ANNUAL REPORT 2019 - 2020 OUR MISSION To inspire local disadvantaged people on their journey to independence by providing housing support and education tailored to their specific needs. CORE VALUES • To deliver a high-quality customer focussed service. • To value and respect the rights and views of all stakeholders. • To ensure equal opportunities are key to all our activities • To act with tolerance, integrity and consideration at all times. • To encourage innovation and creativity within the organisation. CHAIR’S REPORT I joined Calderdale SmartMove in 2013 as a Trustee and Our team have continued to support our clients and have been fortunate to be involved in the continued other vulnerable people in Calderdale that have been success of the charity ever since. I was asked to take the affected by the Covid 19 situation. Distributing food position of Chairman by the board when our previous parcels, furniture, electrical goods and of course a kind chairman Alan Bewsher left in January this year. I would word of support which to many vulnerable people is like to thank Alan for his contribution to the charity. just as important. This has also been made more difficult whilst observing government guidelines to Calderdale SmartMove continues to support vulnerable protect our clients and staff. and disadvantaged people in our local area and have maintained this service to the community for 22 years. Our working procedures in and out of the office have changed since March 2020 and due to the We are presently supporting on average 160 individuals coordination of Government guidelines implemented and families at any one time. Our main focus is on by Stuart and Dom we have successfully managed the Homelessness, Education, Employment and Wellbeing. day to day operation of the charity. The staff and We also spend much of our time involving the local volunteers have worked tirelessly to maintain the community with homelessness prevention and service we provide above and beyond the call of duty. awareness. I would like to mention our Staff, Trustees and We are also very proud of support at Harvest Festival Volunteers. They have been no less than superb in time from our local schools across Calderdale for their their actions in these unprecedented times. Their donations of food parcels. This also gives us the morale and willingness to help others has been even opportunity to talk to young people about the work we stronger than ever. do. We must look forward to the future of Calderdale WHAT A YEAR AND WHERE DO WE START? SmartMove and build even more on its strengths and success whilst we realise that this future could be I have to say that 2019 turned out to be a resounding somewhat different. success. Mainly due to the hard work of the management team lead by Stuart Rumney and Dominic Furby and our Fundraising team lead by Beth Currie. They managed to obtain several grants towards the end of the year and due to exceptional fundraising, managed to place the charity in a good strong financial position. Our main fundraising event was The Big Calderdale Sleepout held again thanks to The Piece Hall. We were overwhelmed by the support we had on the night over 220 people slept out to raise money to support our charity. Also due to the enormous support of the Leo Group we managed to raise in excess of £63,000. As a result of our strong fundraising and sponsorship many events and engagements were organised for 2020 mainly starting at Easter. However, as a result of the outbreak of the Covid19 Pandemic most of these events have been cancelled or postponed and fundraising has basically stopped. But our team have managed to secure David Webster several grants which will help support the Charity’s Chairman Calderdale SmartMove financial position in the short term. ANNUAL REVIEW The period April 2019 to March 2020 has again been To reiterate we are in a strong financial situation an outstanding year for the organisation. This achieving our worst case scenario goal of having a resulted in SmartMove achieving the minimum of 6 months trading monies in reserves. commendation of Best Charity of the Year for This compliments our unencumbered property Calderdale. situation. This is testament to the commitment of our clients, Which brings me to the end of our financial year staff, trustees, volunteers and supporters to and the relevance of COVID and its devastating prevent homelessness across the Borough of effects on lives, people and the economy. We have Calderdale. had to adapt like any other organisation and offer a remote service as opposed to face-to-face and I Following on from the last year’s annual review we can report our high standard of service delivery can again evidence that 96% of our clients are still in continued. accommodation 12 months after we have sourced a safe and secure home. It just goes to show that Throughout the year our essential workers given a final chance and being provided with continued unabated to offer a first class client- support with the opportunity of education, centric service with the level of client outcome volunteering and employment; individuals and remaining in the top 10% of benchmarks families can once again flourish. Housing is the nationally. I again praise our team in their quest to bedrock of a bounce back in fortune. improve the lives of our clients. From a financial point of view this has been a really Financially, the year ahead will be tough. With no successful year after last year’s deficit. We are likelihood of our usual successful fundraising reporting a surplus of £50,234.00 which leaves us in events it will be a stretch and a challenge to a solid financial position in these uncertain times. generate the £120k we need. However, with our genuine navigator type ‘can do’ External fundraising has been exceptional attitudes, we will find a path and when I put pen throughout the year with all our events fully to paper again next year I am sure we will have supported by our local community. Examples of our prevailed and hopefully the pandemic will be at events have been our rough Sleepout at The Piece the end. Hall, two Comedy evenings, The 3 Peaks sponsored walk, a Pamperthon, 14 Galas and many more, in So again, thanks to everyone associated with our fact too many to mention. All were totally full to organisation and let’s continue to help improve life capacity. chances and choices of individuals and families across Calderdale. My personal highlight was our annual rough Sleepout in October. The whole evening was cost Again I am very proud to have led our organisation. free with food and entertainment provided for the 228 fantastic participants. The Piece Hall was tremendous in hosting our event and I can report a staggering £63,000 was generated as a result. Included in this amount was an incredible donation from one of Calderdale’s leading businesses. Stuart Rumney, Chief Executive WHAT WE DO Calderdale SmartMove is a registered charity that assists homeless and vulnerably housed people to find and maintain accommodation in Calderdale. We have a team of highly skilled and motivated staff and volunteers who provide help and support before, during and beyond securing a home. We provide clients with a bond guarantee, assistance with the set-up of homes, such as the provision of essential appliances, help with moving costs, food, clothing, assistance with travel costs, provide our education and skills courses, employment support and individual health and wellbeing support sessions. We aim to empower clients to reach a point where they no longer need us. Clients are encouraged to take up all training opportunities we offer. For more than 9 years we have had a contract with Calderdale Adult Learning and our annual Adult Health and Social Care audit has always been very positive with our service judged to be excellent. SmartSkills provides an integral role in building SMARTSKILLS confidence and skills and we have signposted clients to Fantastic news that we started & successfully progression routes with C & K Careers, Focus4Hope, completed year 1 of the Big Lottery Community Fund. the LAB Project, Woodspeen Training, and HOTS, with This was dove tailed alongside finishing the some clients completing courses in food hygiene, Calderdale Adult Education learning programme in digital skills, confidence and employability, while July. The last one after 9 years of dedicated others have taken up paid work or volunteering commitment to annually achieve the bid & run the opportunities with local charities and Calderdale programme for vulnerable clients. Council. Our vulnerable & potentially homeless clients have attended 1252 informal learning sessions in the last year. We held Drop ins, Job Club sessions, Arts & Crafts, Grow Your Own & Cook & Eat sessions, Health & Wellbeing & Stress Management, Chair Yoga & Relaxation skills. Essential Life Skills including; Substance Misuse & Prevention, Tenancy Skills, Supporting Others in Your Community, Money Management, Computer Confidence, Introduction to Sign Language, Pamper Our client’s testimonials show the benefit that they sessions for hair & nails, plus client engagement have gained from coming to SmartSkills lunches to attract new learners. We developed partnerships with Northern Rail, the Testimonial Gathering Place and Works Better to increase “SmartMove has helped with confidence and helped opportunities for our learners. me to relax and socialise with people that I would not The Community Fund has given us more scope to usually come into contact with. organise educational outings and trips. We had a I have gained skills from courses such as support in Heritage Trip to Halifax Town Hall, visited Halifax managing a tenancy, growing veg, computer skills/ cv, Minster & Library, Bankfield Museum, Manor Heath reading & writing support, changing banks for & the Jungle experience, Shibden Hall, (birth place of benefits, damp/condensation/ mould difference, Anne Lister & setting of ‘Gentleman Jack’) The Royal Security in the home, support paying bills.