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INVOLVE

One man’s story of beating addictions and quitting life on the streets

MEET NEIL

How our clients are helping to influence Government policy on homelessness

TOP ADVICE

Including our Annual Reportand celebration of our achievementsover the past year

SPECIALISSUE

September 2011

Page 02 / Welcome / Contents Involve Two Saints

WELCOME

Welcome to this special issue of Involve, which includes our Annual Report and celebrates our achievements over the past 12 months.

It has been ten years since Two Saints was launched and I am delighted to report that in spite of some very considerable funding cuts we have continued to provide an excellent level of service to our clients.

We have worked in partnership with local authorities to restructure services and make efficiency savings, but most importantly we have not reduced the quality of what we offer to those who are homeless. This has meant making difficult staffing and redundancy decisions and called for a good deal of innovative thinking, progressive management and strong leadership.

When faced with funding cuts of over 75% at the Day Centre in Southampton, rather than put up the shutters, we took the opportunity to try a new approach and are developing a successful Community Hub providing a range of services to the most needy and vulnerable(see page 9 for more details).

“Looking to the future weare seeking to develop ourbusiness and are biddingfor new funding to providemore accommodation”

— Mike McKenzieChair of Board

03 Our news

04 Listening to the people we support

05-08 Annual Report

09 Southampton’s day centre

10-11 Changing lives

Contents

Mike McKenzie

I would like to pay tribute to all of our staff for the excellent way they have and continue to meet the challenges we face. The Board are extremely proud of their achievements in this most difficult of years and I thank them all most sincerely.

I have been delighted to welcome several new members to the board this year who have brought a range of experience and skills to help us govern Two Saints effectively.

Looking to the future we are seeking to develop our business and are bidding for new funding to provide more accommodation in Newbury, Andover and Portsmouth. We are also in the process of setting up Real Lettings South to enable more of our residents to secure good quality homes in the private rented sector when they move out of our accommodation.

Although the future economic climate is far from certain with homelessness not always seen as a priority issue, I am fully confident that we will continue to meet these challenges with the same mix of resourcefulness, professionalism and sheer hard work to achieve improvements to the lives of our clients.

See our Annual Report in the centre pages 5 to 8 for more information on our finances, performance and Two Saints’ Board

Chair of Board

NEWS

Page 03 / News Involve Two Saints

NEWS

Newbury scores a winnerWe’ve been promoting the benefits of football and other sports at our hostels for many years, to improve health, build self esteem and tackle isolation amongst our residents. So we are all delighted that the team at Newbury have recently been crowned champions at the annual five a side Homelessness Partnership Football Tournament in Southampton.

James Cooper from Newbury Saints FC says that football has had a real impact on those involved. “It’s a chance to have fun and the physical exercise helps to release stress and anxieties. Clients leave the weekly training sessions feeling more confident, positive and motivated. Plus it’s an opportunity to share stories and chat with support workers and other homeless people and ex clients who have turned their lives around.” Despite the tournament’s popularity and obvious benefits for everyone involved, there are no future plans to continue the event due to a lack of funding. If you can help sponsor this event in 2012 please get in touch with Two Saints today.

Patrick House hits the right notes

Thanks to our new Learning Service at the hostel, residents are offered a wide range of training and employment opportunities to help them back on the road to a settled life.

Local social enterprise Aspire has helped arrange work placements for clients at a variety of local businesses and a former painter who ended up on the streets is lending his expertise to establish a new decorating business. Clients gain valuable work experience to put on their CV, whilst increasing their self esteem to look ahead to a future vision that doesn’t involve homelessness.

The hostel also offers clients Construction Health and Safety training and free residential short courses at Ruskin College. And for those who are too daunted to face formal training there are regular informal art workshops and a drop-in IT Suite.

Cooking, painting and decorating, gardening andconstruction are just some of the skills thatclients at our Oxfordhostel Lucy FaithfullHouse are studying.

Oxford -The home oflearning

A windfall grant of £1460 has brought music to the ears of residents at Patrick House hostel in Southampton. The money from the Supporting People Personalisation Fund is being used to stage weekly group music sessions with a range of instruments including a keyboard, guitars, amplifiers, bongos, tambourines and a PA system.

The tuneful sessions are proving a real hit with clients and have had a marked impact on helping those involved to have fun, develop positive interests

and feel more confident about themselves and their future. Learning Coordinator, Davina Emery says, “It’s an exciting project that is really popular with residents. We hope to invite ex clients to join in as well and will be welcoming local music community group SoCo to get involved with some music training soon - who knows we may even have a future number one record on our hands!”

The music group are in need of an Electric Drum Kit to complete their repertoire. If you have one to donate please contact Two Saints.

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For more information call — 01329 234600visit — www.twosaints.org.uk

Page 04 / Listening makes us better / A PAT on the back Involve Two Saints

The PAT team of current and former clients regularly visit our services and talk to residents to assess how we’re doing and suggest improvements. Graham’s success on the team and his passion for improving services is no doubt down to his own experience of living on the streets.

After a spell of rough sleeping, Graham moved in to our Portsmouth hostel. Here he received help and support to move forward with his life and eventually into his own home. Since then, he has been an active campaigner for homeless

issues and has had a huge input into helping us improve our services. Thanks to his experiences and the skills he developed on the PAT team, Graham was one of 14 former rough sleepers selected to form the Homeless People’s Commission.

He has helped to develop a report that makes important recommendations to Government, local authorities and housing providers. In fact Graham personally helped to present the report to ministers recently at the House of Lords.

Listening makes us better

A PAT on the back

No one knows what it means to live on the streets better than those people who have had to do it. They are the experts in determining where we work well and which areas need improvement and where and how money should be invested in the future.

We provide lots of opportunities for the people who live with us or rely on us for support, to become involved in the way our services are run. We want to ensure that every person we work with has a voice, and is at the heart of all of the decisions we make. Not only does this help to encourage self confidence and develop skills amongst clients, but it means our services are more efficient and cost effective.

Like all successful organisations we listen to our customers and use feedback to make sure Two Saints continuously improves. But we do so much more than simply listen, we actively involve the homeless people we are here to support in the running of our organisation.

One of our initiatives to involve clients - the Project Assessment Team (PAT) - has been so successful that its Chair and former rough sleeper Graham Harrison has been asked to help the Government tackle homelessness!

No one knows what it means to live on the streets better than those people who have had to do it.

— Rob Kerr and Graham Harrison opposite Houses of Parliament and Graham Harrison presents the Homeless People’s Commission Policy Report to Roger Wilshaw, Deputy Director of Homelessness and Support at the Department for Communities and Local Government.

• Improving the ways our staff can help clients to discover and achieve their aspirations

– a 6 month ‘personalisation’ pilot is taking place in Newbury to offer more choice and flexibility of support for clients

– developing good practice in meeting clients’ psychological and emotional wellbeing needs through staff training, ‘person centred’ support planning and improvements to buildings

- Learning Co-ordinators in each of our main services offer access to education, training and employment opportunities

• Improved ICT systems and a strong performance culture – based on good quality information, service development plans and targets for all staff teams linked to our aims and objectives.

The stereotypical image of a homeless person living in a hostel is not borne out by the reality – at Two Saints we prefer to treat everyone as an individual according to their needs. We don’t have any preconceptions or ‘one size fits all’ approach to the service on offer.

Our Diversity Group makes sure our services are inclusive and accessible to meet everyone’s needs and our regular residents’ meetings ensure everyone has a voice.

Two SaintsAnnual Report2011“In spite of the challenges we face, we are determined that Two Saints shall continue to thrive as a provider of support, housing and learning services, tackling and preventing homelessness.”

— Louise BarndenChief Executive

At a time of great change and financial challenges it is so important that organisations like Two Saints are forward looking and optimistic.

We must take care to evaluate new ideas and manage risks – but not to the point that we stagnate. Over the past year we have been working with our local authority partners to make savings, and by the year end our Supporting People income budgeted for 2011/12 was 9% less than it was at

the beginning of 2010/11. But I’m very pleased to report that this has not undermined our strong financial position, and nor have we reduced the service on offer to clients.

In spite of the challenges we face, we are determined that Two Saints shall continue to thrive as a provider of support, housing and learning services, tackling and preventing homelessness.

Working in partnership

We have invested in:

— Louise Barnden Chief Executive

Annual Report Involve Two Saints

80%

Emergency[1 day]

Urgent[7 days]

Routine[28 days]

5%

73.30%

77%

80%

84%

2.50%

4.80%

Availability 100% 97.50% 99.93%

67.28%

82%

93%

95%

1.12%

4.47%

90% 99.10% 99.51%Utilisation

40% 61.90% 64.40%% of planned departures from our direct access hostels

% of planned departures from our resettlement servicesRepairs completed within target time

Voids as a % of annual rent roll

Arrears as a % of annual rent roll

Key Performance Indicator

Target 2009/10 2010/11 Performancein comparisonto previous year

Annual Report Involve Two Saints

Chief Executive’s Report 2010 /11A year in numbers

The number of people Two Saints supported to move from homelessness into more settled accommodation. Each client benefits from one to one support from a Support Worker to work out that important next step. Most of our clients move into supported housing to help develop their independence and are helped, in time, to find their own home.

1001

Two Saints clients participated in work whilst using our services – ranging from full time employment to voluntary and temporary work.

444

People engaged in an accredited level one course through colleges or Learn Direct, and a further 150 people took part in activities designed to improve literacy, numeracy and ICT.

197

The proportion of women amongst our clients – in 2007/8 this was only 15% and in 2009/10 it was 22%.

35%

The average number of clients who were aged under 25. This figure is increasing although it is only our ARC floating support service in Gosport which is specifically aimed at young people.

34%

The average score awarded to our services by the PAT team following their inspections. Thanks to their scrutiny and suggestions we have made several service improvements.

87%

The number of visits carried out by our Joint Asset Management Team – a combined client and staff team which reviews our accommodation, to rate it green/amber/red for quality and fitness for purpose in the future.

19

The percentage of our accommodation that achieved a ‘green rating’ from our Joint Asset Management Team.

65%

The number of volunteers who have given their time to Two Saints’ Head Office team over the past year, making a fantastic contribution to our fundraising and communications work – including the intranet and INVOLVE magazine .... Thank you, Mike Holding, Kat, Linda, Richard, Becky, Torri, Alec, and Maureen. They did get us on the radio!

8

The number of reports produced by our own residents who are members of the Project Assessment Team (PAT). The team inspect and assess all Two Saints services and interview clients before awarding us a score and making recommendations for improvements.

19

Annual Report & Accounts. A full set of our published annual report and accounts is available from our Head Office, 35 Waterside Garden, Fareham, PO16 8SD, tel. 01329 234600

Annual Report 2011 Involve Two Saints

Investing in the futureWorking in partnershipCoombs Catering

Broadway and ‘Real Lettings South’

Job Centre Plus and Maximus Employment & Training UK

Business in the Community (BITC)

For more information call — 01329 234600visit — www.twosaints.org.uk

Having a strong Board with a good and varied skill set is vital in ensuring strong leadership for Two Saints.

During the year we have said thanks and farewell to Anthony Quail and Jack Wilson and in September Marilyn Smuland our Chair of Finance will leave us. We thank them all for their valued contribution. During 2010/11 we were fortunate in having Andrew Cobb, Alan Marshall, and Kerrie Green join us, bringing experience and skill in housing, education and training. In September we welcome two new members to the Board, Alice Hickman and Andy Crowe.

Two Saints’ Board

Coombs Catering now deliver the majority of Two Saints’ catering services. This is not a typical outsourcing but a genuine partnership – Coombs’ expertise and client focussed approach is ensuring that the quality of food in our hostels continues to be of a high standard, whilst continuing to give training opportunities to clients and saving money. www.coombscateringpartnership.co.uk

Broadway’s success in London over the past five years in running Real Lettings is coming to Two Saints’ areas of operation! A two year partnership has been agreed which will see the two organisations setting up Real Lettings South – we will lease private rented homes and let these to clients moving on from Two Saints. We hope to have over a hundred flats available in Southampton, Fareham & Gosport, Portsmouth and Newbury by 2013. www.reallettings.com

Two Saints has been selected as a provider by Maximus (who are contracted by the government to deliver the Work Programme in the south east). We will receive referrals of people who are currently unemployed and who need support to get back to work. Our team will support job seekers with one to one support, and offer a full range of both informal and formal learning opportunities, including vocational qualifications. www.maximusuk.co.uk

BITC are a business led charity who advise companies both big and small on responsible business practice. This has resulted in several local companies becoming involved in the work we do through volunteering or corporate donations such as National Air Traffic Services, British American Tobacco, John Lewis Partnership, Office Depot, Diageo, Clydesdale Bank, Lloyds TSB and HCL.

In 2010/11 we made a surplus of £230,504. Income was £10.1 million of which £3.8 million came from rent and service charges and £5.6 million from the provision of support.

The remaining income was from other sources such as Big Lottery funding for our Learning Service.

The provision of education and training activities and opportunities is a key part of improving the life chances of our clients. Fundraising to supplement this work is under way. Turnover from our social enterprise Spark was £0.1 million.

Despite the reductions in government spending and the financial pressures on the work we do, Two Saints’ finances remain fundamentally strong. We continue to have a healthy balance sheet to support our services.

As a not-for-profit organisation, our primary objective is to provide homes and services to people in need. We must bring in sufficient income to meet ongoing operating costs, to maintain all our

properties in good condition and to contribute to reserves, in order to reinvest in the business. Two Saints is committed to setting rents and charges at affordable levels, and contract for services that offer value for money.

Nearly two thirds of our income is spent on staff salaries and related costs. We are pleased to continue to offer good salary levels whilst still remaining competitive when tendering for new services.

Annual Report 2011 Involve Two Saints

Annual ReportFinancialInformation

Where our money comes from What we spend our money on

For more information call — 01329 234600visit — www.twosaints.org.uk

Turnover

Operating costs

Operating surplus

Exceptional property donation

Net interest receivable

Surplus for the year

10,070

(9,862)

208

0

23

231

£000s

2011

£000s

2010

9,895

(9,284)

611

85

17

713

Summary Incomeand Expenditure Account

Fixed assets

Current assets

Debtors

Cash

Creditors falling due within one year

Net current assets

Total assets less current liabilities

Creditors falling due after more than one year

Revenue reserves

Restricted reserves

£000s

2011

£000s

2010

1,617

437

2,523

2,960

(1,023)

1,937

3,554

17

3,537

0

3,554

1,479

539

2,449

2,988

(1,142)

1,846

3,325

18

3,307

0

3,325

Summary Balance Sheet

Supporting people services

Housing management

Housing services

Housing maintenance

Housing bad debts

Housing property lease charges and depreciation

Non-social housing activities

What we spend our money on

Supporting people contracts

Rent and service charges

Local authority grants and contracts

Donations, fundraising and interest

Where our money comes from

55%

1%6%

38% 55%

5%6%

2%

5%

18%

9%

Page 09 / Southampton’s Day Centre Involve Two Saints

Our Day Centre in Cranbury Avenue, Southampton provides a wide range of vital services and resources for homeless people. In fact it’s a lifeline for many.

FOCUS ONSOUTHAMPTON’SDAY CENTRE

It may look like all the other buildings on the street, but anyone who steps through the front doors at Cranbury Avenue discovers a staggering amount of essential facilities and resources on offer inside.

Despite its importance the Day Centre has been hit by financial cuts and earlier this year more than 75% of the funding needed to run it was lost. However despite this setback we remain determined to keep this important facility open and have changed the way we work in order to do so. A new approach to run the centre as a Community Hub, and a successful appeal for volunteers in the summer issue of Involve, have all helped ensure that the centre continues to benefit homeless and vulnerable people.

Following our appeal for more volunteers we have increased our team of regular helpers from just three to 15 people. This means we can continue to provide services and even introduce new initiatives such as a Saturday Club for former clients to get together to continue the support and friendships they enjoyed whilst living at Two Saints’ other services in the city.

What’s inside?

Volunteer

• Canteen • Garden• Shower and washing facilities• Laundry • Clean clothes • Lockers• A GP surgery (Homeless Healthcare team)• IT Suite • Art room• A mailing address for clients• Access to education, training, volunteer and employment opportunities

• Lounge• Chance to talk to Support Workers and professionals (including Southampton City Council’s Street Homeless Prevention Team) for advice and support on issues ranging from finding accommodation and getting a job to a needle exchange and help with completing forms• A base for The Big Issue.

— Matthew Byrnewho volunteers at our Day Centre.

“I really enjoy volunteering at the centre. It’s a busy place and I’ve learnt lots of new skills. I get involved with activities including admin and reception duties, helping clients with their Maths, English and IT skills and assisting with CVs. It’s so rewarding and has definitely made me consider a career in social care. It’s great to help people who come here to move on and get a job. You can really see the difference you’re making to people’s lives. Plus I’ve benefited personally as well. My CV has many new skills and experiences and I feel much more confident now.”

If you would like to volunteer like Matthew, please contact us on 01329 234600 or visit our website at www.twosaints.org.uk

“After years of being called stupid and useless by an abusive father I had extremely low self esteem as a child. I felt angry all the time and didn’t do well at school. As a result I left home at 16 and threw myself into a chaotic lifestyle which revolved around drugs and alcohol.

I didn’t like who I was but I couldn’t deal with life without numbing it. Although I tried rehab several times I just couldn’t stay clean and sober for long. After years of living in bedsits I eventually ended up on the streets. Drinking had taken over my life completely and I spent much of my time either unconscious or feeling utterly hopeless and worthless.

Although I would regularly wake up in a hospital or a police cell I was always desperate for the next drink. I honestly wanted to change my life but I just couldn’t do it - the drink had an absolute grip on me.

The beginning of the end came when I was found in a park. I had been living in a bush for two weeks and was severely malnourished, had hepatitis C and had gone out of my mind. I was taken to Mill House hostel in Portsmouth, and the staff there literally saved my life. They helped me back to health and gave me support and space to consider my options. I moved to a dry house in Bristol and then a recovering community in Cornwall, and I got better! Thanks to their compassion

and tolerance my life is very different now. I have been clean and sober for over two years. I live in Cornwall with my new wife in a lovely house and have a rewarding job working with elderly people with dementia. Not only do I have two adorable step daughters but I am rebuilding the relationship with my own daughter, with whom I had lost contact for 13 long years.

I’m really loving life and for the first time feel I can hold my head up. I’m proud to be living life as a productive and useful member of society, and it really is all thanks to Two Saints.”

Page 10 / Neil Beresford Involve Two Saints

“Two Saintssaved my life”

Neil Beresford says he wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for the Two Saints’ team in Portsmouth. Thanks to the support and help of our staff he has successfully managed to beat his addictions, get off the streets and find true love to lead a happy and settled family life.

Staff and volunteers at the Two Saints’ Accommodation Resource Centre (ARC) in Gosport have recently made a film for secondary school pupils and their parents to help hammer home the true realities of life on the streets. They regularly visit local schools to discuss the situations which often lead to housing problems and how young people can avoid getting thrown out of home.

ARC Support Worker Robin Freeman helped to write and direct the DVD. He says:

“The film aims to let young people know that we are here to offer help and support if needed. We can find them shelter if they are in genuine need, for example if they are suffering from domestic violence or their parents have thrown them out, but we stress that securing accommodation is not all plain sailing. It really isn’t as simple as walking out of home and into your own council flat, and this is the message we try to

get across – especially for young people from a stable family background who have simply had a minor disagreement with their parents and are staying on a friend’s sofa. We are here to help those in need but at the same time we want to prevent young people from ending up homeless.”

Staff at the ARC – which provides specialist support for young people – use mediation to resolve family issues so that the youngsters can eventually return home. They also work with Connexions to provide advice on education, training and claiming benefits.

“If it wasn’t for ARC I wouldn’t have anything. They helped me out withlots of things, not just accommodation and my support worker has helpedme get on to a dramacourse at college’.

Leeson Murraya client at the ARC

Whilst we work hard to help people who are homeless to rebuild their lives, a large part of what we do is all about preventing homelessness in the first place. With increasing numbers of younger people becoming homeless, our preventative work in schools is an important part of tackling the issue.

Lights, Camera, CommunityAction

Page 11 / ARC Involve Two Saints

— Robin FreemanARC Support Worker

“We are here to help those in need but at the same time we want to prevent young people from ending up homeless”

For more information call — 01329 234600visit — www.twosaints.org.uk

For more informationcall — 01329 234600visit — www.twosaints.org.uk

We need people to get involved in fundraising events. Whether you want to help out at a Two Saints event such as a Christmas Ball, one of our open days, take part in a fun run or even climb Kilimanjaro, please get in touch today. Every penny we fundraise goes towards helping people achieve positive change.

We couldn’t run many of our vital services without help from volunteers. Matthew (featured on page 9) is just one of those who regularly volunteers at our Day Centre in Southampton. He helps out with a variety of activities ranging from manning the reception desk to helping clients learn new skills in the training suite. Whilst he enjoys the feeling of knowing he’s helping others, volunteering is also providing him with valuable work experience in the care industry. Alec is another valuable Two Saints’ volunteer. He helps out at our head office in Fareham with our communications and marketing activities. We need more volunteers like Matthew and Alec to help us to provide a brighter future for homeless people.

Just £5 a month will change someone’s life for the better. Taking the first steps from the streets to a settled home is daunting. We work hard to make sure every one of our clients is given the best possible chance of becoming another success story. By donating £5 a month, you can help us to provide our clients with moving in packs containing everything needed for a first home including basic furniture – simple things that many of us take for granted. Please visit www.twosaints.org.uk and help someone rebuild their life today.

We need you!What can you do to help?

Page 12 / We need you! Involve Two Saints

Fundraise

Volunteer

Donate

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