A.G.M. REPORT
SEPTEMBER2004
ACTON HOMELESS CONCERN (Emmaus House and Damien Centre)
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Board of Trustees
Anne GrayChairperson
Thomas CookeTreasurer
Rev Chris McAneny ss.cc.Secretary
Rev James Alcock
Tony Bull
Mairead Cassidy
Suzanne Miles
Director of Acton Homeless Concern
Sister Aileen KennedySister of the Sacred Hearts
London Borough of Ealing
Cllr Yvonne Johnson
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ACTON HOMELESS CONCERN (Emmaus House and Damien Centre)
CONTENTS
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Page
Mission Statement 2
Minutes of the AGM held on 1 October, 20023
Chairperson’s Report6
Director’s Report8
Reflections of the Parish Priest9
Treasurer’s Report10
Quality Assurance12
List of services16
Use of services 17
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MISSION STATEMENT FOR ACTON HOMELESS CONCERN
T
he Mission of Acton Homeless Concern (The Charity) is to be a living reality of God’s Kingdom by respecting the dignity of the poor. The purpose of The Charity is not just to “do something for the poor”, but to work in solidarity in a growing relationship which is mutually enriching.
The Charity evolved as members of the Sacred Hearts Community listened to needs expressed by the local community. This was highlighted by the many who sought food, clothing, friendship, counselling, professional advice at the church door, and who were stark reminders of the need of the church to make a practical response in the light of the Gospel.
The factors that make The Charity quite distinctive are:
- It is located at the heart of the local community
- It has been supported from the beginning by the local parish, local churches, and the local community in conjunction with Local Authority grants and grants from other providers.
- The buildings are conducive to developing friendships that extend onto the streets where clients continue to befriend and be befriended by those who work at The Charity.
- As well as providing material needs, The Charity works to change unjust structures and systems that degrade the dignity and quality of life of homeless people.
- It is a place where people feel it is all right to feel vulnerable. All are welcome.
- It is a source of networking that is accessible to the homeless where their needs are recognised and their human rights are respected.
- It acts as a political advocate for the needs of the marginalized.
Many needs are presented: lack of housing, poor accommodation, broken families, unemployment, mental illness and substance misuse etc, but The Charity is honest with itself in what it may respond to at any given time or place.
The ethos of The Charity is shaped by listening to the needy themselves, and being at the service of and in solidarity with homeless people. The spirit of The Charity is encapsulated by the following: Mission of Christ, “being sent to bring good news to the poor”, befriending, empowering, transforming, social justice and truth.
MINUTES OF THE FOURTEENTH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
HELD AT THE PARISH CENTRE, OLDHAM TERRACE
ON TUESDAY 30 SEPTEMBER 2003
T
he Chairman, Mr Fred Beech opened the meeting and welcomed all those present.
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
These were received from Mary Bull, Rosita Tehrani, Eileen Bradley, Mary Rox, The Irish Embassy, Emily Denny, Gill Peabody
MINUTES OF THE LAST AGM
The minutes were unanimously agreed as a true record of the meeting.
Proposed: Sr. Helen
Seconded: Dermot Buckley
MATTERS ARISING
There were no matters arising.
ELECTION OF TRUSTEE
Ms Anne Gray, a coopted member of the board of trustees, was unanimously elected by members at the AGM.
Proposed: Christine Jenkins
Seconded: Mary Foster
DIRECTOR'S REPORT
Sr. Aileen shared her reflections on her recent experience when her mother died. She believed that one should focus on what is important, and on two words in particular: 'people' and 'thanks'. Sr. Aileen described how she felt privileged to be part of a charity that has as its aim the service of people who are less fortunate than ourselves. She paid tribute to all those who have made a difference to others, and said that tonight was a celebration of that dedication. Sr. Aileen also reflected on whether she had done all she could have done when she had the opportunity, and she concluded that we together had done what we could. Sr. Aileen offered thanks publicly, loudly on behalf of those at Acton Homeless Concern, to everyone who had contributed to the success of both centres: all those people who had made it possible, people who gave anonymously, money, food and time.
Sr Aileen referred to the extended opening hours of the Damien Centre and thanked the volunteers who made it possible for clients to have a warm, welcoming place to go from 10.30 am to 8.00 pm. Sr Helen's huge contribution was singled out, and Sr Aileen also thanked Rosita Tehrani, Regeneration Manager, who had helped in every way possible to secure the NOF grant. This had made it possible to appoint another project worker: Christine Parminter. Sr Aileen thanked the many volunteers at Emmaus House and was delighted to welcome back Sr. Martin after an absence of six months due to ill health. Since her return she had made a huge difference to the smooth running of Emmaus House. Sr. Aileen thanked her coworkers, Sr. Helen, Beatrice and Joan for their help and support and encouragement, and welcomed Beatrice's replacement, Lee Mulvey.
Finally, Sr. Aileen paid tribute to Fred Beech, who was moving to Ireland. On behalf of everyone she wished Fred and his family happiness and good health in their new home.
TREASURER'S REPORT
In the absence of Tom Cooke, Treasurer, Dr A Bull presented the audited accounts to the meeting. Dr Bull reported that it had been another good year and that budgeted expenditure had gone up in line with income. The expected balance at the end of this financial year was the same as recorded last March; this was evidence of real stability and the support we receive from others. Dr Bull thanked Rosita Tehrani, Regeneration Manager at London Borough of Ealing for her help in securing the NOF Grant and concluded with mention of the proposed refurbishment of the Damien Centre facilities. Acceptance of the accounts was agreed:
Proposed: Mary Foster
Seconded: Amby Whyms
QUALITY ASSURANCE
Dr Bull explained the rationale behind Quality Assurance and explained the components of PQASSO. Dr Bull stated that we have recognised areas where we need to improve and we have identified areas in which we believe we are succeeding. Dr Bull indicated that a sign of success is demonstrated by the numbers of clients coming through the doors and benefiting from the various services offered by Emmaus House.
CHAIRMAN'S REPORT
The Chairman presented his annual report as published in the AGM booklet. He paid recognition to the foresight of the Rev. Fr. Pat Bradley who was responsible for opening the Damien Centre and referred to its substantial growth in just two years. The Chairman said a special 'thank you' to the 'wonderful' Community of the Sacred Hearts who were responsible for the inception of Emmaus House.
The Chairman referred to the implementation of the Quality Assurance Systems overseen by Dr Bull, and compared the scheme with 'good housekeeping'. He thanked Dr Bull for his excellent organisational skills. The Chairman also thanked Anne Gray for continuing to find funds for Acton Homeless Concern to function and expand, and acknowledged the huge amount of work this entailed.
Finally, the Chairman thanked the 'backbones' of Emmaus House: the volunteers. He stated that these are the people who keep the charity and going and exhorted everyone to keep up the good work.
Dr Bull proposed a formal thanks to Fred Beech for his involvement, commitment and tireless dedication to Acton Homeless Concern. He acknowledged Fred's long association with Emmaus House and made a formal presentation to the retiring Chairman on behalf of everyone at Acton Homeless Concern.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
The Damien Centre refurbishment was outlined and the meeting was informed that £ 15,000 needed to be raised towards the costs of renovations.
There being no other business the meeting closed at 8.35 pm. with a prayer from Fr James Alcock. Fr Alcock concluded the proceedings by reading the poem published in the AGM Report 'Home Alone' written by Ben Cochrane.
FOURTEENTH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
EMMAUS HOUSE “respecting the dignity of the poor”
CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT28 September 2004
T
he Board of Trustees has met at least once a month throughout the year. Our main aim has been to provide a supportive management structure to enable staff and volunteers to carry out their work.
A considerable amount of our time this year has been spent in the updating of policies and procedures in order to comply with the changing requirements of The Charity Commissioners and our major funders. Work on the implementation of a quality control system (PQASSO) as outlined in last years report, has also continued and we have now successfully completed stages 1 and 2 of the project. Dr Tony Bull has provided a separate report on this project.
As indicated in the financial report and the audited accounts for the year we have achieved all of our planned fund raising targets. We are grateful to The London Borough of Ealing, The Dion Committee of the Irish Government and New Opportunity Funding, (The National Lottery), Trust for London and The Tudor Trust. These major funders together with countless other benefactors who make us their “charity of choice” have provided the finances needed to run both centres successfully this year and also, through their continuing support, they have provided a much appreciated affirmation and recognition of our work. We also want to thank representatives of these organisations who have assisted us with advice and support throughout the year.
In last year’s report we announced that our next major refurbishment project was to be the modernisation of The Damien Centre at an expected cost of £15,000. Due to a successful fund-raising campaign involving board members, staff and volunteers we were able to proceed with this much needed work far more quickly and to a much higher standard than we had originally planned. With a second Project Worker in post, financed by The New Opportunity Fund, the centre is now open for most of the day and early evening and is providing an extended service to clients that goes far beyond our original intent.
We are required to match any funding that we receive from major organisations with our own resources. This means that we have to match each pound we receive from our own resources. This, quite rightly, is in order that we demonstrate “value for money”. In our case we are able to do this because of the small army of volunteers who assist on so many different levels at Emmaus House and The Damien Centre. Not only do we benefit from the time they give so willingly, we are also allowed to calculate the monetary value of that time and to use this value as matched funding on the basis that if we did not have volunteers we would have to employ paid staff. A recent exercise to establish the actual worth of our volunteers put this value at in excess of £150,000 per year. These services are a very valuable resource for which we thank you all.
During the year our staff, under the Direction of Sr. Aileen Kennedy, have provided a level of service and dedication that goes far beyond anything we should expect from them. As well as performing their day-to-day duties at both centres, they have publicised and promoted the charity and have established good working partnerships with local health and support agencies. Members of staff have played an active role in fundraising and through their efforts, have contributed substantially. I would like to thank Sr. Aileen, Sr. Helen, Sr. Martin, Joan, Leigh, Christine and Mary, not only for their work with our clients, but also for their additional personal contributions to Acton Homeless Concern.
We have received our usual high level of support from Fr. Chris McAneny and the Parish team, for which we are very grateful. Fr.Chris has played an active role as secretary of The Board of Trustees and we have taken advantage of his close proximity throughout the year for advice and guidance on all areas of our work (including the plumbing!). I also want to take this opportunity to thank The Parish of Our Lady of Lourdes for the continued free tenancy of Emmaus House. Apart from providing a venue that is undoubtedly the heart of Acton Homeless Concern, we have also been able to use this asset to match funding this year. As the Parish was also instrumental in providing the Damien Centre premises, we are doubly indebted to them.
We will be sorry at the end of this year to lose Dr. Tony Bull who has reached the end of his term of office as a Trustee. Dr. Bull has served on the board in almost every role and has been responsible over the years for the re-organisation of the accounting system, the updating of policies and procedures and the enormous task of putting a new quality control system in place. We are grateful that we will not lose his input completely as he has agreed to carry on with his work on PQASSO until the project is completed in 2005. There is no doubt that he will be greatly missed and we would like to thank him for his hard work and commitment, and for his friendship and support.
Thomas Cooke will also resign from the post of Treasurer this year. We would like to thank him for his efforts on our behalf during his time on the board. The treasurer’s position will be taken over by Simon Makepeace who we are very pleased to welcome.
It has been an honour to serve this year as Chairperson and I look forward to the next twelve months with great optimism. There are plans for new initiatives that will further expand and develop the services we offer to Clients and of course, as always, there is a refurbishment project in the pipeline - we need a new roof! The main focus of The Board of Trustees will continue to be the sourcing of funding to enable us to continue with our work. This is a blessed organisation, I have no doubts that we will find everything we need.
Anne Gray
DIRECTOR'S REPORT 28 September 2004
O
ne day last Autumn Anne Gray (our great new chairperson) and I were having one of our many chats about the possibility of refurbishing the Damien Centre. In the course of the conversation Anne said that since Acton Homeless Concern began, anything that was needed for the benefit of our clients had a way of turning up, when we stepped out in faith it was as if small miracles happened. Anne’s words turned out to be prophetic. And so we dreamed, we planned, we fundraised, we hoped, and almost to the penny we received what was necessary. I believe things just don’t happen, the miracles that I have seen here have been created by good people looking beyond themselves to help others. Anne sent off numerous grant application forms and Sr. Helen organised our first very successful bazaar. When people heard what we hoped to do they gave generously, and so before the work began we knew we had the funds to cover all the costs. I stood and marvelled at how everything came together, as if an invisible hand was guiding the process. The finished product was much better than we thought possible. We have a state of the art long stainless steel counter, a new staff/volunteer toilet, an office, central heating, anew dining room, chairs and new armchairs; it was repainted and the toilets tiled. Best of all was the client’s reaction when we reopened; they affectionately nicknamed it ‘smart café’ and greatly appreciated all that was done for them.
We are very fortunate that in Emmaus House and Damien Centre the spirit of goodwill and goodness continues to thrive. Our services are greatly enhanced by those who provide professional expertise in many areas, the doctors from Brook Green Clinic, Joanna our chiropodist, Henry our optician, Turning Point and the outreach workers from the Contact Assessment Team: a special thank you for your commitment. Our work would not be possible without:
Our wonderful volunteers,
Those who donated money, food or clothes,
Those who helped to raise money during the Street Collections and Bazaar,
The Board of Trustees,
London Borough of Ealing,
The Irish Government,
New Opportunity Fund,
Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Acton,
To the staff, Sr. Martin, Sr. Helen, Joan, Leigh, Christine and Mary, a sincere thank you for making my job so easy because of your hard work and dedication. When I think of all who give so generously I am reminded of the words of a hymn:
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes through which
He looks compassion on this world