What a year!
Ealing Mencap ANNUAL REPORT 2011
He says goodbye... I’m sorry to be leaving but I am sixty five and the time has come when I would like to take life at a slower pace and spend more time with my family and four beautiful grand children. I will continue to be involved in Mencap as long as I can. The inauguration of the new Enterprise Lodge meant I was able to leave on a real high and could look back with a great deal of satisfaction over all the changes that have happened since I started at Ealing Mencap, 18 years ago. At one stage in the early nineties I was the only paid employee, so the only way was up! I wish Lesley all the best of luck steering you through the uncertain waters that lie ahead and will look forward to staying in touch with you all. As I write this my wife Jan and I will shortly be off on a trip around Australia and New Zealand followed by a week in the Borneo jungle. A change indeed!
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Julian Hillman
Page 3
...and she says hello
Many thanks to Julian for his good wishes, I certainly have a hard act to follow. As Julian said, these are uncertain times, however, I already have come to realise that I have inherited an amazing group of staff and volunteers here at Ealing Mencap and I am sure that together we will steer our way through whatever lies ahead. It has been a very busy 6 months for me, getting to know both the organisation and the surrounding area. I am still meeting new people on a daily basis and putting faces to names! So if you see me on my travels around the borough, please say hello. I look forward to getting to know you all and continuing the work we are doing here at Ealing Mencap.
Lesley Dodd
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Baptism by Fire!!! Since joining Ealing Mencap the time has flown by and I must admit, it certainly has been a baptism of fire – mainly due to the public sector cuts becoming a reality both for our organisation and our customers. Like many other voluntary sector organisations in Ealing and up and down the country we have lost significant funding. Consequently, we have had to re-configure some of the services and support we provide. We have been striving to keep our existing projects running well, whilst we reorganised those areas affected by the cuts. This has not been an easy time for our customers or staff and we have had to make some very difficult choices.
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Indeed, I expect we will have to make similar ones in the future unless the austere times we are faced with at the moment take a turn for the better. However, we are nothing if not resilient and on a more positive note our new Ealing Council grant funded services are now up and running. We are working positively with our partners. For some time now we have been liaising with other local Mencaps and this is proving to be very beneficial in the areas of campaigning, raising new money for projects and crossborough opportunities for people, such as sports activities and events.
We are also developing new opportunities for people who have a personal budget. We already have some on offer and are creating different and varied activities for both children and adults and hope to launch more of these in 2012. As our customers have more choice over how and where to spend their money it is important for us to constantly think and plan ahead in order to match their expectations. So, lots of changes and challenges lie ahead. As an organisation we need to nurture the flexibility and agility to respond to these. Finally, I would like to thank all the staff and volunteers here at Ealing Mencap for going the extra mile in making sure that we continue to thrive and offer the support and services that children and adults with learning disabilities in Ealing deserve. Lesley Dodd 21.11.2011
Š 2011 Levi Richards
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Fancy a coffee? Let’s join Kimberley Quiambao and Jaspal Gill at the Community Café, which is held every Friday at All Saints Church. This project is one of many organised by STEP, the new name for Supercare. The re-branding reinforces their main objectives, which are to help people Step towards independence, Step into the community and Step towards employment. Now based at Enterprise Lodge they offer a variety of activities and courses for just £48 a day. To find out more use the contact details on pages 28 and 29.
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So much fun! We’ve almost finished our first year in the new Enterprise Lodge and it has become the focal point for a lot of our activities. The Gateway Clubs have returned in the evenings, many different STEP projects are now in place during the week days and I Love Thunder are rehearsing on Mondays. There have been birthdays, meetings, parties, cooking, photography, music, horticulture, gardening, sports, advocacy, drama, film making, market crafts, computer skills and much more. Over 200 people are using the building every week and we’re hoping to involve the local community more in 2012. We would love you to come and visit us, just let us know first! Our address is on the back cover.
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Howzat! We offer plenty of alternatives beyond the walls of Enterprise Lodge. Value Life is all about getting out into the community by means of a variety of short break services. There’s always something going on, either for groups or individuals. So whether it’s movies, food, drink, snooker, music or something else we’re sure that you will find something to enjoy. For 2012 the team are planning even more ambitious events including leisure weekends and supported holidays. It’s not all grown up stuff though, on Saturday afternoons there is an Activity and Play Club for children of 8 and over. Use the contact details at the back of this report to get in touch with Value Life for more info!
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Synergy Our new project for young people in transition has got off to a good start and we are working with small groups in Harrow, Brent and Ealing. Anna Simpkinson and James Thurgill, our Synergy project workers, are already supporting young people to articulate what direction they want to go in, whether it’s learning, working, volunteering, or making new connections beyond their home area. We are delighted to be working with young adults going through the transition process like Levi Richards who produced all the amazing illustrations in this report. Thank you Levi, we love them!
Š 2011 Levi Richards
We’re using an online system, Click Start, to create our own mini websites, like this one on the left! Below, Nick Radclyffe and Levi are working on a site with some students from Northolt High School.
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What next? We join the Transition Team at their annual What Next event which was held at the Young Adult Centre in Southall. During the day there were workshops, music, demonstrations and stalls where students were able to chat to the right people about college courses, apprenticeships, training and preparation for employment, volunteering and other opportunities open to them after finishing school. There are also regular Transition workshops held at the Carer’s Centre for parent/carers of young people in transition which focus on a variety of relevant topics. Contact the team for more information, you’ll find details on page 28.
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Here is Chloe Rogers running a workshop about travelling safely on public transport...
...whilst some of the visitors take some time out to talk about all the things they have seen at What Next
Š 2011 Levi Richards
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Disability Advice Bureau This year Ealing Council cut funding to adult advice services for people with learning and physical disabilities by 40% and advocacy services by 60%. Ealing Mencap and the Ealing Centre for Independent Living (ECIL) had to change the way they worked to be able to continue providing a service. They decided to form a consortium to provide a joint advice and advocacy service known as the Disability Advice Bureau or DAB for short. Here is Tom Thacker, from the Power Group, listening to Matt Coulham explaining how DAB works. As you can see, you had to be wearing a hat to get into this meeting!
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Travel Buddies Travel Buddies support people with disabilities to travel wherever they need to go. We employ a range of Travel Buddies including those with learning disabilities. Here you can see one of our Travel Buddies, Martin, supporting Shanti on her way to college. Shanti’s family said that without Martin’s support she would be a far less independent and confident person, not only when travelling but in many other areas of her life. The Travel Buddy project has helped both Shanti, and her family,
to realise that given the right support she is able to do many more things for herself. Martin has been buddying Shanti for over two years now and the placement is going brilliantly. So when we heard that due to the funding cuts, we needed to reduce Shanti’s support, nobody was very happy. But rather than just moan and accept it, Martin decided to continue to support Shanti on the extra days, not as a paid employee, but as a Volunteer! So a big thank you to Martin, and keep up the good work!
© 2011 Levi Richards
Fatima Akhtar, from Advocacy for Asian Families, and Nick attend a transition meeting at Contact a Family in Southall
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The EalingHELP website was started in 2006 in response to a demand from parents and carers for easily accessible information. In early 2011 Nick Radclyffe went off to the E-government Awards as EalingHELP had been short-listed in the Building a Fairer Society with e-Government Services category. We’re delighted to say that he brought the award home. Shortly afterwards the revised website, with many improvements, was launched. This ensures we have the flexibility to keep right on topic. Consequently, visitor numbers are growing. Have a look to find out why. www.ealinghelp.org.uk
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Power to the people
The Ealing Power Group is made up of representatives with learning disabilities who live in Ealing. Like many of us, they have been affected by the cuts and no
longer receive payment for attending council meetings, however they have decided that their work is too important to stop and are carrying on without pay.
We met up with them before one of their weekly meetings, now held at Enterprise Lodge, and were told about the group’s plans for the future. A new
logo is being prepared and they are keen to transform themselves into a social enterprise, selling their feedback to the council and social care organisations.
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Volunteering Teresa Begley has just started volunteering for STEP after deciding that after 20 years working in catering she wanted to do something else with her life. Teresa, on the left in this photo with Stacey Betancourt, said she really looks forward to her day’s work now and couldn’t actually remember when she last felt like that! Ealing Mencap is constantly looking for volunteers like Teresa, so if you are curious and would like to find out more then please get in touch. You can find all our contact details towards the back of this report.
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www.ealingmencap.org.uk Maurice Elliott, in addition to managing Enterprise Lodge, has been slaving away over a hot computer to get our new Ealing Mencap website ready. We’re proud to say that as a result we now have a website that makes it really easy for our clients and staff to access the information they need! Included in all this work was the launch of our new format newsletter as well. Finally, we have a well deserved professional presence in the community. Thank you Maurice!
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Who do I talk to? Now you’ve read a little about the work we do, if you would like to talk to someone in more detail, use this list to help you. A lot of our employees only work part time, so please leave a message if you don’t manage to speak to them straight away. As a rule of thumb, should you wish to email someone at Ealing Mencap, use their full first name and surname separated by a dot, followed by @ealingmencap.org.uk. You can also find more information at www.ealingmencap.org.uk.
© 2011 Levi Richards
Administrative Manager For all general enquiries
Maureen Schofield 0208 567 9185 maureen.schofield@ealingmencap.org.uk
Connexions, Synergy and Transition Gabriel Jones 0208 567 9185 07837 185 907 gabriel.jones@ealingmencap.org.uk
Disability Advice Bureau Matthew Coulam 07837 186 733 matthew.coulam@ealingmencap.org.uk
Advocacy for Asian Families Fatima Akhtar 07949 506 501
fatima.akhtar@ealingmencap.org.uk
EMAPP and Older Carers in Hounslow Ruhi Grover 07939 539 737
ruhi.grover@ealingmencap.org.uk
Older Carers and Carer Development Project Alka Tripathi 07775 576 489 alka.tripathi@ealingmencap.org.uk
Database Management
Value Life
mike.frost@ealingmencap.org.uk marja.suominen@ealingmencap.org.uk
alison.murphy@ealingmencap.org.uk
Mike Frost Marja Suominen 020 8567 9185
EalingHELP
Nick Radclyffe 07767 445318 www.ealinghelp.org.uk
Parents with Learning Disabilities
info@ealinghelp.org.uk
Patti Vincent 0208 567 9185
For young people and adults
patti.vincent@ealingmencap.org.uk
STEP
Peer Advocacy Antonio Minott 07837 186 874
antonio.minott@ealingmencap.org.uk
Gateway Clubs 0208 566 9575 Nick Walsh 020 8566 9575 07837 173 782
Travel Training Matt Gamble 0208 567 9185 07973 997 335
Alison Murphy 0208 567 9185 07786 628 486
3C’s Counselling Linda Shampan 07813 095 383 linda.shampan@ealingmencap.org.uk
Lesley Beck 07968 871 459 lesley.beck@ealingmencap.org.uk
If you are having any problems with accessing or using our services then please call me.
Executive Director Lesley Dodd 07930 399 062 lesley.dodd@ealingmencap.org.uk
matt.gamble@ealingmencap.org.uk
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Accounts
Income & Expenditure Account / Statement of Financial Activities For the year ended 31 March 2011
Balance sheet as at 31 March 2011 Restricted Unrestricted £
Incoming resources from generated funds Voluntary income: Grants receivable Gateway Clubs Donations and gifts Activities for generating funds: Commission – Mencap Limited General fundraising
Investment income: Total incoming resources
-
957 1,845,532
554,586 1,930 6,000
16 1,673
120 564,325
2,362,525 2,536 42,030
16 1,673
1,077 2,409,857
2010 Total £
1,429,519 2,717 22,457
141 2,005
1,320 1,458,159
Resources expended Direct Charitable Expenditure: Cost of generating funds Charitable activities Governance costs Other resources expended
1,941,142 14,850 56,232
158 614,931 960
158 2,556,073 14,850 57,192
184 1,473,931 12,929 72,019
Total resources expended
2,012,224
616,049
2,628,273
1,559,063
Net incoming resources / (resources expended)
(166,692)
(51,724)
(218,416)
(100,904)
Transfer from restricted to unrestricted reserves Net incoming resources / (resources expended) including realised gains on investments
(166,692)
(51,724)
(218,416)
(100,904)
Unrealised Gain/(loss) on investment and other assets Net movement in funds Fund balances at 1 April 2010 Fund balances at 31 March 2011
© 2011 Levi Richards
1,807,939 606 36,030
£
2011 Total £
2011
2010
£
£
1,051,157 40,422 1,091,579
130,117 50,958 181,075
Current assets Debtors due within one year Cash at bank and in hand
101,968 252,698
135,022 127,868
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
(93,232)
(64,536)
Creditors: amounts falling due in more than one year
(270,000)
-
Net assets
1,083,013
379,429
92,930 940,894 1,033,824 49,189
46,149 232,367 278,516 100,913
1,083,013
379,429
Fixed assets Tangible assets Investments
Funds Restricted funds Enterprise Lodge Development Fund Other Total restricted funds Unrestricted funds
Approved by the Board of Directors and Trustees on 20th October 2011 B M Perks and G A Venus
922,000 755,308 278,516
(51,724) 100,913
922,000 703,584 379,429
59,237 (41,667) 421,096
1,033,824
49,189
1,083,013
379,429
We gratefully acknowledge revenue funding from Ealing Council, Ealing PCT, the BIG Lottery, City Bridges Trust & numerous donations from members. Also we would like to thank our customers for spending their personal budgets and direct payments with us.
George Venus looks back at the year We are working under the most difficult economic and political environment in a generation whilst trying to introduce entirely new concepts in social care – involving people with learning disabilities having more choice and control. The two things don’t sit easily together and the stresses and strains are there for all to see. We have had to take swift action recently to deal with the effects of grant cuts. This means we will have 15% less money to run the charity in 2012 unless we can generate more volume in the work we are commissioned to do at a more competitive price. There is a long way to go, but over the last few months under Lesley’s leadership, our staff and volunteers have responded magnificently to the challenge as we reorganise to thrive in a more uncertain world. Families and vulnerable people face an even bigger challenge as both benefits and social services are now under constant threat of being Trustees (from left to right) Brenda Perks Hon. Treasurer Ines Cicero Roy Willis Bill Elliott George Venus Chairman Dave Widdowson Vice chair Not in photo: Anne Warner Bernice McNaughton MBE Ken Munford Dawn Lock
Summary
reduced. Mencap continues to fight hard to change the public’s perception and attitudes towards people with learning disabilities through their campaigns such as the Stand by Me hate crime initiative, Changing Places public toilets and Treat me Right in the NHS. In these campaigns, as well as seeking positive change, we are reminding the public that people with learning disabilities still continue to suffer serious discrimination and inequality in a highly developed society in the 21st century. The national charity has just won an important victory in ensuring that mobility payments are not denied to people living in registered care homes. This is further evidence that we need to remain strong in the face of the postcode and social care system lottery that families often face and be vociferous in demanding positive changes to the system. On the brighter side I always welcome an
opportunity to visit the new Enterprise Lodge, such a wonderful space to work in and the grand opening by Samantha Cameron in May marked our achievement in grand and inspirational style. The event was also a fitting tribute to Julian who leaves us, retiring after 18 years hard work. Much of what we have achieved as an organisation in that time, would not have happened without his incredible drive and commitment. We will still see him about because of his continuing involvement in the work of Mencap in North West London in various guises but we wish him a long and happy retirement. It is also heartening when listening to the stories of service users and families, to hear how much they value the support of our services, staff and volunteers, so I would finally like to join Lesley in thanking everyone who has contributed magnificently to our work and reputation for delivering exceptional support and services.
Designed by Nick Radclyffe
Main Office 173a Uxbridge Road London W7 3TH 020 8567 9185
Enterprise Lodge Stockdove Way London UB6 8TJ 020 8566 9575
www.ealingmencap.org.uk
Registered Charity No. 1054061
Company No. 3039319