WALKIN9 FREE Nl Charit Ref: 107118 TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDING MARCH 2024
In du Thls Annual Report relates to the year April 2023 to March 2024 whlch has been a strong year of operation and delivery for Walking Free. The Receipt and Payment accounts have been presented in the attached documents. Walking Free was constituted In August 2018 under a Constitution and Governing document whlch is provlded In Appendix 1. Wlkl F eP WALKING FREE was set up In Northem Ireland UK In August 2018 with a remit across the UK and Ireland to ralses awareness of addictions and provides asslstsnce and support to people who are suffering from life controlling issues by helping them detox, get ready for rehabilitatlon, undertske rehabilitation. We provlde a range of resources both online and l)ooks as well as one to one personal mentoring to addicts to get free from their addictlon. This leads to the second purpose as Walklng Free supports fomier addlcts to stay free from their addlction, to find a Job, Career, further study or education and to develop skills for Ilfe such as managlng finance and relatlonships. Some of this 18 done dlrectty and some through referrals to other faith based organisations and churches who offer specific courses and training. The thlrd purpose provides one to one support in an effort to increase the abllities, life skllls and Self-nfid8nce of such communities in the area of benefit. We worf( with those affected by Ilfe controlllng Issues such as alcohol and drug addictlon, self- hanning etc and.provldes support dlrectly to these Individuals on a face to face basis, as well on live streaming to help them to get free from these addictlons and to stsy free. The fourth purpose to raise awareness is primarily carried out through school visits to Schools in Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales and Republic of Ireland) to ralse awareness of the dlstress caused by drugs and alcohol and to share storias of former addicts who are now free to encourage school kids to make great Ilfe choices. Ke Achievements The charfty has had a strong year of delivery of support and tralning to those in addlction and faclng Ilfe controlllng issues. The charfty continued many of its operatlons onllne vla onllne Recovery Groups and livo streaming. Several hundred indivlduals were supported remotely via regular phone calls, some were referred to other ministrles or rehabilltation centres for speciallst support. A new Walking Free Radio Ststion (Recovery Radio International) www.recoveryradiolnternational.com is now1Sve and whllst there is a lot of content there already, It will be an ongoing project to add testimonies, interviews with Rehabilltation centres, adv1 on Recovery from a Chrlstian perspectlve and much more. Recovery Retreats have taken place in Scotland with clrca 100 attendees at each event, at Inchinnan Blble centre near Glasgow Airport, we have up to 100 people in recovery who Join us.
John has continued to undertake a range of speaking engagements across the UK and Ireland and he and Trlsh moved to be based In Tlpperary, Ireland In August 2023 as part of the agreement he Is provbdlng support to the rehab. HIS involvement in the rehab has grown significantly to the degree that we are Influencing the programme to a large degree. Two churches In Llmerlck and Tullamore receive regular practical support from John and both churches are dolng well. Limerick church is growing quickty, they are on the streets 5-6 days a week and are leadlng many to Christ. (Over 3500 In last year) Walking Free has been partnering with Joshua ministry which is run by Liam McNamara. They have two churches, one Sn Navan and the other in Balltyborough Co Cavan. They also have an outreach In Dublin, centred in the Salvatlon Amiy buildlng on Klngs Inn street near Dublin's Henry Street. John will be trainlng up a team of 11 leaders for Joshua. It's proving to be qulte an experience as they are all very young Christlan's but we are making signlficant progress. John is also writing a new book Reflection on Recovery. Walking Free livestreaming on Facebook live and YouTube has proved a great means of reachlng more people,. thousands are tuning in and il's proving to be a fantastic way of reaching our and helping people all over the world. ubl c Bene The Trustees confimi that all activity undertaken In the reporting year fulfilled the obllgatlons as set out in the public benefit statement. Many people have been helped, impacted and supported in a posltlve and beneficial way in line with the publlc benefits. Walklng Free provlded a range of benefits which flow from its charitsble purposes which are for all of the public withln the area of benefft and all benefits are beneficlal. In the case of rellevlng the needs of people who are lost and hurtlng, the public beneflt was the advancement of health and In some cases savlng of lives, indNiduals becoming well agaln as a result of the Interventlon. en 5.0 Financial Overview The Recelpts & Payments Accounts for tha perlod set out delalls of the.income and expendlture. As at March 2024, Walklng Free generated a net unrestricted surplus of £10,996.00 The Trustees agreed at its meeting in September 2024 that It would continue to work towards a reserves policy that equates to a minimum of 3 months operating expenditure of the charlty, which would equate to approximately £10,000 In the current reporting perlod. 6.0 Trustees The following Trustees served as Trustees In the parlod April 2023 to March 2024. Dr George Mcllroy Mr Trevor Johnston Ms Natalie Clarke Mr Greg Tumbull Mrs Janet Johnston
No Trustee received any emoluments during the period of this report, nor were there any expenses claimed by Truslees in their capacity as Trustees during this reporting period. Confirmation This report was adopted by the Trustees at its annual general meeting on 25 September 2024 Signed Trevor Johnston George Mcllroy Chair Treasurer