
glutencontaining Cereals
Fridge temperatures
Area free from pest activity
Hot water is working Probe temperature is working Food in date covered labelled and stored correctly Food use by dates checked, anything out of date, is thrown away.
Full waste bins removed Food preparation areas are cleaned and disinfected
Cucumber Cheese & Cheese Celery Crustaceans Eggs Fish Lupin Milk Mollusc Mustard Nuts Peanuts Sesame seeds Soya Dioxide Sulphur
pickle Cheese &
Chicken
Corned Beef
Egg Mayo
Ham
Cheese Ham and
Hummus
PeanutButter
Tuna &
Cucumber
Jam sweetcorn Tuna,mayo
Nightwatch Daily Checklist:
Day: Date: Team Leader:
✓
✓
✓ ✓
✓ ✓
✓✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✓ ✓
✓ ✓
✓
✓✓ ✓ ✓✓
✓ ✓
✓ ✓ ✓✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✓
----- End of picture text -----

Each night keeps compliant with checklists

Location

We continue to operate from the corner of Katharine Street and Fell Road. We still wish to adapt the area to suit our needs better, including having a cover over it, and are talking to the council. Those councillors who have expressed an opinion have been universally supportive; some officers are helpful and positive, others less so. Nicky Edwards tells the story on pages 10 and 11.

Jad Adams

4 Nightwatch Annual Report 2024 - 25

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Helping
Nightwatch
Different ways the
community has
helped us:
Grace Greenwood raised money for a big
donation to Nightwatch including buying
chocolate treats for all the clients at Christmas.
Nightwatch Annual Report 2024 - 25 5
Raj Sudra and family brought food
We receive regular donations of sandwiches from workers at the Pension Protection Fund
Pupils at Atwood Primary School gave
Harvest Festival donations
Sharma and Bipul families donated a wedding cake
Young people from Turnaround making food for us.
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Resettlement Report

We make full resettlements for former homeless people in new accommodation which means substantial amounts of furniture including cookers, beds and fridges. These totalled 18 resettlements in 2024, showing a continued decline from 2023 (24) and 2022 (25). The low numbers reflect the continuing shortage of low-cost housing to which our clients could move on. The total resettlement bill in 2024 was £17,561 compared to £14,450 in 2023 and £17,205 in 2022.

Of the 18 resettlements 7 were for women, making up 38% of the total. In general, we are seeing more women. We do a gender count at our distribution point on the day we give out Christmas presents, in this case on 15 December. We distributed bags which are gendered so we were able to say we gave out 113 bags of which 26 were to women which is 23% of the client group. Last year it was 27% so the percentage has gone down but we observe a generally upward trend in the proportion of women to men.

We also made 119 deliveries of ‘small’ items short of full resettlements. This compares with 140 last year and 116 the year before. 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. 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 £11,913 which is comparable to last year’s £8,752.

We also help clients with vocational support such as steel-toecapped working boots and working trousers for people doing heavy work. We can also help with Oyster cards for getting to work. This year we have helped with plastering tools and a cordless drill body but most of the people accessing work clothing and tools were East Europeans and we are seeing fewer of them post-Brexit.

We gave out 55 charged mobile phones so people could keep in contact with us, with Streetlink, the council and other services which can help them. This is an increase on the 32 given out in 2023 which reflects

other services sending clients to us specifically for phones, and an increased awareness among clients that we can help with phones.

Requests are varied but on one day on which we did an assessment, 6 October 2024, we saw 90 people. Fifteen of them had specific requests: five were allocated furniture from Emmaus; three had appliances from Argos (two microwaves and a rice cooker); one newly homeless person was referred to Streetlink who were contacted to visit him in his sleeping location; two people asked for telephones; two (who had previously asked) were given telephones; and two people asked for plasterers’ work tools.

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 007049 [e-mail]

Volunteer Co-ordinator Fiona Satiro 07867 491978 [e-mail]

Fundraising officer Cindee Low 07403 456756 [e-mail]

Fundraising officer Nana Acquah 020 8405 8712 [e-mail]

Social Media Sean Harling [e-mail]

Committee Member Tony Packwood [e-mail]

6 Nightwatch Annual Report 2024-25

Numbers We Serve

In 2024 we served an average of 86 people on both Sundays and Thursdays compared to 82 in 2023. On other evenings we saw an average of 60. This this resulted in a total of 24,600 contacts during 2024 compared to 24,000 in 2023.

The chart shows the average numbers per night during each month of 2024 displaying 50 in January increasing to almost 80 in the Summer then reducing back to 60 in December.

Roger Davies

Average Per Night 2024

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90
80
70
60
50
40
30
an
J Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
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Hardship Fund

Figures rounded for clarity.

The Hardship Fund is intended for clients facing a financial hurdle. It’s a one-off payment agreed by the Trustees to enable the receiver to overcome the problem and continue life free from that burden. Since 2019 the scheme has distributed £117,400.

Payments in 2024 were £28,800 compared to £24,200 in 2023. The service charge debts of those in hostels were £8,500 compared to £12,400 in 2023 however, there were more rent arrears at £8,000. Rent deposits of £5,000 might indicate more affordable private dwellings available.

Nightwatch still has a high demand for energy vouchers for pre-payment meters as a result of the ongoing energy crisis. Other payments range from phone and utility bills, glasses, and Oyster cards for travel.

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No Reason Amount
14 Service Charge 8,451
9 Rent Arrears 7,992
5 Rent Deposit 5,100
149 Energy Vouchers 4,815
2 Council Tax 860
15 Oyster cards 555
1 Utility Bill 430
2 Glasses 250
1 Parking fines 170
1 Phone Bill 136
199 28,759
----- End of picture text -----

Roger Davies

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Nightwatch Annual Report 2024 - 25

Helping at Christmas and Harvest Festival time

Harvest Festival and Christmas are busy times when children and young people can get involved, sorting through thousands of donated tins and packets and Harvest and packing Christmas present bags for clients.

These pictures show Harvest volunteers from West Wickham Shirley Baptist Church youth group and many friends and children of volunteers who came to help with the Christmas preparations.

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Nightwatch Annual Report 2024 - 25

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Secretary’s Report

I’d really like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who makes Nightwatch the amazing charity that it is! Deep breath… thanks to all the team leaders, the nightly volunteers, the people who always step up to help out when we’re short, the sandwich makers, the church sandwich makers, the people who pick things up and drop things off for us, our financial supporters and our supporters who collect useful sundries for us. A special thank you to Civic Mayor Councillor Kola Agboola, who has made Nightwatch one of his supported charities for his 2024/2025 year of office. Thanks to all!

I wanted to start on a positive note because we have had a rough ride over the last few months with our serving point. Historically Nightwatch has always had a presence in Queen’s Gardens, in fact for 49 years Nightwatch has been there helping the homeless and vulnerable people of Croydon and the surrounding areas.

During Covid and subsequently due to the building works that took place on Queen’s Gardens we served on the steps of Bernard Weatherill House for many months while the council building was practically empty due to the pandemic.

When the Council employees returned to work and when the Council asked us very politely and respectfully to find another area to serve, we did so. They gave us time to look around for the right site, and we looked at the possibilities around us testing out various street corners but over the course of the first few weeks we found that nowhere was convenient or safe enough volunteers and clients.

We eventually settled on the undeveloped corner where we are now serving. We had the idea that perhaps we could put a cover over that area to keep the food dry and protect Clients from the rain. We approached the Council on numerous occasions to sound out how we could do this, at our expense.

Our relationship with the Council was growing, we were asked to consult with their operatives who were putting together their Homeless Strategy and to take part in the London Boroughs’ Street Count.

The subject of putting a cover over “our” corner of Queen’s gardens was being studiously ignored by Croydon Planning, in fact they would not even answer our very basic early enquiries.

As a response to one of our emails asking to discuss this subject, we received an email in reply from Huw Rhys Lewis who was not known to us. Its contents were as follows:

“in response to your email of September 23rd regarding space and Queens Gardens, I would remind you that the Council a request to you back in April 2024 asking you to relocate due to public health Grounds. You have

again chosen to ignore our request.

We would restate that permission was rescinded for public health reasons, specifically regarding litter, public health matters and antisocial behaviour Although we acknowledge that every effort was made

to clean up after the evening service, it was often difficult for your team to collect all the rubbish as you could not confirm which rubbish was ‘yours’ and which

was caused by other members of the public. Additionally, the absence of nearby public toilets means that visitors to the Nightwatch stand started using the pavement areas as lavatories, resulting in defection on the payments and roads around the entrance to BWH as well as the public park adjacent to BWH. This includes

a children’s play area. These are still an on-going issues given your current operation.

Given the severe financial challenges faced by the Council we have neither space, land nor funding we can offer Nightwatch. Given the continuing issues we have with your operation on the grounds of public health and antisocial behaviour – we would again request that you relocate to another site.

The next would be for the Council to seek a court injunction prohibiting you from operating in and around Queen Quarter and BWH, - costs the Council can ill afford”.

This hit like a blow to the solar plexus.

Jad Adams responded in a public letter to say the remarks were ‘inaccurate in almost every single particular.’

‘We have received no request to relocate except at a meeting on 30 November 2022 when we were asked not to use the awning at the back of BWH because the council wishes to let part of the building and (as we fully understand) our nightly presence would not be attractive to prospective tenants. There was no question of ‘public health grounds’. We moved, eventually to the corner of Fell Road and Katharine Street where we now are and hope to erect a shelter. We revert to BWH only in severe bad weather. There is no litter issue, we clean up so thoroughly that we pick up litter which was there before we arrived and was left by other people.

10 Nightwatch Annual Report 2024 - 25

The absence of public toilets is an ongoing problem in this as in, I imagine, every other borough. It has nothing to do with us.

We have not asked for funding, we will pay for the shelter on land which would stay in the council’s ownership.

Our queues are orderly and we would argue that, far from ‘antisocial behaviour’, we produce a calming presence in the town centre.’

Inside Croydon and other local media ran the story and a campaign by Labour councillors headed by Labour Leader Stuart King ensued. The councillors put together an open letter to Mayor Jason Perry to remove the threat of a court injunction. The letter was passed to all Croydon Councillors to sign but only the 34 Labour Councillors, 2 Green Party and one Liberal Councillor signed. The threat of the injunction was finally rescinded, by Cllr Lynne Hale, Deputy Mayor, standing in for the mayor in his absence. Society is said to be judged by how it treats its most vulnerable, it is something some councillors and senior employees at the council could reflect on.

I wanted to tell this story, although many of you know it, because I wanted to highlight the juxtaposition Nightwatch experiences: a handy resource for Croydon Council when they want us, and a nuisance when they don’t.

Out and about with the Nightwatch secretary Nicky with Matt Morris of the local company Stiles Harold Williams who raise money for us and make food donations

Nicky at the mayor’s inaugural with Volunteer Co-ordinator Fiona Satiro, Chair Jad Adams and Civic Mayor Cllr Kola Agboola

Nicky Edwards

11

Nightwatch Annual Report 2024 - 25

Treasurer’s Report

The chart shows the full range of receipts, expenditure, and reserves over the last 14 years.

----- Start of picture text -----
Yearly Financial Figures
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Receipts
Donations 25,200 43,000 25,000 42,400 46,650 74,000 63,928 50,101 92,684 30,133 61,453 74,701 74,021
JustGiving 10,733 14,223 26,263 34,543 19,825 20,430 15,217
Lottery/Gift Aid 1,281 747 482 1,484 373 1,046 1,342
Grants 20,200 16,200 16,200 6,000 2,000 4,700 13,100
Total Receipts 45,400 59,200 41,200 48,400 46,650 74,000 77,942 69,771 132,528 66,161 81,650 96,177 90,579
Expediture
Food and Preparation 1,800 9,400 9,300 9,250 10,500 9,350 10,850 15,122 11,310 16,900 28,600 36,193 41,048
Clothing 3,300 4,300 4,800 4,700 3,800 3,400 2,527 1,960 4,219 6,116 5,856 7,125 7,960
Training 1,900 1,700 2,300 14 46 32 99
Toiletries/Sleeping
200 2,200 2,450 1,900 1,100 1,911 2,280 2,606 3,922 5,827 8,259 9,576
Bags
Gifts/Donations 2,000 1,800 1,900 1,600 1,700 2,236 2,749 5,380 3,489 2,885 1,457 2,017
Hardship Fund 10,466 18,331 15,178 22,746 24,765 28,947
Resettlement 14,700 17,800 13,800 29,800 27,500 8,500 23,803 26,744 14,230 20,073 17,205 14,451 17,561
Total Clients 19,800 35,600 33,600 50,400 45,300 24,050 41,327 59,320 56,091 65,679 83,165 92,283 107,208
Core Costs
Office/Premises 4,900 4,700 3,500 2,800 2,650 3,350 3,932 3,504 3,420 4,158 5,462 6,549 5,909
Rent 3,800
Insurance 1,350 1,300 1,400 1,350 1,400 1,450 1,256 1,276 1,276 1,204 1,198 1,216 859
Audit 700 850 750 750 650 600 625 605 660 851 660 690 710
Total Core Costs 10,750 6,850 5,650 4,900 4,700 5,400 5,814 5,384 5,356 6,212 7,320 8,455 7,478
Operational Costs 30,550 42,450 39,250 55,300 50,000 29,450 47,140 64,704 61,447 71,891 90,484 100,738 114,685
Net 14,850 16,750 1,950 -6,900 -3,350 44,550 30,802 5,536 71,339 -5,720 -8,328 -1,365 -24,106
Capital/Special 1,000 11,000 1,686 1,445 1,045 973 732 920
Covid 19 56,173 16,829
Total Expenditure 31,550 42,450 39,250 55,300 61,000 29,450 48,827 66,148 118,664 89,693 91,217 100,738 115,605
Interest 336 468 258 10 505 3,196 3,633
Balance 13,850 16,750 1,950 -6,900 -14,350 44,550 29,115 4,091 14,121 -23,522 -9,061 -1,365 -21,392
Total Reserves 44,082 60,832 62,782 55,882 41,532 86,082 115,197 119,721 133,842 110,323 101,546 100,181 78,788
COIF 42,017 17,173 72,261 92,598 98,163 108,421 88,432 74,222 72,418 61,051
HSBC 44,082 60,832 62,782 13,865 24,359 13,821 22,600 21,559 25,422 21,890 27,324 27,763 17,737
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12 Nightwatch Annual Report 2024 - 25

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

Income

£90,600 was received in 2024. General donations were £74,00 compared to £74,700 in 2022. Major donors were Zurich Insurance with the first tranche of £16,500; £10,000 from Barratt Development; £10,000 from the Albert Hunt Trust and £5,000 from CVA. There were a further 161 donations from companies and individuals averaging £200. JustGiving donations were down from £20,400 to £15,200. Interest from the CCLA account amounted to £3,600.

Total Receipts

----- 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 2023 2024
----- End of picture text -----

Total Expenditure

Expenditure

Expenditure reached the £115,000 mark in 2024, £15,000 more than 2023 The main expenditure was the spending on Food and Preparation which increase by £5,000 to £41,000 because of the continued increase in numbers we serve and the reduction in donations of tins of food. Toiletries and sleeping bags remain high at £9,500. Another change was the Hardship Fund which increased by £5,000 to £29,000 mainly due to rent arrears at £8,000 and rent deposits of £5,000.

----- 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 2023 2024
----- End of picture text -----

Total Reserves

Reserves

The reserves dropped from £100,100 to £78,800 because of the increased spend verses income. If this carries on, at the end of 2025 we will have £60,000 and then only £40,000 thereafter. This is critical since during the Summer of each year the bank account is reduced by £30,000 to £40,000 in which we will run out of cash, At the start of 2025 the Hardship Fund will be curtailed pending a push to increase donations to match Expenditure.

----- 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 2023 2024
----- End of picture text -----

Roger Davies

13

Nightwatch Annual Report 2024 - 25

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 2024. 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 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 such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required of any 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 matter 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 aspect, accounting records have not been kept in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act, or that the accounts presented to do not accord with those records or comply with the accounting requirement of the 2011 Act. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Helen Broughton CiLCA, PIALC 65 Court Road Caterham Surrey CR3 5RH

14 Nightwatch Annual Report 2024 - 25

Nightwatch

RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT for the year ended 31st December 2024

Notes Receipts Received Donations Gift Aid Other Receipts Interest Received Total Receipts Payments Charity's Direct Costs 2a Overheads Indirect Costs 2b Equipment 2c Total Payments Balance Movement in funds Balance Borought Forward Balance Carried Forward There were no restricted funds Notes on page 3 form part of these accounts	2024 2023 89,238 95,131 1,342 1,046 3,633 3,196
	94,213 99,373
	107,208 92,283 7,478 8,455 920
	115,605 100,738
	-21,392 -1,365
	-21,392 -1,365
	100,181 101,546
	78,789 100,181

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Nightwatch Annual Report 2024 - 25

Nightwatch

STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES For the Year Ended 31st December 2024

Fixed Assests

Nightwatch has no fixed assests

The charity has the use of the premises at a Church Hall in Croydon for storage and preparation of food.

Bank and Cash Balances Note Cash and bank Deposit account Total Other Assets and Liabilities Assets Gift Aid not yet received Liabilities Fee for Independant Examination Balance	2024 2023 17,737 27763 61,051 72418
	78,788 100181
	2024 2023 500 710
	500 -710

The accounts were approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf on 23 February 2025 by Jad Adams, Chair of the Trustees.

Signed Jad Adams Chair

16 Nightwatch Annual Report 2024 - 25

Nightwatch

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS For the Year Ended 31st December 2024

1 Accounting Policies

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

2a Direct Costs

2b Indirect Costs

2c Equipment

Food and Preparation Clothing Training Toiletries/Sleeping Bags Gifts/Donations Hardship Fund Resettlement Ofice/Premises Insurance Audit Computer Tables Towel dispenser Total	2024 2023 41,048 36193 7,960 7125 99 32 9,576 8259 2,017 1457 28,947 24765 17,561 14451
	107,208 92283
	5,909 6549 859 1216 710 690
	7,478 8455
	636 195 89 920
	115,605 100738

3 Employees

There were no emplyees.

Amounts paid to trustees were to reimburse expenses only. No trustee is renumerated for trustee services.

17

Nightwatch Annual Report 2024 - 25

It’s panto time: Oh yes it is…

Every winter Pirate Productions puts on a panto at St Augustine’s church with the proceeds going to local charities including Nightwatch. This year it was Robin Hood www.piratepantomimes.co.uk/about.html

18

Nightwatch Annual Report 2024 - 25

."q4 NIght￿l¢￿ AnnLJal Report 2024. 19

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. We have public liability insurance.

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 safe 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.

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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.

contact details of the applicant to the Treasurer who will review the position and gain approval for payment from the other Trustees.

Children

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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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.

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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 Helen Broughton CiLCA, PIALC of 65 Court Road, Caterham, CR3 5RH. Our bank is HSBC.

The Nightwatch practice on reserves is to maintain funds 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 2024 our reserves consist of £78,800. 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.

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Useful Numbers

Useful Numbers	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

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

PO Box 9576, London, SE23 3ZH

Email: [e-mail]

Cover image: Croydon by Bus by The Town That Love Built. www.etsy.com/shop/thetownthatlovebuilt

Registered Charity No 274925. Trustees: Jad Adams MA FRHistS; Roger Davies MSc; Nicky Edwards; Nana Acquah MSc; Fiona Satiro MCIPD FRSA