SPLITZ Support Service
Annual Review 2014-2015
Overview of 2014-15
Front cover images of staff, trustees and volunteers at our Away Day at Cadbury House Hotel in March 2015
Our performance in 2014 was defined by remarkable growth and further delivery of quality services. Income
£2.35m
Services
income
service types
paid employees
total beneficiaries
£1.77m
22
22
5%
£0.57m grant income
3:1
contract:grant ratio
programmes
88% cases closed “needs met”
91%
overall satisfaction
Our Vision Our vision is for a society where people have the • right to be respected • opportunity to enjoy a happy and healthy life, free from fear • opportunity to achieve and sustain independence.
Splitz Support Service | Annual Review 2014-2015
96
Beneficiaries
6
contract income
2
Staff
volunteers
87% female staff
80%
staff retention
8,998
BME beneficiaries
84%
female beneficiaries
19%
Contents Executive Director’s report
3
Charity overview
4
Our strategic priorities
5
Financial overview
6
Domestic abuse services
7
Perpetrator programmes
9
Young people’s support
10
Housing
11
Thank you
12
disabled beneficiaries
Our Mission We are able to work towards our vision by working with individuals, communities and other agencies to: • help people identify, come to terms with and overcome their difficulties and challenges • provide high quality support services • generate solutions appropriate to the needs of our communities.
Our Values • • • •
Integrity Inclusiveness Empowerment Encouragement
Executive Director’s Report
Sandra
Case study
“It’s not about who is right; it’s about what is right.” In May 2015, Splitz Support Service celebrated its 26th anniversary. We have come a very long way since the beginning of the journey; and at the outset, I was completely unaware that the voyage ahead would bring such priceless rewards as well as challenges. Various hazards included dealing with unexplored territory and hampered by lack of consistent funding. Throughout the years, our main driver has been the Voice of the service user. We are here to provide help and support to people with traumatic experiences of domestic abuse and its associated complexities. In Wiltshire, through successful applications to grant making bodies we have developed services to help and support people through their personal traumas. However, three years is about the maximum length of time any trust will provide a commitment of funding. Our employees and volunteers are amazing people. They are united in their commitment to the ethos of our organisation. Each of them takes great pride in their work and values the structures we have in place which enable them to stay safe and properly supported while they provide the help needed in the community. It takes extraordinary courage for traumatised people with experience of domestic abuse to make that first phone call. The support provided is wrapped around the individual with their needs right in the centre. I am deeply saddened when I hear that people who have found the courage to get in touch have to wait to get the help they need. With decent, sustainable funding we could achieve so much more. Equally, when I received a letter from a 9 year old boy telling me he’s sleeping better at night since his dad has been going to ‘group’ and their home is now a safe and happy place, I am absolutely delighted. Suddenly, the journey along the rocky, pot hole ridden, road is worth the blistered soles and the bruised knees! I am as passionate today as I was 26 years ago that this extraordinary organisation continues to listen to the voice of our service users above all else; and continues to provide services to help meet their needs. Our aim is to give people the resilience they need to achieve and sustain their own independence and that their personal lives are transformed by the joy of living. We are confident that we are helping people to make changes in their lives one small step at a time.
Sandra experienced and witnessed domestic abuse from a very early age. Her father was a drug abuser. She watched as her father physically and emotionally abused her mother and siblings. Eventually, mum separated from her father and moved the family to a refuge. At age 14, Sandra met Joe, a 23 year old who would leave more scars on her, both emotional and physical. He was coercive and controlling and began to hit her, telling her that she was not worthy enough to sleep in the same bed as him and made her sleep on the floor like a dog. Sandra became pregnant at age 15 but lost her baby due to constant beatings. Splitz met Sandra roughly a year after she was put into care. We helped Sandra identify and dismantle her prison: providing understanding how she was led into submission; how Joe vilified and twisted her hopes to be happy, through fear and control. In group work and through our one to one intervention, Sandra learned what to expect of a healthy relationship. She also learned to respect and love herself. Sandra was never a child, or even a teenager, but with support she has now recovered a sense of self worth and confidence; able to make positive choices, taking control over her own life and pursuing dreams she didn’t know existed before she started working with us. Sandra is now 17. She is attending college and has moved into independent lodgings. Splitz Support Service | Annual Review 2014-2015
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Charity Overview We are a user-led charity that develops and delivers a broad range of innovative services in three primary areas. Promote healthy relationships
Prevent family crises
Relieve the needs of those affected
£47,000 : 2%
£1.5m : 68%
£650,000 : 30%
Our workshops cover a wide range of issues: adults affected by domestic abuse; young people who witnessed abuse; parents of young people who witnessed abuse and teenage healthy relationships. DV workshops Children & YP workshops Parent workshops Healthy relationships
360 375 50 20
Early intervention services include our low-medium risk domestic abuse services for victims and services for young people who witnessed domestic abuse. DV outreach Mentoring & befriending Children & YP
High risk DV support Perpetrator programmes Women’s safety service Housing support
780 160 135 1100
Service delivery
Our reach
Our services are mainly delivered to individuals and families affected by separation, divorce or domestic abuse. Our 3 main types of service are:
We have a considerable regional presence with services delivered in 4 counties and interests in all parts of the southwest region and beyond.
• Promoting healthy relationships. We promote healthy relationships by delivering workshops, raising awareness and engaging in local, regional and national strategy. • Preventing family crises. We deliver early intervention services (at the earliest point of identified need) to prevent family crises. • Relieving the needs of those affected. Our directed support services are designed to relieve the needs of those affected.
4
5450 88 480
Our domestic abuse services are aimed at people directly affected by abuse, perpetrators of abuse and those indirectly affected by abuse
We have reshaped our charity over recent years to better able us to meet the needs and demands of a competitive market. This has allowed us to undertake and develop new services in Devon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. Where these services are delivered is shown on the charts.
Splitz Support Service | Annual Review 2014-2015
Our strategic priorities Our strategy is designed to deliver sustainable growth, reduce risk, improve long-term financial sustainability and provide value for money to stakeholders.
Grow
a diversified charity
Deliver
more services/value for money
Simplify
our model of work
Display
the hallmarks of a well run charity
Our aim
Our Progress
Priorities
Identify new opportunities to work collaboratively in other geographical areas as well as in new fields of operation
New services in Devon
Successful launch of new services in pipeline
Improve and develop services to meet ever changing demands from a widening community
Development of Healthy Relationships programme; evaluation and development of TeenzTalk programme
Deliver and evaluate new programmes
As our charity continues to change shape we are transforming how we operate to reduce complexity and increase efficiency
Restructuring of back office functions; developments to IT infrastructure; introduction of Theory of Change to how we model our services
Further work to finalise Theory of Change models, improving how we describe our impact
How we deliver success is just as important as what we achieve
Transparency
Implement changes to terms and conditions
Continue to identify new opportunities in southwest region
Review employment terms and conditions
Continue focus on value for money
Further improvement to core functions
Risk management We have rigorous processes and systems in place to help assure the integrity of our operations which include how we identify and manage the risks that could impact our charity. Managed by the Board, risk is identified and mitigated at various levels within the charity through devolved action plans. The main categories of risk are: • • • • • • •
Governance - trustees Governance - activities of the charity Reputation Staff issues Financial control Precautionary planning Compliance
Risk is measured to give an initial risk indicator. The effectiveness of countermeasures are also measured. The residual risk is what is left and better identifies the areas where we have least effect at mitigating risk. Splitz Support Service | Annual Review 2014-2015
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Financial overview
Contract income
Up 102%
Grant income
£0.56m
Up 28%
£2.20m Expenditure
Up 64%
Reserves
£0.22m
Up 32%
This year our income grew by almost £1m. This was largely due to winning a new contract to deliver domestic abuse services in Devon. Our major contract income streams were for: • Domestic abuse services for Devon County Council • Domestic abuse services for Gloucestershire County Council • Perpetrator programmes for Gloucestershire County Council • Domestic abuse services in partnership with Wiltshire County Council Grant income also rose by over a quarter. We are extremely grateful to all of our funders for their continued support. Our main grant income is from: • The Big Lottery Fund • Comic Relief • BBC Children in Need • The Henry Smith Charity
Contracts 75.5%
Bank interest 0.2%
Grants 24.1%
Donations 0.2%
Expenditure Charitable activities 98.4% Cost of raising funds 1.0%
Expenditure
Governance 0.5%
For some funds the money carried forward isn’t classed as deferred income, which accounts for the high surplus this year. All of the surplus is designated for projects and activities continuing in 2015. The majority of expenditure (£2.16m: 98.4%) was on the activities of the charity. We spent a small amount (£22,194: 1%) on raising funds. This was mostly staff costs. For this we raised over £311,409 of new income, representing a return of 1400%. A minimal amount of income (£12,000: 0.5%) was spent on Governance. This included the cost of a celebration event to mark our 25th anniversary.
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Income
Splitz Support Service | Annual Review 2014-2015
5 Year Trend
Spending
Up 73%
Income
Income
£2.38m £1.77m Income
Domestic abuse services Outreach services The first key element of the domestic abuse programmes we deliver is the outreach service. This is aimed at male at female victims of domestic abuse where the risk is measured as Medium. Risk is measured in all areas using the Domestic Abuse and Sexual Health (DASH) risk assessment form, which is the standard risk assessment method across much of the country and used by most statutory agencies. Many of our staff have completed training to the National Occupational Standards for Domestic and Sexual Violence/Abuse. We are working towards over 85% of our operational staff achieving this standard by 2018. The qualification is expensive and time consuming but extremely worthwhile. The outreach service does what it says, it delivers a service in the community. This is especially important when dealing with people in largely rural areas where it is not always possible to come to a single focal point, often due to difficulties with public transport and distance. We arrange to meet individuals at a safe location where we can help them assess their needs and work on a plan to keep them safe while helping them overcome their challenges. Not all contact is direct face to face contact. After the first few visits contact can be by telephone, text or email, whichever the individual feels is safest and most secure. To help assess the impact of our work we measure a number of indicators, including safety, at the beginning and again towards the end of the support period. These measures are recorded on our database and help identify the individual’s progress as well as progress by the service as a whole. What we measure is largely at the discretion of the funder, but we often play a major role in helping the funder achieve the most effective range of measures. Outreach services are delivered in Devon (Devon Domestic Abuse Support Service), Gloucestershire (Gloucestershire Domestic Abuse Support Service) and Wiltshire (Paloma). The capacity of the service is determined by the funding
and the mumber of workers in the team. In Devon we have a team of 27 people who have managed 2376 referrals; in Gloucestershire our team has 30 people (15 employed by Splitz) and they have managed 2384 referrals; whereas in Wiltshire our team has 9 people who have managed 690 people.
IDVA When the risk is assessed as High the case is allocated to an Independent Domestic Violence Adviser (IDVA). The role of the IDVA is to work with the individual and other agencies, through the Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) process, to reduce the level of risk before transferring the case to the Outreach service. The IDVAs are equally trained to the National Occupational Standards with the addition of training on the local MARAC process. This service includes a specialist Court IDVA in Gloucestershire. The role of this worker is to attend court and assist our beneficiaries through the process, often assisting the court and advising the magistrates when requested. We have IDVAs in Devon and Gloucestershire. We have a limited number of workers undertaking the IDVA role for such large and rural counties. The demand for this service is high and to maximise effectiveness contact consists of a few face to face meetings followed with telephone support. In Devon we have 2 IDVAs who have managed 290 referrals; and in Gloucestershire there are 6 IDVAs (including a Court IDVA) (3 employed by Splitz) who have managed 490.
Workshops An integral element of the support offered to victims is the workshop. We offer a range of structured workshops to females only. There is not yet sufficient demand for a male workshop but we are able to offer one to one Splitz Support Service | Annual Review 2014-2015
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support in place of the workshop for male victims. The workshops consist of a number of sessions with the aim of helping the individual identify signs and symptoms in others and themselves leading to healthy and happy relationships in the future. Workshops are delivered in different locations depending on demand. We have workshops in Devon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. Each is different but all have the same intent. In Devon we deliver Pattern Changing workshops; in Gloucestershire we deliver Freedom Programme and Phoenix Programme workshops; and in Wiltshire we deliver our own Making Changes workshops.
Mentoring & befriending For those where the risk is identified as Low we have a volunteer programme providing a Mentoring and Befriending service. The aim of this service is to help the individual transition from a supported environment to independence. This service was developed to reduce the workload on our other services and provide an opportunity for former beneficiaries to participate proactively. Volunteers undergo a comprehensive selection process to ensure they are sufficiently recovered to offer support without affecting their health and well-being. They also receive structured training that meets the standards of the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation. Prior to being allocated a case there is a structured matching process to ensure the worker and beneficiary are compatible. Support consists of a number of structured sessions and assistance accessing local amenities or other local support mechanisms to help build up local support networks. As a volunteer service the capacity is low as each volunteer gives only 2-4 hours of their time each week. We have enhanced this service by creating a Lead Buddy role whose task will be to take on the matching and allocation of cases as well as supervising a number of volunteers in a given area. We feel that having more lead buddies will allow us to recruit more volunteers and enhance this service to meet a growing need. We have around 20 volunteers in Wiltshire and have begun a similar service in Gloucestershire with 7 volunteers. We are aiming to develop a service in Devon this year. Our Mentoring and Befriending service is also an effective route for improving the lives of our volunteers with over 75% going back into full-time education or employment.
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Splitz Support Service | Annual Review 2014-2015
Sonia
Case study
Sonia and her family moved to Devon from Liverpool 2 years ago for a fresh start. There had been previous incidences of domestic abuse and they were known to local agencies in Liverpool. Her partner, Jack had a history of alcohol issues. The police were called to an incident where Sonia and Jack were arguing and Jack had lashed out and made threats to kill. The children were upset and frightened. Sonia didn’t want to get Jack into trouble but did not want him to return home to continue the abuse either, she was not very forthcoming with the police but was happy to be supported by Splitz. Sonia was supported in putting measures in place to protect herself and her children. She obtained a non-molestation order and wrote a full victim statement with the help of the outreach worker, detailing all the abuse over previous 3 years. A 12-month non-molestation order was granted in court and Jack was prevented from returning to the family home. He relocated back to family in Liverpool. With continued support Sonia began to gain confidence and understand the abuse that she had endured, this enabled her to maintain strong boundaries with Jack and with the help of the social worker he was allowed supervised contact with his son at a local contact centre. Sonia also engaged with the local children’s centre and began a Pattern Changing course with them. The children are settled and happy and mum is very capable of continuing to safeguard them. The children are no longer on a Child in Need plan.
Perpetrator programmes
the new Healthy Relationships programme. In Wiltshire the programme (Turnaround) is funded by the Big Lottery Fund and other grants and has been running for 10 years with a group in Salisbury and one in Trowbridge. Our programme in Bristol ended on 31 March 2015.
Perpetrator programme
Healthy relationships programme
The second key element of our domestic abuse work is our Perpetrator Programme, aimed at keeping the victim and their children safe by helping perpetrators change their abusive behaviour. Current best practice is for single sex groups. This service is aimed at male perpetrators. There is insufficent demand for a female programme; however, we can offer one to one support for female perpetrators.
An enhancement we started in 2015 is the introduction of a new Healthy Relationships programme for men and their partners. This programme is not as intensive as the main programme and requires fewer resources. We feel this programme will deliver a similar impact to a larger number of beneficiaries. We will pilot this programme in Gloucestershire beginning in September 2015.
Our programme is based on the Duluth model developed in the USA and greatly enhanced by our own developments in collaboration with other professionals. Each programme consists of a main programme of 25 weekly sessions followed by a relapse prevention programme of up to 12 monthly sessions. Our staff are highly trained in delivering this type of work.
Women’s safety worker
We have contributed to many university research programmes, allowing researchers access to our staff and the beneficiaries - the men, their (ex) partners and their children. The most recent research (Project Mirabel) was published in 2015 and identifies a positive impact from perpetrator programmes. To measure progress we record a number of indicators at various stages of progress, including after the main programme and during the relapse prevention programme. These measures are used to identify progress for each man and for the service as a whole. Each module is reviewed and updated on a rolling programme with input from our staff, our outcome measures, and feedback from the men and their partners. Our service meets the national standards and is accredited by Respect. We have programmes in Bristol, Devon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. The Devon programme is funded by Devon County Council and has evolved as it transformed an existing programme and moved to a more central location. In Gloucestershire the programme (Turnaround) is funded by Gloucestershire County Council and has been running for 2 years with a group in Gloucester and one in Cheltenham. We will be closing the group in Gloucester to begin
To compliment the Perpetrator Programme we provide an integrated Women’s Safety service aimed at supporting the partners of the men. The main functions of this role are to provide safety advice and inform the partners of where the men are on the programme and what they might expect from them in terms of changes in behaviour. Feedback from the partners is a key indicator of progress of the men. We measure a variety of indicators and use these to assess risk at regular review meetings involving the Women’s Safety worker, the group facilitators and chaired by the Perpetrator Programme manager. The worker is trained to the same standard as our DV outreach workers, making the role flexible. We have Women’s Safety service in Devon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. In Devon the role is provided by an outreach worker. In Gloucestershire and Wiltshire we have dedicated workers for this role. In addition to the safety role the workers in Wiltshire run a survivors group for partners of the men and women who have used our DV outreach service. This group is a positive influence on the women who form strong bonds and use these to establish social networks for themselves and others. Splitz Support Service | Annual Review 2014-2015
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Young people’s support
with support to the main carer. We have 4 workers who managed 234 referrals. In Wiltshire the service is funded by grants from Comic Relief and BBC Children in Need and is for young people aged 11-16 years. We have 2 workers who have managed 246 referrals.
Support to young people
Support to parents
The third major strand of our domestic abuse work is providing support to children and young people affected by abuse. In most cases they have witnessed abuse, but in a few cases they have been the victim. The service is aimed at children of all ages, but varies by location depending on who is funding the service. Our aims are to help the children understand they are not responsible and to improve communication at home.
To enhance the support in Wiltshire we have a specific service for the parent. This service is focused on the needs of the parent to help them better understand what their children are experiencing and to help them improve communication in the home.
Our workers are trained in working with young people affected by abuse as identified in the National Occupational Standards. In addition extra care is taken to ensure these specialist workers adhere to the local and national child safeguarding standards. Prior to engaging with a child we will meet with the main carer to ensure it is the best solution for everyone. There may be other siblings who are affected or who may benefit from the intervention. The main carer too might benefit from support. The service varies depending on age group, but will involve a mixture of face to face contact and groupwork. Building trust with the child is the most important first step before identifying their issues and helping them recover. In all cases we work with other agencies (often schools and the children and families teams). One to one support is often limited to a number of sessions. Groupwork is often available at a later stage and brings together young people from a variety of backgrounds. This is often the first time many young people recognise that they are not alone. Groups are structured with objective for each session. We measure a variety of indicators throughout the period of support and groupwork. As well as feedback from the young people we can obtain feedback from their main carer and their school. We offer suport to young people in Devon and Wiltshire. In Devon the service is funded by Devon County Council and is for children of any age and is paired
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Splitz Support Service | Annual Review 2014-2015
Originally a DV outreach worker would provide this role, but most of our referrals are now being made by schools or the children and families teams specifically for the young person. The new parent’s worker role is a way to encourage the parents to engage with their children’s experiences and help them work through the challenges together.
Healthy relationships An off-shoot of our work with young people has been our healthy relationships for teenagers. This programme is for 14-16 year olds and is delivered in schools during term time. The purpose of the programme is to educate teenager on healthy relationships and to help them better understand the warning signs of an abusive relationship. The programme is based on the healthy relationships course developed by Respect. It is delivered over 12 weeks and separate programmes are run for boys and girls. This programme, called TeenzTalk, is currently only available in Wiltshire. We are now in our second year of this programme and have had lots of positive feedback from schools on its impact. Demand for the programme is increasing and we are now able to begin charging schools.
Housing During the year we ceased to partner in the delivery of a Mother and Baby unit in Trowbridge. This was due to the contract price being too low to justify the continuing arrangement. We wish our partner well in ongoing delivery of this service. At the end of March we ceased to provide the housing related floating support service in Wiltshire when the council cancelled the service. This service was wound down and finally closed at the end of May 2015.
Central services Our central services remain under review. These services include senior management and core business support functions like HR, finance and fundraising. Changes to the senior management team include rationalising the number of posts and formalising the deputy role, strengthening our succession plans. HR and finance support assistants were recruited to manage the extra load and enable these functions to be accessible full time. The retirement of our Finance Controller was an ideal opportunity to restructure our finance systems and introduce more automated systems. Our fundraiser has been able to undertake some of the routine marketing and PR tasks, improving how we communicate with our funders and the public. Our website was updated and we implemented new Twitter and Facebook accounts. We continue to bolster our central services through continuing professional development, automation of tasks and implementing best practice.
Samia
Case study
Samia had been living in the UK for about sixteen years, having married her husband in her native Morocco after they met while he was on holiday. Samia had limited understanding of English and did not understand her rights in the UK. She had experienced physical and financial abuse, having agreed to a massive loan. She was also being emotionally abused and constantly told she was an unfit mother. Samia was quite depressed and disillusioned. Other agencies became involved as her mental health deteriorated. After a period of time Samia felt more able to take charge of her destiny and decided to see a solicitor and sort out her finances. With help she reduced the loan payments and applied for benefits. This was a huge step forward in her self confidence. Samia said that this was a huge relief and that she felt like her world was starting to open up to new horizons and that she was starting to see a future for herself and her children. Samia has started English classes and computer courses, and has accessed learning opportunities at the library and become financially independent. She is currently saving hard to take her children to see their grandparents in Morocco and she also has aspirations to learn to drive soon. She is a wonderful role model for her daughter who has witnessed much of the domestic abuse within the home – who now has the benefit of seeing her mum fully involved in the community and volunteering at her school on a regular basis. Splitz Support Service | Annual Review 2014-2015
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Thank you
to everyone who has supported us this year
Splitz Support Service, Oak House, Epsom Square White Horse Business Park, Trowbridge, Wiltshire BA14 0XG T: 01225 777724 | F: 01225 774405 | www.splitz.org September 2015
Registered charity: 1064764 Company limited by guarantee registered in England: 3360057
Albert Hunt Trust Amesbury Area Board BBC Children in Need Big Lottery Fund Bradford on Avon Town Council CAFCASS Charles Hayward Foundation Chippenham Town Council Colonel William Llewellen Palmer Educational Trust Comic Relief Community Covenant Partnership Community Foundation for Wiltshire and Swindon Corsham Town Council Devon County Council Devon Police and Crime Commissioner EsmĂŠe Fairbairn Foundation Garfield Weston Foundation Gloucestershire County Council Jack Lane Charitable Trust Melksham Area Board Melksham Town Council Ministry of Justice Porticus UK Provincial Grand Lodge Benevolent Fund Safer Bristol St James Trust Steven Gerrard Foundation The Dawe Family Trust The Bellinger Donnay Charitable Trust The Blagrave Trust The Ernest & Marjorie Fudge Trust for Warminster The Henry Smith Charity The Linnet Trust The Noel Buxton Trust The Walter Guinness Charitable Trust Westbury Town Council Wiltshire County Council Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner