impactreport2011_email

Being bold in tough timesCrisis Impact Report

2010/11

Homelessness ends here

About CrisisBelow: Actors Prunella Scales and Timothy West join the Shakespeare workshop at Crisis Skylight London; Crisis Skylight Cafes in London and Newcastle provide on-the-job training for homeless and vulnerably housed people; cookery classes at Crisis Skylight Birmingham; volunteer podiatrists at the Health Day at Crisis Skylight London.

Education60 per cent of homeless people have low or no qualifications. This year Crisis has provided learning activities for 2,699 people with 685 of them achieving 978 qualifications, many for the first time.

Employment97 per cent of homeless people want to work, yet only 14 per cent are in any form of employment. This year Crisis has helped 314 people move into work.

HousingHomelessness is rising and single homeless people are not a priority to be housed by local authorities. This year Crisis directly helped 47 individuals find and move into a flat. We also funded 48 new services across the country helping 300 individuals find and move into a place to live.

Health and well-beingHomeless people are five times more likely to have mental health issues than the general public and are 40 times less likely to be registered with a GP. This year 186 Crisis members accessed our mental health services and 670 healthcare consultations were provided for guests over Christmas.

4

6

8

10670healthcare

consultations

347people housed

314jobs

978qualifications

Crisis is the national charity for single homeless people. We are dedicated to ending homelessness by delivering life-changing services and campaigning for change.

Our innovative education, employment, housing and well-being services address individual needs and help homeless people to transform their lives. We measure our success and can demonstrate tangible results and value for money.

PhotographyExcept where indicated, all photography in this report is by Jeff Hubbard, a Crisis member who now works as a photographer. You can see more of his work at www.jeffhubbard.co.uk

Contents and overview

Ending homelessnessWe are determined campaigners, working to prevent people from becoming homeless and advocating solutions informed by research and our direct experience. We have ambitious plans for the future and are committed to help more people in more places across the UK. We know we won’t end homelessness overnight or on our own. But we take a lead, collaborate with others and together make change happen.

Above: Jo Brand visits the Rough Sleepers Centre at Crisis at Christmas 2010; Mayor of London Boris Johnson visits a Crisis at Christmas centre; Coldplay perform for Crisis in Newcastle; volunteers prepare a Crisis at Christmas centre for our guests to arrive.

FundraisingDonations from our individual supporters are the lifeblood of Crisis fundraising. Tens of thousands of Crisis supporters donated £6.8 million during the year.

VolunteeringCrisis was founded by volunteers and the commitment of thousands of individuals who give their time and energy to our work is crucial. Some 10,000 people helped us during the year.

Crisis at Christmas3,975 people slept rough in London over the last year and many thousands more are lonely and isolated, particularly over the Christmas period. This year Crisis provided companionship and vital services for nearly 3,000 guests and shelter for 500 people each night.

InfluencingGovernment plans to cut housing benefit alone will affect nearly a million households. This year Crisis highlighted the impact of the cuts and achieved some key concessions – all with the support of our e-campaigners who have written 1,393 times to their MPs and local papers to make the case.

12

14

16

1820 Thank you to our funders and donors22 Financial review23 Targets for next year24 How you can help

£6.8mof individual donations

3,000guests

10,000volunteers

1,393actions by our e-campaigners

Image: Annabel Moeller

Image: Nick Pickles

Image: Bob Johns

Crisis Impact Report 2010/11 1

The period under scrutiny in this impact report began shortly after the election of a new coalition government and with the country in the midst of severe economic crisis. To cope with the implications of this we have worked incredibly hard on a number of distinct fronts. We marshalled strong arguments in support of our political campaigns to persuade the Government not to impose punitive benefit cuts on some of the country’s most vulnerable people.

We also took a stand against a raft of negative legislative and regulatory change. Using robust research evidence, personal case studies and close scrutiny of government evidence, we made the case for a better deal for homeless people.

The fight continues, but we achieved some success when the government dropped plans for a 10 per cent cut in housing benefits for anyone out of work for more than one year. We also earned an exemption for some homeless people in the Shared Accommodation Rate regulation changes.

Overall, it is very satisfying to see that we have, in nearly all cases, not only achieved the targets we set ourselves, but surpassed them.

Our work in the private rented sectorHelping single people find affordable homes to rent in the private rented sector continues to be an important aspect of our work. We are now supported by significant funding from the Department of Communities and Local Government.

Our role is to work with local voluntary sector groups throughout England to establish new Private Rented Sector (PRS) services for homeless people. So far 48 projects have been established across the country, which will help some 1,500 people find a place to call home.

Of course a roof over your head is just one, albeit crucial, step on the path from homelessness to a new, secure future. Our Crisis Skylight services across the UK have welcomed over 3,000 people through their doors in the past year.

Helping more people in more placesWe have pressed ahead with bold plans to take these services to more places across the UK. As we go to press with this impact report we can confidently say that plans to open new Skylight services in Oxford and Merseyside are reaching fruition. We have also completed our first year in Birmingham and Edinburgh, whilst our Newcastle and London operations go from strength to strength. We have undertaken in depth research to identify suitable locations to enable us to expand our services to more places where they are most needed.

Being bold in tough times

Top: Crisis chief executive Leslie Morphy (2nd from left) with leader of Oxford City Council Bob Price and local artist Emma Reynard at the launch of redevelopment work for our new Skylight centre at the Old Fire Station, Oxford. Above: Chairman Sir David Bell talks with a member at Crisis Skylight London.

Opposite page; Top: Photography workshop at Crisis Skylight Birmingham. Below: Employment Platforms such as this one at Crisis Skylight London help prepare our members for work.

Image: Zak Waters

Image: Oxford City Council

Foreword2

Crisis Skylight Oxford, located in the nineteenth century Old Fire Station, suffered a setback when the building contractor working on the redevelopment went out of business. Now due to open in November, this Skylight has been funded by grants from the Homes and Communities Agency, Oxford City Council and the Big Lottery, plus investment by Crisis.

We are confident that the overall vision for the Old Fire Station remains in place for it to become a unique, dynamic, learning and creative hub in the centre of Oxford for homeless people and others. Our third Crisis Skylight Café will open for business there too.

Working in partnershipWe are also delighted to be working alongside Arts at the Old Fire Station. This new charitable arts company offers spaces for artistic professional development and training; performance and visual arts events; and regular classes and courses for the public. The most exciting aspects of this unique venture are the areas where Skylight and the arts company can work together for the benefit of homeless people.

During the year we have set in motion ambitious plans to establish Crisis Skylight Merseyside, securing offices, recruiting the staff team and establishing partnerships with local organisations. We will start offering services in October.

Our Edinburgh partnership with the Grassmarket Community Project gathers pace. Within 18 months the current Kirkhouse building will be extended with a new build in the middle of the city’s World Heritage centre providing services for the most vulnerable people in Scotland’s capital.

We expect to identify the next Skylight location, subject, as ever, to fundraising, towards the end of 2011.

A key role of our local Crisis Skylight services is helping people into work, through specialist coaching, workshops and events including the highly innovative Employment Platforms where our members make video profiles and meet future employers. We are proud to help some of the most marginalised people – ex-offenders, lone parents and economic migrants from EU countries who desperately want to work but face an uphill struggle.

We could not achieve any of our ambitious aims to help homeless people without the many acts of generosity, large and small, that are triggered by our hard working and creative fundraising team.

Even in these tough financial times, our donors exceeded expectations and our total income reached £13.8m. These funds came from thousands of people, including our famous friends like Coldplay, who donated proceeds from two special shows, and the 500 new Crisis Investors who make regular donations to the charity every month. Companies and trusts also remain important supporters. We are enormously grateful to all of our dedicated supporters who have made our vital work possible.

Leslie Morphy OBE Sir David BellChief executive Chairman

Our five-year strategic plan goals

• To do more for more homeless people in more places across the UK

• To transform the lives of individuals permanently through education, employment, housing, health and well-being

• To influence the external agenda so homelessness is eliminated and homeless people are integrated into communities


Finding and developing creative potential

Top: Franco di Cesare has a studio at Bermondsey Project Space, jointly funded by Crisis and Bow Arts Trust.Above: Bicycle repair workshops such as this one at Crisis Skylight Newcastle are very popular with clients – our members – who gain a practical skill that can lead to employment.

At Crisis we have long known that to beat homelessness you need more than just a roof over your head. In our centres we see the tremendous effect that education and creativity have in helping people transform their own lives. Crisis Skylight helps isolated people build relationships and self confidence.

In just one year our new Crisis Skylight Birmingham service, which takes courses and classes out to homeless and vulnerable people in hostels and day centres across the city, has helped 323 people take up a learning or training opportunity.

Football, cake baking, sculpture, film making, dance, drama and creative writing are just a few of the creative ways into learning that are on offer in London, Newcastle and Birmingham.

Accredited qualificationsProviding accredited learning is also key to Crisis Skylight services. Across all of our centres 685 people gained at least one new qualification.

We offer courses including British Safety Council Certificates in Health and Safety in the Workplace, and the Oxford, Cambridge, RSA and CLAiT (Computer Literacy and Information Technology) qualifications.

To do more for more homeless people in more places across the UK – Crisis Skylight services have grown significantly this year, helping us to live up to one of our key strategic goals.

Image: Zak Waters

Education4

We are delighted that a number of our members have been offered places at colleges for autumn 2011 to study a range of subjects including a BSc in Creative Writing and Critical Practice, a City & Guilds Domestic and Electrical Installation qualification and a BA Hons in English Studies at Ruskin College, Oxford.

Nurturing artistic talentOur talented artists and performers in both London and Newcastle have seen their work exhibited at a variety of settings. Highlights include a puppetry group performance at the International Student Puppet Festival at the Roundhouse, London, and an exhibition of light sculpture and furniture in Newcastle.

We have a wide range of people who volunteer their time alongside our tutors to bring their talents and knowledge to our members. Newcastle was delighted to welcome film director Ken Loach to take questions about his films during his visit to the Open Cinema club.

Actors Timothy West and Prunella Scales also joined members of our Shakespeare workshop to share their love of the Bard with everyone.

Expanding our servicesWorking in partnership with the Grassmarket Community Project, Edinburgh’s Crisis Skylight is building up new learning opportunities for homeless people. We have not quite reached our targets here, as we started off very small with only one member of staff taking on a number of roles including timetabling, recruiting tutors, promoting our service and delivering classes. This proved inadequate and we will increase the team in early 2011-12 to deliver a mix of classes in the Grassmarket Community Project and other centres.

Acknowledging successGraduation events are held regularly, they are important opportunities to applaud our members for their achievements. Partner organisations and donors often attend and members entertain the visitors.

At the June graduation in Birmingham, guests were offered tasty treats made by cookery group members and were then entertained by readings, slide shows, music and a fashion show.

As soon as you walk through the door you realise that you’re somewhere special.Godfrey Worsdale, Director of the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Arts, talking about Crisis Skylight Newcastle

Ken Loach visits Crisis Skylight Newcastle, March 2011

How did we do?Education outcomes 2010/11 (Our target for the year is in brackets)

• 2,699 people participated in a Crisis learning activity (London, Newcastle, Birmingham) (2,040)

• 685 people gained accreditation in a Crisis service (665)

• 978 certificates were awarded across Crisis’ services (880)

• 144 people moved into volunteering (70)

• 416 people moved into further education/training having engaged with a Crisis service (350)

Image: Mark Pinder


Having a job generates self-respect and financial independence – two crucial life-affirming elements that are often sadly lacking amongst people who have endured periods of homelessness.

We are proud of our record in supporting homeless people re-enter the world of work. We also work with people in vulnerable housing situations who may be at risk of becoming homeless without a job and income.

Our highly skilled coaches offer motivational one-to-one and group coaching, skills training and job advice to help prepare our clients for employment. They also stay in touch to support them sustaining their new jobs.

We help people find their way back into the world of work through a self-development programme designed by Crisis that leads to a City and Guilds qualification to help people develop the skills, confidence and aspirations to move into education and towards employment.

Crisis Skylight CafésOur two Crisis Skylight Cafés create opportunities for training and employment. In London we are particularly proud of our association with Switchback, a small charity that works with young ex-offenders. Through specialised mentoring programmes and working at the café, the young people are supported to get their lives back on track. Switchback trainees have gone from the Crisis Skylight Café to work at River Cottage and Fifteen.

Building up confidence and sustainingwork

Case study: LydiaLydia was evicted in 2001. Forced to move from place to place, sometimes squatting, sometimes living in temporary accommodation, she said: “It was very hard. I was depressed.”

She came to Crisis to repair a hat she used to collect money as a street juggler, and was introduced to the Hat Making class. She soon discovered a flair for millinery, eventually getting placed with world-renowned milliner Philip Treacy.

Lydia now has her own studio with equipment bought through a Crisis Changing Lives grant. Her studio is at the Crisis Bermondsey Project Space, which we run in partnership with Bow Arts Trust.

She says, “The studio is all set up and orders are coming for more hats. I am entirely grateful for Crisis giving me that chance.”

Employment6

Making a matchThe Crisis Employment Platform is a regular event that provides our clients with a unique way to meet potential employers. Employers have specific vacancies that they hope will be a good match with our clients. With the support of an acting coach and human resources professionals from Original Search, our clients create video and written profiles, giving employers an insight to the pool of untapped talent available through Crisis. Forty-eight per cent of clients who attended the March event gained employment or work experience.

We also have a special project focussing on lone parents in temporary accommodation in a range of London boroughs. We helped some 125 people this year and 31 of them secured jobs.

Working with people from Eastern EuropePeople from the ten countries of Eastern Europe that joined the EU since 2004 have unfortunately formed a growing proportion of the homeless population due to their employment ending or work not materialising in the first place. The majority still want to work and we have helped 72 to find employment through working with our coaches.

Changing LivesCrisis Changing Lives is a unique national grant scheme that helps homeless people transform

their lives by achieving their educational and career goals.Grants can be made for individuals to access training, buy tools for work or set up a business – 277 people received grants in 2010/11. Over 1,500 people have benefitted from the programme so far. Some remarkable stories of achievement have come out of the scheme this last year:

• Lydia Wall used her grant to become a milliner (see her story opposite).

• Sophie Maxwell set up her own business which has been successfully connecting disadvantaged young people in Sheffield with education.

• David Kelly used his grant to open a thriving garden design business, Cathedral Landscapes.

Crisis Changing Lives grants are available to people who have been engaged with Crisis for a minimum

of three months. Each application is subjected to a vetting procedure before grants are awarded.

As well as practical skills our trainees learn how to be part of a team and practice valuable customer service. Alana Cookman, General manager, Crisis Skylight Café, London

Introducing clients to suitable employers. Mock interviews help members prepare for the real thing.

How did we do?Employment outcomes 2010/11 (Our target for the year is in brackets)

• 314 people moved into work (250)

• Changing Lives Grants totalling £219k awarded (£215k)

• 57 Changing Lives recipients gained paid employment or became self-employed (60)

• 382 people participated in a vocational training programme (200)


Housing

Single homeless people are at the back of the very long queue for help or access to social housing, so the private rented sector is their best option for finding a home off the streets or out of hostel accommodation.

Finding a deposit and rent in advance, persuading a landlord to wait while you sort out housing benefit, or even take a housing benefit tenant at all, become insurmountable barriers for someone whose confidence and self-esteem has been knocked by months or years of homelessness.

We work to break down these barriers and help people step back into a place they can call home.

This year we completed an England-wide audit which suggested that two-thirds of local authority areas have no dedicated support for single people looking for homes in the private rented sector. Our new programme of investment will address these gaps and make assistance more commonly available across the country.

Building a networkThanks to a major funding boost from central government, we are building up a network of support services across England which will benefit from our expertise and help hundreds of people across the country, to find and keep accommodation.

Crisis is receiving a £10 million grant from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to support our Private Rented Sector (PRS) Access Development Programme over the next three years.

A cookery class at Crisis Skylight Birmingham. Through such classes we strive to help people develop the confidence and skils they need to settle into their new homes.

Image: G Lemon

Breaking down barriers to finding a home

8

Supported by an advisory group made up of DCLG, Ministry of Justice, Homeless Link and the National Landlords Association (NLA), we will select local voluntary sector agencies throughout England to establish new and expanded PRS access services for homeless people.

So far 48 projects are being funded; together they aim to help over 1,500 single homeless people in their first year.

We aim, over the three years of the programme, to help over 8,000 single people gain accommodation.

Housing coachesIn 2010-11 we also launched new dedicated housing support for the clients of Crisis employment and education services in East London. Our housing coaches help people to find accommodation and settle into their property.

Our target was to help 49 individuals into accommodation, so far we have helped 47 people into a new home. This new service took longer to set up than we had predicted but we are now working energetically to support as many people as we can to secure a place of their own.

Case study: Clive

Clive was once a family man running a taxi company. When his marriage and business failed, he moved into a rented place. Then his savings ran out and he slept in his car until the council repossessed it (along with all his possessions) when the road tax ran out.

He ended up sleeping rough and turning to alcohol. Then he found a Crisis-funded advice service, it’s helped him get back on his feet, helping him to fund and secure a studio flat.

Knowing he has a place to call his own enables Clive to think, breathe, and focus on his next steps. Outside his flat there is a big park and he spends much time walking. His anxiety levels have dropped significantly and he has stopped drinking.

“I feel like a man again. You don’t feel like a man when you are sleeping in the back of a car.”

It is like slipping down a slope; you fall off the edge, you start to slide, you grab hold of whatever is there and you try to climb up, but you slip and you slip and you slip. Clive, helped by a Crisis-funded advice service

How did we do?Housing outcomes 2010/11 (Our target for the year is in brackets)

• 53 local authorities assisted and advised to develop/expand PRS services (30)

• Completed audit of PRS access provision across the nine regions of England, using it as a basis to deliver targeted support and to update the database of schemes (complete audit)

• 47 individuals directly assisted into PRS accommodation (49)

• Established new PRS housing coaching service model in London, bringing together former Off the Streets and Into Work (OSW) services

Publicity materials to promote our PRS Access Development Programme and Housing Coach project.


Homelessness is an isolating, lonely experience which can erode a person’s self confidence and in turn can cause or exacerbate mental health conditions.

Almost a third of clients of homelessness services in England have mental health needs. Rough sleepers are 35 times more likely to commit suicide than the general population. These stark facts highlight the importance of Crisis Mental Health and Well-Being services which offer a range of options for our clients.

Mental healthIn London we now have two mental health co-ordinators and five volunteer counsellors who between them carried out over 300 counselling sessions during the year.

Throughout the year, 21 people attended the Ups and Downs forum – a mental health services users’ forum held monthly on different subjects including depression, anxiety, healthy eating and relaxation techniques. The forum is funded by the Department of Health.

Every week we also hold well-being drop in sessions – these are friendly and confidential opportunities for anyone who needs advice or support.

Helping people access their local NHS services, registering with a GP, and organising hospital check-ups are just some of the services we provide.

Restoring well-being and better health

Dental care was provided as part of the Health Day at Crisis Skylight London in June 2011.

Health and well-being10

Health and fitnessCrisis Skylight London also hosts popular classes in ballroom dancing, tai chi and yoga where members can improve their fitness and general well-being.

Health advice and check-ups are an important element of our Crisis at Christmas services. Doctors, podiatrists, counsellors and Samaritans are all available to help our guests.

Crisis Health DayAt Crisis Skylight London we held a Health Day in June which was attended by 68 people. Some 38 individuals had a health check (height, weight, blood pressure, blood sugar levels) and 25 had

their feet cared for. Another 12 saw a dentist and 30 underwent chest x-rays – including one person who was referred to hospital with suspected TB.

Well-being services were also offered, including reflexology and Indian head massage.

We work with several partner organisations to support people’s health, including Vision Care, which sends fully-trained opticians into Crisis Skylight London every week to undertake eye tests and provide free prescription glasses, all year-round.

Health services in NewcastleInside Out is a popular weekly well-being session for members of Crisis Skylight Newcastle.

Fifty-four people accessed mental health and well-being services here during the year. Meditation, massage, relaxation and yoga classes were offered too, as well as sports activities like football and tennis.

A healthy environmentWe also encouraged homeless people to take part in ‘green therapy’, a treatment pioneered by mental health charity Mind, to build confidence and practical skills.

Through Seed to Succeed, a pioneering project which took place on land made available to our members by the Attlee Youth

and Community Centre, our members were able to transform a neglected plot into a space for growing healthy, organic food, as well as herbs and flowers.

Members receiving First Aid training. Blood pressure checkup at Crisis Health Day.

How did we do?Health and well-being outcomes 2010/11 (Our target for the year is in brackets)

• 186 people accessed the mental health service (150)

• 78 per cent reported an increased ability to manage their mental health (75 per cent)

• 80 per cent reported an improvement in their social networks/relationships (75 per cent)

• 92 per cent reported an improvement in their motivation (75 per cent)

• 417 counselling sessions provided (320)

• Six mental health awareness events delivered (Four)

78 per cent of people who accessed our mental health services reported an increased ability to manage their mental health


Christmas can be hard for homeless people, with the rest of the population enjoying time with friends and family. For Crisis, providing companionship and services at Christmas is central to what we do, our guests are some of the most vulnerable members of our society.

This was our 39th year of Crisis at Christmas and we welcomed nearly 3,000 guests in nine centres across London.

Perhaps one of the most telling statistics is that 1,242 Christmas guests talked to the Samaritans who provide a confidential service across all our centres. This really brings home the degree of isolation and stress that so many of our guests are under.

Christmas in NewcastleCrisis Skylight Newcastle also opened its doors for two full days of Christmas festivities, support services and friendship, welcoming a total of 160 guests in all.

Bringing friendship, fun and hope for the future – Crisis at Christmas

The sewing service is one of the most popular at Crisis at Christmas, but for some guests, someone to talk to is the most important thing.

IN NUMBERS• 25,000 meals served• Nearly 500 advice sessions• 670 healthcare consultations• 290 guests visited the dentist• 231 guests saw a podiatrist• 242 opticians’ appointments• 1,242 spoke with a Samaritan• 351 items were repaired by our sewing team• 307 people did a variety of arts and crafts

activities • 338 people participated in sports and games

All imagery: Bob Johns

Crisis at Christmas12

Off the streets at ChristmasOur residential centres provide accommodation for rough sleepers, and people with specific needs such as homeless women and those with dependency issues. For the vulnerably housed, we run specialist day centres. Schools and colleges across London handed over their premises to Crisis for use as day centres, offering an inspirational setting for our guests – around 200 people visited each centre every day. We also accommodated 500 guests each night at our four residential centres.

Advice, services and entertainmentGuests can choose from over 20 different services and learning opportunities, vital medical help, housing and job advice. We link our guests with year-round services and encourage them to come to Crisis in the New Year so we can continue to provide opportunities that will help them transform their lives.

Thanks to our partners and volunteersWe also worked in partnership with other charities including St Mungos, Thames Reach, Broadway and London CRI to provide for the first time a specialist facility

targeting some of London’s most long-term rough sleepers.

Fun and entertainmentThe centres are filled with music and entertainment during the Christmas week. Comedian Jo Brand dropped in on the Rough Sleepers and Dependency Centres. Ben Elton visited our Hammersmith Centre.

The most important aspect of our Crisis at Christmas work is to help our guests begin to take steps out of homelessness and encourage them to take up the opportunities

for support that we can offer all year round.

Crisis at Christmas is a mammoth effort every year. With over 8,000 volunteers offering their time, talents, skills, companionship and friendship, it is the largest volunteer-led event in the UK. We owe a huge debt of thanks to everyone who gives their time, donations and goods in kind.

Crisis ambassadors, such as Alistair Wharton, (centre) are former homeless people who have overcome great adversity in their own lives. They spent time in each of the centres talking to guests and encouraging them to take up Crisis services in the New Year.

Ben Elton chats to guests at the Crisis at Christmas centre, Hammersmith.

How did we do?Christmas outcomes 2010/11 (Our target for the year is in brackets)

• Provided shelter and support for 3,000 guests (up to 2,700)

• Involved 37 Skylight members as volunteers in support services in the run up to and over Christmas (30)

• Worked in partnership with 21 external organisations (15)

Crisis at Christmas looks at the full picture – they are saying ‘you matter as much as anyone else does’.Ben Elton, volunteer entertainer


Challenging the cutsCrisis was at the forefront of challenging the Government’s proposed cuts to housing benefit. We highlighted that nearly a million households, including some of the most vulnerable, would lose an average of around £600 a year in the first wave of cuts alone.

Our concerns were raised with MPs and Ministers through events at the party political conferences and our evidence and arguments were cited in debates in Parliament and across the media.

Consequently, the Government bowed to pressure from us and others and stopped the particularly punitive planned 10 per cent reduction in Housing Benefit for anyone unemployed for a year. Our lobbying also helped secure extra time for those likely to be affected to prepare for the cuts and an increase in the emergency funding made available.

We also led the campaign against the Government’s proposal to drastically reduce the housing benefit paid to those aged 25 to 34 by extending the Shared Accommodation Rate. This would have affected around 62,000 people. We surveyed hundreds of housing advisors to assess the likely impact of this change and gather evidence for our campaign.

Unfair Shares, research we published in July, backed up our concerns that there is simply not enough shared accommodation available and that for many, including those who have been homeless and those with mental or physical health problems, sharing is completely inappropriate.

A significant concession was achieved when the Government listened to this evidence and announced that some previously homeless people would now be exempt from this change.

Strong researchResearch is always central to our work. This year we commissioned and published A Review of Single Homelessness in the UK 2000 - 2010. This report highlighted the progress that had been made but also emphasised concerns at emerging policy and what should be done to tackle homelessness in the next decade. The review was launched at a parliamentary reception in December attended by the Housing and Shadow Housing Ministers and other leading politicians.

Top: Chris Grayling MP, Minister for Employment speaking at the Crisis Conference in June 2011; Middle: Grant Shapps MP, Minister for Housing speaking at the launch of A Review of Single Homelessness in the UK, 2000 - 2010.Above: The Hidden Truth About Homelessness, our research into the hidden nature of single homelessness.

The hidden truth about homelessnessExperiences of single homelessnessin England

Kesia Reeve with Elaine Batty

May 2011

Influencing

Tackling the politics of homelessnessCampaigning for an end to homelessness and for better services and support for homeless people has always been central to our mission, and never more so than in this year of dramatic cuts and policy change.

14

On the day we opened our doors for Crisis at Christmas we highlighted on Radio Four’s Today programme and across regional media findings from another piece of research, The Hidden Truth About Homelessness. This showed the desperate lengths many single homeless people go to just to put a roof over their head, including resorting to crime and unwanted sexual relationships. In many cases they are just not getting the help they need and should expect from local authorities.

This shocking evidence supported our lobbying around the Localism Bill, arguing that with homelessness already rising the Government should be improving the safety net for single homeless people, instead of weakening existing protections.

Working with governmentOur annual conference saw Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP, Minister for Employment, and other key players quizzed by delegates about the implications of welfare reform and if the new Work Programme will help homeless people. We don’t believe it will and the Crisis Welfare Network will be working with organisations across the country to monitor its impact and to ensure the Government is aware of any concerns.

Our chief executive gave evidence directly to Ministers from eight

departments who have been brought together in a new homelessness committee. She emphasised the need for joined-up responses. We continue to be active members of the Mayor of London’s Delivery Board to tackle rough sleeping, including undertaking research on how to better help the most entrenched. And together with Shelter we are working on long-term research

looking at tenancy sustainability in the private rented sector.

Supporter actionThroughout the year we have been helped by our e-campaigners who have written nearly 1,400 times to their own MPs, and their local papers. We are very grateful for their support.

There is evidence that in practice – this is where Crisis’s huge experience in the field comes into play – too often the process does not happen as it ought, and sadly that inevitably leads to rough sleeping.Alison Seabeck MP, Shadow Housing Minister, arguing in the Localism Bill Committee for greater support for single homeless people.

Crisis Skylight member Abdul Mohammed presents a piece of artwork to Simon Hughes MP.

How did we do?Influencing outcomes 2010/11

• Campaigned to protect homeless people from the worst impacts of cuts to housing benefits, other benefits and public spending, securing for them some concessions

• Secured 38 opportunities to present our case to Ministers and Civil Servants to influence policy change (target: 25 meetings with statutory bodies)

• Ensured homelessness remains a priority for the new

Government with policy achievements despite the cuts

• Sought to influence the new Work Programme to ensure it supports homeless people and met the targets of the WILLOW and Ethical Enterprise and Employment (3xE) Networks. The WILLOW and 3xE programme met their targets, but despite extensive lobbying we are very concerned at whether the Work Programme will work for homeless people

• Delivered and disseminated five research projects and three evaluations increasing our knowledge of the causes of and solutions to homelessness (target: three projects)

• Secured £3.3m of media coverage across newspapers, radio and TV in support of our influencing objectives (target: £2.5m)


Above: Coldplay live in Newcastle.Right: The Choir With No Name, featuring some of our members, supported Coldplay in Liverpool.

Fundraising

Images: Nick Pickles

16

Without our generous donors and the commitment and spirit of those who organise and take part in events on our behalf, it would be impossible to do the work we do.

Coldplay liveWhen long-term Crisis supporters, Coldplay offered to host their only live British shows of 2010 to raise funds for us we were delighted. Tickets sold out within eight minutes and an astonishing £245,000 was raised from the two Hidden Gigs in December.

We chose Newcastle and Liverpool to host the gigs given our existing and planned Skylight services in these northern cities.

The locations of the intimate 1,000 seat venues were kept under wraps until 24 hours before the shows, giving Coldplay fans a small taste of the uncertainty faced by thousands of homeless people who have no idea where they will spend their next night.

The Choir With No Name supported both gigs. These singers, who include members of Crisis Skylight, earned a brilliant reception for their performances.

Oxford fundraisersCrisis: Mission Oxford, a high tech treasure hunt using a smart phone app, saw teams of adventurous Crisis fundraisers completing tasks around famous landmarks in London and Oxford. Competitors had a sneak preview of the Old Fire Station building in Oxford – undergoing a major transformation to house new Crisis Skylight services by the end of 2011.

London runnersIn June the 19th annual Square Mile Run attracted over 2,000 people to Paternoster Square, in the heart of London’s financial district. To highlight the scandalous pattern of rough sleeping in the city all competitors lay down for a photo call before the race got underway. Sponsored for the second year by Rabobank, the race raised £120,000.

Business mattersWe work hard to encourage business to support our work, and like to take a highly creative approach in this area.

The Christmas Card Challenge fundraising campaign encourages companies to donate their Christmas card budgets to Crisis. Our 2010 offering, the Christmas Cracker, won two national industry awards – ‘Best Use of E-Media Fundraising’ at the Institute of Fundraising Awards, and ‘Best Digital Campaign’ at the Monster Digerati Party. For this campaign we asked some of the best comedians in the business to tell some of their funniest jokes in an e-Christmas card. The campaign raised a massive £650,000.

Crisis contributorsThe biggest contributions of all come from the tens of thousands of individual Crisis supporters who send small and large sums to the charity every month. We always see huge generosity in response to our Crisis at Christmas appeals, and across the year some £6.8 million was donated by individuals.

Community groups, schools and churches all over the UK also supported Crisis with donations from events and collections throughout the year. A special mention must go to Nick Abbey who has run ten London Marathons and raised £80,000 for Crisis.

We are indebted to all our individual donors, particularly in these tough economic times, who have continued to be generous and committed to Crisis and homeless people.

Raising funds for our essentialwork

Many individuals make significant contributions to our work. Crisis donor Pauline Arbab-Zadeh (pictured above with her son Alex and Crisis chief executive Leslie Morphy) gave £100,000 in memory of her son Michael.


Volunteers – we couldn’t

do it without you

Volunteers are part of the lifeblood of Crisis – a staggering 10,000 people gave us their time during the past year. They are vital to our Crisis at Christmas projects and throughout the year they help in a variety of roles ranging from teaching assistants to receptionists.

We are particularly proud of our member volunteer programme. We believe that as a charity it is only right that we help former homeless people to step back into the world of work. We provide member volunteers with opportunities to work alongside Crisis teams in a number of different areas from fundraising to reception work.

At our warehouse in London member volunteers got involved in training opportunities and many worked as warehouse assistants for Crisis at Christmas. Member volunteers also played an invaluable role in the creation of the new Crisis and Bow Arts warehouse exhibition space.

Major fundraising events like the Square Mile Run rely on hundreds of volunteers (such as those pictured above) who act as marshals or stewards.

Member ambassadorsOne particular aspect of member volunteers’ work is the Crisis Skylight Ambassador programme where more experienced members help us encourage new people to take up opportunities at our Skylight centre. Almost 30 current Crisis members are Ambassadors. They worked particularly hard during Crisis at Christmas, urging guests to come to Skylight in the New Year.

Across the UK a total of 34 people volunteered as Community Ambassadors and gave 40 talks in their local communities, raising awareness and funds for Crisis.

In Newcastle we host monthly meetings for volunteers with guest speakers. These are good networking opportunities and helps Crisis Skylight Newcastle enhance its reputation in the area.

Mentor supportWe fell just short of our target of recruiting 35 mentors (we recruited 30) in London. In Newcastle, 13 mentors were matched up with members looking for additional support. Some relationships achieved real success and we are very grateful for the time and commitment our mentors demonstrated. We are reviewing the programme for 2011-12.

Volunteering18

Case study: ClaudeneClaudene Cetinoglu joined the staff team from the volunteering team last August as a Smart Skills tutor. Previously Claudene had been volunteering as one of two language and culture group project manager volunteers for 18 months. Claudene had this to say about the volunteering programme in Newcastle.

“I’ve been treated with respect throughout the volunteering I’ve undertaken at Crisis Skylight Newcastle and I have been given the trust to take an individual approach to my work.

Through my volunteering I developed skills that have seen me progress from a volunteer to now working as a Progression Coordinator here at the centre.

My experience at Crisis has allowed me to discuss volunteering opportunities with my friends and this has led to a new mentoring relationship being developed. I would definitely recommend volunteering at Crisis Skylight Newcastle because it’s a great way to develop your skills, meet new people and step outside of the mundane 9-5.”

The volunteering programme at Crisis Skylight Newcastle appealed to me because there is a clear ethos and belief that everyone can fulfil their potential.Claudene Cetinoglu, volunteer, Newcastle

ChristmasOver 8,500 volunteers from all walks of life were recruited for Crisis at Christmas. The project remains an impressive example of an initiative where volunteers directly oversee the strategic development of the project via the Crisis at Christmas Steering Group, train new people and run the centres during the week.

Vision Care Opticians donate their time as volunteers to provide free eye care to homeless people, both at Christmas and throughout the year at Crisis Skylight.

How did we do?Volunteering outcomes 2010/11(Our target for the year is in brackets)

• 10,000 volunteers recruited to help Crisis across the year, (target 10,000 including 8,000 at Christmas)

• 35 members recruited and 27 members recruited to act as Ambassadors for Crisis Skylight (Recruit and support 30 members as volunteers with five receiving the full ASDAN qualification)

• 30 mentors recruited (35)


29th May 1961 Charitable TrustAccentureAddo TrustAlex & William de Winton TrustAllen & OveryApax PartnersAshurstAston CarterAwareness FundBank of America Merrill LynchBarclaysBaring Asset ManagementBDO LLPBetfairBig Lottery FundBirmingham City CouncilBridgepoint Building Societies Trust LtdCadbury FoundationCanary Wharf Group plcClover Charitable TrustCo-operative FoundationCrédit Agricole Corporate and Investment BankCVC Capital PartnersDepartment for Communities and Local GovernmentDepartment of HealthDolphin Square FoundationDonald Forrester TrustDorus TrustDr Albert Wander Charitable FundEcomindsEDF EnergyEversheds LLPEverything EverywhereFidelity InternationalFidessa group plc

Financial TimesG G Bunzl Charitable FoundationGatsby Charitable FoundationGlaxoSmithKlineGlencore International plcGrosvenorGroundwork UKHelix ArtsHorne FoundationIngeus UKInternational Power plcJ Van Mars FoundationJTIJupiter Asset ManagementKey Trust CompanyKing/Cullimore Charitable TrustKPMGKraft Foods EuropeLinklatersLondon Borough of Tower HamletsLondon CouncilsLondon Development AgencyM & G InvestmentsManMaurice and Hilda Laing Charitable TrustMatrix GroupMetLife Assurance LimitedMillerMorrison & FoersterNewcastle City CouncilNHS East London and the CityNokiaNorthern Rock FoundationOak FoundationOxford University PressPearsonPPL

Pret A MangerRabobankReed FoundationRolls-RoyceSandra Charitable TrustSir James Roll Charitable TrustSkills Funding AgencyStanley Grundy FoundationStreetSmartStuchfield Family Charitable TrustTaconic Capital Advisors LPTalisman Charitable TrustThe Barbour TrustThe City Bridge Trust The D G Charitable SettlementThe Dulverton TrustThe Eranda FoundationThe Eveson Charitable TrustThe Freemasons’ Grand CharityThe French Huguenot Church of London Charitable TrustThe Henry Smith CharityThe Howard de Walden EstateThe Monument TrustThe Scotshill TrustThe Scottish Government The Tudor TrustThe Worshipful Company of CooksThinkFolioThird Sector ConsortiumTower Hill TrustTravelexTrust for LondonUniversal PicturesVitol FoundationWilliam Allen Young Charitable TrustWinton Capital

Donations and grants – £5,000 and over

Thank youWe are so grateful to all of the charitable trusts, foundations, businesses and other organisations that have chosen to support our work. We are proud to help single homeless people on your behalf.

Thank you20

AF BlakemoreAimar FoundationAllied BakeriesArchitecture for HumanityAudioLinkBennett SafetywearBirds EyeB-Line Business SuppliesBritish Dental Trade AssociationBroraCarillionCarrara Linen ServicesChiltern Cold Storage GroupCity Furniture HireCity of London Academy SouthwarkCitySprintClear Channel UKDairy Crest GroupDirect Table FoodsDorset CerealsEaling Hammersmith and West London CollegeEssex Flour & GrainEverything EverywhereFinancial TimesFrankenberg GmbHFreshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLPGategroupGeorge Abrahams GroupGHA GroupGlaxoSmithKlineHayden’s BakeriesHenry Schein MinervaHilton MeatsHitachi EuropeiGelIntercontinental Hotels GroupIslington Arts and Media SchoolJ. Barbour and Sons

J. SainsburyJohn Geddes AssociatesJTIKimberley-ClarkLays InternationalMarfo Martinair FoodMarks & SpencerMarsMCLMP Moran & SonsNewham Academy of MusicNewham CollegeNotting Hill Housing GroupOptidentPerry Ellis InternationalPetty WoodPHS TeacratePourshinsPret A MangerRenaultRich InvestmentsRodantoRoyal Mail GroupSafestoreSCCSiemensSion Manning SchoolSNS NetworksSodexoTata Global Beverages (Tetley Tea)The Co-operative GroupThe Feel Good Drinks CoThe Outside ClinicThe Worshipful Company of Glovers of LondonTravis PerkinsWahl (UK)Walkers ShortbreadWatkins Hire

Major gifts in kind and Crisis supporters

Staff at our warehouse in south London get the bedding ready for Crisis at Christmas.


Financial summaryResultsCrisis reported a surplus of £3.0 million for the year ended June 2011, comprising a surplus of £1.4 million on core Crisis activities and £1.6 million from the Crisis Private Rented Sector Access Development Programme. This programme has a material impact on the financial statements this year which is expected to continue for the next two financial years and, accordingly, is presented separately in the consolidated statement of financial affairs.

Excluding the PRS Programme, the surplus for the year exceeded our initial expectations and reflected a combination of successful fundraising and lower costs, primarily because the new centres in Oxford and Merseyside will open later than anticipated. Substantially all of this surplus has been transferred to designated reserves, primarily the new developments reserve established to cover the first 36 months’ planned expenditure, net of associated income, of new centres.

Charitable expenditure*

£1.5mChristmas

£0.8mCampaigning and influencing

£3.3mEducation, health and well-being

£0.1mVolunteering

£0.2mHousing

£0.2mNew developments

£2.0mEmployment

Income*

£0.6mOther income

£6.8mIndividual donations and legacies

£1.5mTrust and community donations

£1.5mGrants

£1.0mGifts in kind and donated services and facilities

£1.8mCorporate donations

£0.6mEvents

* excluding income and expenditure relating to the Private Rented Sector Access Development Scheme.

22

Education• 3,787 people to participate in a Crisis learning

activity (across Skylight London, Newcastle, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Merseyside and Oxford services).

• 914 people to gain accreditation in a Crisis service.• 1,230 qualifications to be awarded across Crisis’

services.• 426 people to move into further education/training

having engaged with a Crisis service.• Crisis Skylight centre to open in Oxford; Oxford

and Merseyside Skylights to deliver full terms to homeless people and services to expand in Edinburgh.

Employment• 302 people to move into work.• Crisis Skylight Café Oxford to open and along

with our cafés in London and Newcastle to move to a new business model.

• 35 people to gain employment with the help of a Changing Lives grant.

• 360 people to participate in a vocational training activity/course.

Housing• 80 local organisations funded to establish new

services to enable them to help 500 single homeless people establish new tenancies in the private rented sector.

• Continue to support 48 existing schemes to help 1,200 single homeless people establish new tenancies in the private rented sector.

• 53 people to be directly assisted by Crisis to find and move into a place to live in the private rented sector.

• 145 people to achieve stability or improvement in their housing situation with the support of a progression coordinator.

• To be a leading source of best practice for all those involved in England and Scotland in helping homeless people access accommodation in the private rented sector.

Health and well-being• 150 people to be supported to improve their

mental health.• 75 per cent of people working with the Outcomes

Star to report a positive improvement in their social networks/relationships, their motivation and their ability to manage their mental health.

• 800 counselling sessions to be provided.• 700 healthcare consultations provided at Crisis

at Christmas.

Crisis at Christmas• Provide shelter, support and services for up to

3,000 guests• Involve up to 50 Skylight members as volunteers

and peer ambassadors during the project.• Provide employment training opportunities for

six Skylight members at our warehouse.• Work in partnership with 30 organisations across

the homelessness, training and employment sectors to provide robust opportunities for our guests in the new year.

• Use the opportunity of the 40th Crisis at Christmas to attract new supporters to Crisis, to put a spotlight on homelessness, Crisis solutions and our campaigns for change.

Influencing• Secure 30 opportunities to present our case and

provide evidence to Government and the statutory bodies that influence policy change.

• 1,500 actions to be taken by e-campaigners in support of our influencing objectives.

• Deliver and disseminate four research projects and external evaluations increasing knowledge of the causes and solutions to homelessness.

• Gain high level of media coverage and make effective use of social media in support of our influencing objectives.

• Successfully evaluate and wind-up the Ethical Enterprise and Employment (3xE) network, ensuring lessons are disseminated and organisations connected to ongoing support.

Volunteering• 10,000 volunteers to help Crisis across the year

(including 8,000 at Christmas).• Recruit and support 40 member volunteers.• Develop volunteering plans for our new centres

in Oxford and Merseyside.• Recruit and support 30 interns.

Next year: our targets to achieve more in 2011/12


Who’s who at Crisis PatronHRH Princess Alexandra, the Hon Lady Ogilvy, GCVO

Vice presidentsLord Alton of LiverpoolJonathan DimblebyThe Rt Hon the Lord Morris of Manchester AO QSOThe Most Rev and the Rt Hon the Lord Archbishop of CanterburyHis Eminence the Cardinal Archbishop of WestminsterDavid Gilmour CBE

Chair of trusteesSir David Bell

TrusteesHugh Biddell Harish Bhayani Nigel Carrington Tim Child Liz CleaverJane Furniss Philip Graf CBE, Vice Chair of TrusteesHeather LamontHannah LownsbroughAndrew Newell John Samuel Canon Bruce Saunders

Company secretaryKeith Felton

Senior management teamLeslie Morphy OBE Chief executiveKeith Felton Director of corporate services Andrew Page Director of fundraisingDuncan Shrubsole Director of policy & external affairsMicky Walsh Director of client services

How you can helpYour passion and support for our work helps us take action to change the lives of single homeless people across the UK. Knowing that we have your commitment enables us to effectively plan, develop and continue this vital work.

24

DONATE

FUNDRAISE

VOLUNTEER

CAMPAIGN

• Donate a regular amount through direct debit

• Give as you earn through your company’s charitable giving scheme

• Leave a gift in your will

• Volunteer at Crisis at Christmas

• Volunteer all year-round at our centres in London, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Oxford and Merseyside

• Become a Crisis campaigner

• Tell your family, friends and colleagues about our work

• Participate in a Crisis challenge event

• Nominate Crisis as your company’s charity of the year

www.crisis.org.uk

Image: Annabel Moeller

Image: Terry Lee

Get in touchCrisis66 Commercial Street London E1 6LTTel: 0300 636 1967Fax: 0300 636 2012

www.crisis.org.uk

© Crisis 2011

Crisis UK (trading as Crisis). Registered Charity Numbers: E&W1082947, SC040094. Company Number: 4024938

About the coverMore than 2,000 competitors in the 19th annual Crisis Square Mile Run lay down in London’s Paternoster Square to highlight the problem of rough sleeping on London’s streetsImage: Jeff Hubbard

impactreport2011_email

Documents

Transcript of impactreport2011_email