Derry Samaritans Trustees, Annual Report for the Year Ended 31 March 2024 The Directors are pleased to present their annual report together wth the financial statements of the Charity for the year ended 31 March 2024 which are also prepared to meet the requirements for a Directors, report and accounts for Companies Act purposes. The financial statements compty with the Charib'es Act (Nl) 2022, the Companies Act 2006, the Memorandum 8nd Articles of Association, and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charitEs preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Rep)rting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102) (effectNe 1 January 2019.) Structure, Govemance and Management Derry Samaritans was incorporated on 27 January 2016 and is a Private Company, Limited by Guarantee.The company is govemed by a Memorandum and Articles of Association. The company number is Nl 636051 and the registered office is 16 Clarendon Street. Derry BT48 7ET. The company is a registered Northern Ireland charity - reference NIC 106360. Management, Internal Control and Risk Management The day-to-day management of the Charity is the responsibility of the Trustees of the Charity, who are responsible for the implementats'on of Samaritans strategy and to support the work of Samaritan volunteers in the Charity. The trustees meet every 6-8 weeks and a minimum of 4 times per year. The Trustees have the overall responsibilty for the system of intemal control for the Charty, including the safety of Charity assets and the integnty of the accounb'ng procedures. Dlrectors and Trustees The directors of the charrtable company {the Charity} are the trustees for the purposes of Charity Law. The trustees during the year end and at 31 March 2024 were as folk)ws: Rosernary O'Dohety Brian Logue Noella O'Neill GK)vanni Doran Eamon Fisher Jacqueline Fems Public Benefrt ststement Dery Samaritsns offers support to those at risk of suiade by being the to listen and encourage the recognits'on and explorab'on of their options. By doing so we aim to help people find ways of coping with their distress without choosing to die by suicide. We also seek to support those whose distress is less acute. in the hope that they will not reach the point of feeling that they wish to end their lives. We make our support available in many ways, including by telephone, email. letter. and f3ce-ttrfa. Samantans, service is open to people who a suicidal, despainng or are in distress. The branch provides a service primarily intended for the benefit of persons in Derry and the surrounding area. However, it also works with all Samaritan branches to ensure 24-hour availability of the service across the UK. The Trustees confirm that they have referred to the Charity Commission's guidan on public benefit when reviewing the Branch's aims and objectives in planning future actNities. Page 2
Derry Samaritans Trustees, Annual Report for the Year Ended 31 March 2024 Objectlves and Actlvltles The objects of the Charity are.. {a> to enable persons in Derry and the surrounding area (but without specific limitsts'ons as to area) who are experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including those who may be at risk of suicide, to re1ve confidential emots'onal support at any tsme of the day or night to improve their emotional health and to reduce the incidence of suicide. (b) to promote a better understanding in society of SUiCKle, suicidal behaviour. and the value of expressing feelings which may otherwise lead to suicide or impaired emotional health. and (c) to collaborate with and support the Samaritans Central Charity and its affiliated branches in fulfilling these objectives. Vlslon, Mission and Values Samaritans, Vision is that fewer people die by SUiCKle. We work to achieve this by making it our Mission to alleviate emotional distress and reduce the incidence of suKidal feelings and suicidal behaviour. We do this by being available round the clock to provide emotional support for people who are experiencing feelings of emotional distress or despair, including those which may lead to suicide Reaching out to high-risk groups and communiti'es to reduce the nsk of suicide. Working in partnership wth other organisations, agencies and experts to athieve our Vision. Influencing public policy and raising awareness of the challenges of reducing SUIde. - We are committed to the following Values: Listening Confidentialrty People making their own decisions Being non judgemental Human Contsct Achlevements and Performance Calls and Emails responded to :. In the 12 months from April 2023 to March 2024 our volunteers responded to 18,236 calls by Telephone and Email, and 2,198 contacts outside the Branch at 23 events. Face-to-Face, Outreach and Awareness Raising :_ We have continued supporting people through our telephone and email helplines. which remained open 2417. However. we understand that some people prefer to talk to a Samarrtans volunteer in person We are working towards reintroducing the face-to-face service, but first we need to do some work to review and improve the way it is delivered. It's an important service and we need to make sure that it's as effective as possible for both the people who use the service and our volunteers. We are delMJhted that we have been able to begin the Outreach events to local Gommunity organisations such as sports clubs, health awareness events and studenl events. These opportunities offer awareness of our service and how people can contact us for support or to volunteer. Page 3
Derry Samaritans Trustees. Annual Report for the Year Ended 31 March 2024 Volunteers Derry Samaritans could not operate without the dedication and skill of our volunteers who lead the branch in every aspect of its work, and we thank every one of them for their conbnuing commitment to the needs of our callers. Our service conb'nues to be delivered over the dayb'me and ovemight hours. At the 31st of Marth 2024 we had 65 Listening Volunteers vtho respond to our callers by phone and email and we had 8 volunteers on leave We have 3 support volunteers who include our Treasurer and Martin wtto supports the Treasurer and other fomier listening volunteers who wish to conts'nue supporting our work and take part in talks to extemal organisabons and fundraising efforts. We regulady recwit listening volunteers throughout the year, this year we Offe three in-branch Core Development training courses. This year the training team also supported various roles in the Branch by delivering training to.'- Leaders who support volunteers during their duts'es with any issues that may arise or when safeguarding procedures are followed. Interviewers - for applicants to train as listening volunteers Outreach - for volunteers wishing to support outreach events or delNer emotional support outside the Branch. Mentors - mentors for new Samaritans are trained several ts'mes a year Volunteers are our largest asset wthin the Branch and the organisaknon. Our volunteers play an acts've role in the UK and Ireland WKle organisation. We have one serving on the Strategic Advisory Board to Samantans Ireland as the N Ireland representative. we have several volunteers working with some of the hubs delivering the email responses to caller5 and the listening-in Servi of the Quality Hub. And one volunteer who is active as a Regional Qualty Development Offir supporting branches in the UK and Iland. Related Partles Derry Samaritan5 is a recognised branch of Samaritans, a company limited by guarantee (No 757372), having its registered office at The Upper Mill, Kingston Road, Ewell, Surrey KT17 2AF. The Charsty works wth the Samaritans Central Charity to promote a better understanding in society of suicide and suicidal behaviour. This indudes support for and participation in organisation wide initiatives and activities at a local level. Financial revlew During the year income of £52,197 was recEived and total costs We £47,506. This left a surplus for the year of £4,691 which when added to opening reseNes of £196,357 left the Charity with reserves at the year end of £201,048 at the year end. The Directors were pleased with the results for the year. The unrestncted reserves at the year*nd vRre £201,048. Our volunteers were fortunate to have been given the opportunity to collect donations at the Millenniurn Forum and The Clanree Hotel, Letterkenny after the Sarah Millican Tour events in December. Page 4
Derry Samaritan8 Trustees. Annual Report for the Year Ended 31 March 2024 Prlnclpal Risk$ The principal risks facing the branch are insufficient volunteers to keep the branch open, insufficient funds to run the branch and the possibility of breach of confidentiality. New volunteer recruitment is essential to ensure that we always have adequate cover. Through information sessions, a careful interview process followed by a comprehensive training programme, we have over the past year Increased the number of volunteers by 8 at the year end Fundraising is also essential to meet running costs as well as to pay a contribution to the central charity towards the costs of the services and systems, without which branches could not operate. A comerstone of Samarrtans. seniice is that all those who contsct us are guaranteed a confidential and non-judgemental conversation wth a trained volunteer. Policies and procedures. including DBS checks. continuous development training for all volunteers, are in pLace to ensure we deliver a safe service. Reserves Policy and Going Concem As branch income is heavily dependent on donats'ons it cannot be guaranteed. The Trustees consider that around 18 months of annual expenditure is an appropnate level of reserves to maintain, to meet working capital needs. In addition, the Trustees set up a fund of £50,000 in designated reseNes to cover the cost of future renovations to the premises to make them more accessible and suitable for growing our number of active listening volunteers. Appointment of Trustees Trustees are elected by the members of the Branch at the Annual General Meeting. Appointment of the Chair (Branch Director) is subject to approval by the Samaritans Central Charity. There have been no changes to the Trustees in this year. 16 Clarendon Street In the last few years, we've considered the work that could be carried out to improve access to our building for all volunteers but have realised that completing that tssk is not possible and have been looking at another option which is moving the Branch to another property and location. We are very fortunate that a group of volunteers had the vision to ensure our Branch had their own premises and went about purchasing and renovating 16 Clarendon Street over 30 years ago which means we have an asset to sell and help us fund the purchase of our next home. And the Trustees have been diligent in building a fund for moving and renovation works over the last few years which will allow us to caryaout the work to our new Branch premises without accumulating debt for the Chanty. Page S
Dery Samaritan8 Trustees, Annual Report for the Year Ended 31 March 2024 Statement of Tru8teas' ResponslbllEtle8 The Charty Trustees (who are also the directors of the Dery Samarrtans for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing a Twstees, Annual Report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and Unrted 'ngdoM Accounb'ng Standards (Unrted KJ'ngdom.Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). Company law requires the Trustees to Ppare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the stste of affairs of the chafitable company and of the profit or loss of the company for that year. In preparing these the Trustees are required to.. - select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently; bserve the methods and principles in the Charities SORP" - make judgements that a reasonable and pruden( state whether applicable accounbng standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial ststements; prepare the financial statements on the going concem basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the organisation will continue in business. The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the organisation. They are also resFonsible for safeguarding the assets of the organisation and hence for tsking reasonable steps for the preventK•n and deteth'on of fraud and other irregulants'es. This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions for small companies under part 15 of the Companies Act 2006. This report was approved by the Board on 27 January 2025 and signed on rts behalf by Ms Rosemary O'Doherty Director Page 6