SPEAKING HOPE…

Until we reached this crisis, I didn’t know that places like this existed. I think this is absolutely brilliant. ‘P’

Faithworksimpact report2017 CRISIS RELIEVED

LIFE TRANSFORMED

You probably know the story of the boy trying

to clear the sea-shore of stranded star-fish; the

task may look impossible but he can help that

one, and then that one and then another...

Yes, here at Faithworks, we see the increasing

loneliness and the growing numbers of people

hitting emotional, financial or material crisis.

But we also see stories of individual lives

being turned around... of crisis relieved... and of life

transformed... and of people who want to work together

to make a difference to that individual or family.

This little booklet tells you some of Our Stories:

Thank you for playing your part.

Doxat-PurserAlista

ir

CEOBromilowIan

Chair

Hello!

“ It makes a difference

to this one” 3

2

WELCOME FW Food

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2017 STATISTICS SNAPSHOT

26STAFF

420+VOLUNTEERS

16PROJECTS

6900HELPED IN 2017

“FW is focusing its work more and more on those who are facing crisis at key transition points of life: unpaid carers, lone parents, those escaping domestic abuse, school leavers, those in immediate material crisis (food), rough sleepers, and those in debt or financial confusionWe reckon that with your help we supported over 6900 people on their journey out of crisis in 2017.”

OUR FOCUS…

fwOVERVIEW

“I had not expected this at all. I was so anxious about coming here. You are all so friendly and have made me feel 100% better from the time I arrived to the time I left.” ‘W’

SPEAKING HOPE…

¢ Our 5 food banks are seeing more demand for their services… and that support is needed over a longer time period. So, we have come up with many more ways that we can “walk alongside” people and help them stand on their own two feet, practically and by building self-confidence. That means, cooking, budgeting, furniture, toiletries, holiday help, summer kids activity days…

¢ On William’s voucher, the address section was filled in with NFA (No Fixed Abode), he was a ‘sofa surfer’. Our volunteers made him a coffee and listened to his story. He was offered underwear, socks, spare clothes, and given some contact details of other organisations that may be able to help him. Not long after we were contacted by Sovereign Housing with a referral for the ‘Furniture Bank’: it was for William. He signed up to our beginners ‘cooking on a budget’ workshop. Then he called excited but apprehensive to say he had a job interview: “We can lend you a suit, shirt and shiny shoes! but the rest is down to you”. He got the job - a hand shake and a hug later he was gone, off on the next step of HIS journey.

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fwFOOD+

53408

FOOD PARCELS

4663ADULTS

3451CHILDREN

350 HUNGER HOLIDAY VOUCHERS Cooking on a budget course

FW Food

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fwFOOD+16%OVERALLINCREASE

IN DEMAND

4

“ ‘C’ texted me to say that he’s now virtually debt-free and we can close the case. His fiancée has always said that she won’t marry him until he’s clear of debts: they got married last month!”

SPEAKING HOPE…

fwMONEY

7FW Fo

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fwMONEY¢ We are one of the largest Community Money Advice (CMA) debt advice centres in the UK. We have trained up teams of budget coaches in food banks and churches across the area and we run a money advice drop-in centre at the local Probation hub for ex-offenders. But we also believe in helping to prevent future debt problems: we train every first year at Bournemouth & Poole college, have run courses in schools and children’s centres, and are developing new ways for parents and children to work together to budget better and spend less.

¢ We met a single mum with three children at school and one with special needs; she had £20k+ debt and said that it affects every aspect of her life and is something she drags behind her every day. One of our food bank-based debt advisors helped her draw up a budget; it was no surprise to see that her expenditure outweighed her income. Her creditors were all contacted and alerted to her actual financial status and new monthly payments negotiated, allowing for realistic re-payments. We now see her regularly at the food bank for ongoing budget appointments: Life is manageable, she is so much happier and the children especially have benefited.

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6

120KDEBT

REDUCED

59PEOPLE

OUT OF DEBTOR ON DMP

1250STUDENTS

MONEY TRAINING

“I’m leaving Emmaus on Tuesday to start my new life down in Cornwall. I now have my qualifications as an HGV driver I have a new job, somewhere to live and I am now talking with my Dad and going to be living near my sister. I can’t thank you enough for all that you have done for me.” ‘S’

SPEAKING HOPE…

¢ We run BCARS (Bournemouth Christians Alongside Rough Sleepers), the local churches’ response to the growing numbers of rough sleepers in Bournemouth. People wanted to work together across the Christian community and with voluntary and statutory partners to reduce rough sleeping in our town. BCARS runs 3 main projects: Sleepsafe (winter emergency beds), Half-time (support and motivation at town centre venue) and 2nd half (help to become “work ready”). All of these are based on the principle that the second “half” of life doesn’t need to be the same as the first “half”.

¢ What a difference a year makes... at the end of 2016, G was living in a tent. Through being a guest at Sleepsafe last year, he got a place at Michael’s House hostel, then came and joined the team at Second Half, the new BCARS project based at St. George’s Boscombe, that helps people learn new skills and get ready for the workplace. He was a regular there every week, seeing it as his “family”. In the last month, G has got a temporary job and a new flat: that’s quite a change in a year!

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fwHOMELESS

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9FW Fo

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fwHOMELESS

120SLEEPSAFE

VOLUNTEERS

34HOME STARTPACKS GIVEN

47GUESTS IN TO MORE SECURE

ACCOMMODATIONWITH SLEEPSAFE

Opening the ‘Half-time’ shop

“SMILE has given me more confidence to take my kids out. It is great to talk to other parents in my situation.” ‘C’

SPEAKING HOPE…

fwPEOPLE

1117GREENHOUSE

NEW YEARRETREAT

Longmead Community Farm

¢ Our SMILE project has been helping lone parent families flourish for 9 years now. This year, we expanded the number of retreats – days and weekends away where parents and children could take time to explore new skills and just “be” together away from everyday coping with life. We also put on a full and varied summer programme, providing days out to cook pancakes on an open fire, or sit around a beach hut – all for free and with transport provided, two of the barriers that can make these families feel so isolated.

¢ I want to express my gratitude to the SMILE team, for the wonderful day trip my son and I enjoyed to Holton Lee.Being a single dad, and new to the area, SMILE has become a welcome and much needed friend. We have attended every session of the summer program and look forward to our regular Wednesday excursion. One’s life revolves around our child’s needs - and thanks to this well-organised group, Mikala has developed a caring group which helps single parents cope with the social isolation we can so often feel. SMILE has introduced me to people with similar experiences, and as a result, I have felt more at ease with my day-to-day life. Thank you.

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FAMILIES TO LONE PARENT

FAIR -MOST EVER!

75CHRISTMAS

INTER -GENERATIONAL

MEAL

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fwPEOPLE Lone parent families

“We haven’t had a holiday in 20 years, but today felt like a holiday.” ‘J’

SPEAKING HOPE…165CARERS

SUPPORTED

fwPEOPLE

13Befriending in the community

FW Food

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fwPEOPLE Carers/Dementia work

¢ ‘FOCUS’ is all about befriending and supporting some of the 16000 unpaid carers in Bournemouth and Poole; this might simply be a regular phone call, or a visit from a volunteer befriender, or a morning out at one of the groups that we or partners like Prama run (e.g. we have a regular session at the new “Cat café”). It could also mean having the garden maintenance team round from COAST (a local group of adults with learning difficulties) or coming along to one of our red-letter day events like the beach BBQ in August.

¢ It’s wonderful when we can link help together: Wimborne Food Bank met a mother looking after her disabled son, we gave her food parcels, but also called the ‘Second half’ project team of ex-rough sleepers who came and developed their gardening skills by overhauling the whole garden. Then, we introduced her to FOCUS and the support that she could get as a carer. And now the Poole COAST team are regularly going in to help keep the garden a place of refuge for the whole family.

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7RED LETTER

DAYEVENTS

42GARDEN

MAINTENANCESUPPORT

¢ We also equip churches to welcome and support those living with dementia in their community; we have worked with over 90 churches in the last 3 years - over 20 have action plans. And the Blandford Dementia Friendly Community that we also run is the local Mayor’s Charity of the year!

200+RECEIVEDDEMENTIATRAINING

12

“Volunteering with Faithworks makes me feel good about myself because I can make clients smile; it has massively helped me develop my communication skills and this skill is vital for my future. Working with Faithworks has improved my confidence and has helped me to combat stress.” ‘G’

A VOLUNTEER, SAID…

fwCONNECT

15420

VOLUNTEERS

fwCONNECT Volunteers FW Food

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¢ Our wonderful volunteers carry out a huge range of activities from providing breakfast for rough sleepers at Sleepsafe… to regularly telephoning and chatting with stressed carers… to packing bags in food banks… to helping people start opening up about financial difficulties… to doing all sorts of admin’ in our office. Every one is invaluable. ¢ We want to find the best place for each volunteer who comes to offer their time. It is such a joy when people continue to give up their time over years – and this year we had our first ever long service awards ceremony to publicly recognise the extraordinary lengths that people have gone to.

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“In all my 40 years of voluntary and paid work I have never been given an award until this event.” (Terry has volunteered with Faithworks over 7 years as a Befriender to unpaid carers).The mayor of Poole said: ‘Thank you to Faithworks for a wonderful event celebrating many people that have volunteered for many years and I’d like to say a big thank you to all who volunteer in our communities, making a difference to many peoples’ lives.”

SPEAKING HOPE…

15VOLUNTEERS

5+ YEARS’SERVICE Mayoral recognition for our carers

14

“Faithworks has a knack of bringingout the best in all of us; the PooleConversation has brought the workof community groups to a wideraudience and demonstrated howthey are key to tackling some ofour biggest challenges, includingloneliness and fragmentedcommunities. Faithworks shows usthat with the right support, individualpeople and the communities theylive in can solve their own problemsand achieve their aspirations.”Christopher BealeCEO Poole Council for Voluntary Service

SPEAKING HOPE…

fwCONNECT

17fwCONNECT Poole Conversation FW Fo

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¢ We want to play our part in the transformation of our local area. So, alongside Churches Together, Prama, Livability, Bournemouth University and Poole Council, we have been the driving force for turning the issues and ideas of the 2016 Poole Conversation into action – new projects have started, and a campaign called “Poole’s Great Neighbourhoods” culminated in a showcase event at the university celebrating over 40 grass-roots community projects.

New projects that we have helped to inspire this year:¢ Hope in the Community, Poole & Bournemouth: networks of

local churches finding ways to help “reconnect” older people into their communities

¢ Town Pastors, Bournemouth & Poole: Christians providing a calm, visible and supportive presence on the streets of the town in the evening and night

¢ www.streetsupport.net: a one stop shop for information on the local help available to rough sleepers in Bournemouth … and also all the ways to give help.

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Bournemouth Street Pastors16

420+FAITHWORKSVOLUNTEERS

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fwFINANCE & FUNDERS FW Food

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¢ Thank you to all those who funded Faithworks and its projects in 2017 including: RBS Skills & Opportunity fund, Garfield Weston, Tudor Trust, Valentine Trust, Cooper Dean foundation, Sobell foundation, Joseph Rank Trust, Swire foundation, Lloyds Foundation, Talbot Village Trust, Wessex Water Money Matters programme, Ross Foundation, Clara E Burgess, Incorporated Bournemouth Free Church Council, Hilden Charitable Trust

THAN

K YO

UFI

NAN

CIA

L FI

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RES

Financial figures for the last full accounting year: Apr 16 to Mar 17

Grants from charitable foundations: £253,000 = >60%

Remaining local government contracts: 1

= £404,000Support costs = 17%

Fundraising <3%

= £395,000

ExpenditureTo March 2017

26STAFF.

EQUIVALENTTO 11.5 FTE

21VENUESUSED BY

PROJECTS

IncomeTo March 2017

“This is a great pilot project. Best wishes for it and all your work!” Taken from a handwritten note on an offer letter from CEO, Lloyds Foundation (funding new “Second Half” project in 2017-18).

A WONDERFUL DONOR SAID THIS… 19

fwNUMB£RS

¢ Thank you to everyone who gives time to help us behind the scenes: trustees, pray-ers, donors of money and goods

¢ Thank you to all our volunteers who serve people with such passion and energy across all our projects

¢ Thank you to our many, many partners – it is a joy to work with you to Speak Hope into more lives

¢ And as a Christian charity, thank you to Jesus Christ for His light, life and example that fuels everything we do

THAN

K YO

UC

ARE

TO H

ELP?

THANK YOU…¢ Our needsOver a year, these monthly amounts would help us: £5 / month pays for a home start pack£10/ month pays for our monthly inter-generational meal£25/ month pays for one person to get off the street

via SleepsafeSpecific client needs, regularly uploaded on: https://acts435.org.uk/give/all-cats/south-west/

¢ Your optionsRegular: go on line or call for a standing order formBy text: FWWX17 £10 (or other amount) to 70070Online: https://localgiving.org/charity/fww/Legacy: contact us and we’ll send you a pack

Our mandate “… to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

(Luke 4: 18-19)

Charity registration no. 1108714 Company registration no. 5077777© Faithworks Wessex 2018 E&OE

Faithworks Wessex154a Seabourne Road, Bournemouth, BH5 2JATelephone: 01202 429037 Web: www.faithworkswessex.org.uk Email: hello@faithworkswessex.org.uk

VOLUNTEERIn a role

that suits you

PARTNERDo more,

by doing together

PRAYPrayer packs or updates

GIVETo help us do more

£

financial givingOPTIONS

Contact Alistair and the team if you feel you could help us in any of these ways:

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& pr

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pirit

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uk