Ealu 2022/2023 Annual Return Icovering period I" July 2022- 30th June 20231 Trustees Report
Charity Name: Ealu Registration No: NIC 107649 Address: Unit 2, 17 Shamble Lane, Dungannon, BT70 IBW Trustees: NoeI Quinn Paul Tierney Siobhan Nugent Shayne Tierney Eileen Shields Brendan Donaghy Our Aims & Objectives The support, for the benefit of individuals, their families and the broader community, of ex- prisoners in tern]s of self-bettern]ent, well-being, social and economic inclusion, and community re-integration in areas of economic, physical and social deprivation (in Tyrone and throughout the island of Ireland) by all or any of the following means: Economic regeneration: Through the relief of flnancial hardship and unemployment. Through the provision of financial assistance, technical assistance or business advice or consultancy in order to provide training and employment opportunities for unemployed people; Social regeneration: Through the advancement of education, training or retraining, particularly among unemployed people, and providing unemployed people with work experience the provision of a wide variety of programmes/services which support economic and social inclusion. the provision of trauma support services, counselling and wellbeing programmes eg mindscaping. the provision of intennediation, peace-building and reconciliation support service and programmes. the provision of personal development programmes and dedicated support activities for young people; the provision of well-being, educational, heritage and cultural support programmes and activities for older people and the general public the provision of a neutral community venue, providing access to a range of free wellbeing, educational, heritage, cultural and social activities, opportunities and events for all ages and backgrounds.
Specific programmes include.. Mindscape project - which works to support any individual or group suffering conflict-related trauma - PTSD, prolonged grief Youth physical fitness programme - which delivers a programme for our youth Workshop "Men's Shed enhances the mental health of ex POW'S Mediation - this is an ongoing programme which EALU provides to our local community, this helps create new mediators The Critical Dialogue programme, which supports developing inter-community relationships and networks that we previously would not have had access to and this has contributed significantly to our learning and vision for the future. Writing and Art project- which works to support woman with grief and trauma Health and Wellbeing Programme- which works to provide yoga and mediation classes, counselling and support to the vulnerable in our community. Building the capacity of the disaffected young people Programme- which supports our youth who regularly seek our support and advice, especially when problemslissues arise for them. Community Minibus - providing this service to our local community and in particular our rural community, youth groups and women's groups. ?? EALU'S Activities & Achievements Mindscape - (funded by IFI), this course was developed by EALU under the direction of writer and facilitator Maura Johnston and the Co-ordinator of EALU Frankie Quinn in which the participant paints and writes to tell their story. We are in the process of getting the course recognized as an OCN qualification then the course can be shared with other groups and individuals in any community or any country as a gateway to dealing with individual and group trauma. Feedback from a Mindscape participant "I now feel after attending this course and continuing to attend the classes I can express myself through the art I am creating, this is helping me to deal with my grief, Youth physical fitness programme- (funded by IFI). this programme consists of boxercise and talks on anti-sectarianism, personal growth and confidence building. This keeps the young adults occupied, empowers them to become better adults, more inclined to keep fit and to stay away from the drug and alcohol scene and leading to better community co-ordination and our future community leaders. Feedback from Youth physical fAtne$s participant "I have grown as a person and l am so much more confidcnt in myself,
Workshop "Men's Shed Project" (funded by IFI, SSGT, Mid Ulster Council) enhances the mental health of ex POW'S by making different crafts items. The women, s group also use the workshop for art, flower arranging, pot building and painting. We intend to develop this into a social economy project. Feedback from Workshop "Men's Sbed" participant "attending the workshop keeps me busy and gives me a purpose in life" Mediation- (funded by IFI) EALU provides mediation between families, travellers and other organisations. This service has proved invaluable to our local community as disputes often prolong and the community feel EALU offers a safe space to talk. Feedback from family member Ivho received mediation "As a family who attended EALU for mediation, I can't thank EALU enough. We came together as a family and were able to deal with our feelings and emotions and sort out our differences" Our Women's Art Project (funded by IFI, SSGT) which works to support Women with grief and trauma. They have developed an Arts Project/Exhibition and are hoping to develop a Social Economy Project to market their work and a publication with some film clips chronicling stories and mernories of the conflict and its impact. This involves training and skills building with enhanced learning from other groups of women Èn Derry and PUL in Ballymoney, Mid-Antrim and Fennanagh. Feedback from the Women's Art Project "by having my art on display it has given me so much more confidence, I can now explain to others what I have drawn and why" The Critical Dialogue programme - (funded by SSGT) which supports developing inter- community relationships and networks that we previously would not have had access to and this has contributed significantly to our learning and vision for the future. This will entail continuing to organize workshops and hosting visits with other constituency and peacebuilding activists. discussing and orllegacy issues impacting locally and beyond; monitoringldiscussing Brexit/Border Poll concerns. convening meetings to keep the local community infonned. and continuing our engagement with the Churches Inter-constituency group in Belfast. At times, the Critical Dialogue programme involves training workshops, engaging facilitators and speakers> plus the organization of events to the wider community. Feedback from The Critical Dialogue programme "I have attended a number of workshops now at EALU, it gives us a voice and I am confident to speak out about issues in our society" Health and Wellbeing Programme - (funded by SSGT) which works to provide yoga classes, counselling and support to the vulnerable in our community. This proamMe allows EALU to maintain and build our health and wellbeing programme which involves counsellinWsiLpOstIng, building relationships with agencies and service providers, and supporting and developing our Workshop "Men's Shed Social Economy and Therapy
Proj ect" Feedback from the Health and Wellbeing Programme "The service provided to me by EALU has been invaluable to me and my family, I really appreciate it" Building the capacity of the disaffected young people Programme - (funded by SSGT) which supports our youth who resyularly seek our support and advice, especially when problems/issues arise for them. This includes dealing with youth justice issues, social services, education bodies and training agencies. It also involves workshops and courses to be delivered in our training space. Confidence building and capacity remain big issues for many young people who are vulnerable to both the drugs scene andlor recruitment to disaffected arnied group. Feedback from the Building the capacity of the disaffected young people Programme 'EALU provides a safe space for us away from drugs and alcohol" Focus of Work The main focus of EALU'S work is to provide a shared space to promote economic, social, educational, cultural, artistic, good-relations, peacebuilding and other activities across the social divide to improve the conditions of life for the residents of Tyrone and surrounding environs and North Annagh and Monaghan. To stamp out sectarianism and racism. Principal Funding Sources The key funders of EALU include: the International Fund for Ireland. St Stephen's Green Trust. Clothworkers Foundation and local council. Structure, Governance and Management The company was fonned on I ' July 20 L 6. The company was granted charitable status on the Ih 26 October 2020. Recruitment and Appointment of the Board of Directors The directors of Ealu are also charity trustees for the purposes of charity law and under the company's Articles are known as members of the Board. Under the requirements of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, one third of the members of the Board must stand for re-election at the Annual General Meeting. Members, Induction and Training The board members are already familiar with the work of EALU and board members are encouraged to participate in r¢levant activities. The Board members und¢nvent dedicated governance training (delivered by Kevin Hippsley in Rathmor) in 2020 to reflect the additional requiremcnts of the organization as a registered charity. Obligations of the Board The main obligations of the Board are to develop and oversee the implementation of policy
and to ensure that structures and management compli¢s with legal requirements and good governance practice. Organisational Structure The organizational structure (for the reporting period covered) consists of 6 trustees and 3 employees, which include a Project Co-ordinator and admin staff. Risk Management The dircctors have assessed the major risks to which the company is exposed, in particular those related to the operations and finances of the company, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate the exposure to the major risks. How EALU has mitigated any harm flowing from its purposes EALU operate under strict governance oversight, process and procedure. Our programmes adhere to clear and comprehensive internal policies / guidance and external parameters detennined by funders, management agents and government departments. Ernployees and the Board are supported and encouraged to take whatever training is necessary to prepare them for their role and support their day-to-day activities (e.g. Governance Training or Safeguarding Training etc). Regular reporting is provided to each and every funder and each programme undergoes initial and ongoing risk analysis to deterniine what if any risks are posed by the programme (in regard to harni to users, participants, workers, the community, the funder or the organisation). In this way - any potential ham] is identified and specific measures established to mitigate risk from the outset and as circumstances change or new activities are planned. EALU also take care to survey the needs of our user base and indeed the wider community - before any new programme / service is planned. and we also endeavour to capture and take on board as much feedback as well in order to evaluate the effectiveness of our charitable work. This allows us to monitor any potential areas of ham - and mitigate where possible. Hoiv EALU has ensured that any private benefit has been incidental to the public benefit All our activities are directed towards solely providing a public benefit - any private benefit generated is purely incidental. Trustees or employees of the Charity are ineligible and prohibited from accessing any of the seniices or supports which our programmes offer. The only private benefits accrued are purely in relation to the roles and responsibilities of workers. For example our Women's Group project worker may attend a residential (thus benefitting from the charitable work) in their essential supervisory capacity only. Additionally, employees may benefit, for example, from training (which they attend in a supervisory role alongsid¢ participants or via direct training- where it is deemcd essential for their role, i.e. safeguarding training) but again any benefit is purely incidental. Each programme works within strict guidelines, with strict controls on personal expenses, and with all expenditure scrutinised at multiple levels to ensure appropriateness, fair value and necessity. Statement of compliance in regard to the Commission's guidance In setting our objectives and planning our activities for the year the trustees have given careful consid¢ration to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland's guidance on public benefit to ensure that the activities have helped to achieve the charity's purposes and provide a benefit to the beneficiaries.
Signed by EALU Board of Trustees Noel Quinn: Date.. ol Paul Tierney: Date: IL lols Siobhan Nugent: Date. oili LlitrL3 Shayne Tiemey.. Date: O Eileen Shields: Date: o I IILIIois Brendan Donaghy: Date: Q I Iilu)L5