Contact us:
Head Office
2nd Floor Watling Chambers
18-19 Watling Street
Canterbury Kent CT1 2UA
T • 01227 760078 F • 01227 453331
E • headoffice@porchlight.org.uk
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Porchlight chan
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www.porchlight.org.uk
Porchlight is a limited company
registered in England and Wales.
Registered company number 1157482.
Registered charity number 267116.
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to rough sleeping, mental health, future homelessness, offending,
isolation, unemployment, poverty and housing need throughout Kent.
Porchlight is a forward thinking and
innovative charity, passionate about
helping people and communities.
We work throughout Kent helping the most isolated and
vulnerable in our communities to access housing and related
support services. Through our services we change people’s
lives for the better and by doing this we also challenge and
change people’s attitudes towards homelessness.
• This year we supported over 2,300 people to change their lives for
the better, that’s an 18% increase on last year.
All our services aim to achieve nationally recognised outcomes.
Here are some highlights of what has been achieved this year:
Achieving Economic Wellbeing
By improving our service users’ ability to manage all aspects of their
finances such as benefits, budgeting, paying bills and lending we are
able to successfully reduce poverty.
We have supported 98% of our service users who needed economic
assistance to maximise their income this year.
Enjoyment and Achievement
Staying safe
Our service users are extremely vulnerable. Through education, support
and building self-confidence we are able to reduce the chance of
them coming to harm.
In the last year we have helped 94% of those with an identified need
to minimise their risk of harm from others.
Making a positive contribution
We actively encourage all of our service users to become involved in
education, training, employment or other meaningful activities. With
our support people build transferable skills, qualifications, experience
and a sense of self-worth. They become included in their community.
• 1,497 referrals to our supported accommodation projects, an increase
of 22% on last year.
Many of our service users come to us because of relationship
breakdowns. At Porchlight we understand that support networks
are key to helping people reach their goals in life. It is important for
everyone to have people they can trust and rely on.
• 496 people were accommodated in our projects, an 18% increase
on last year.
We have helped 381 people this year to re-establish positive contact
with friends and family.
• 1,379 people accessed the help of the Kent Outreach Service, an
increase of 54% on last year
Being healthy
• 730 individuals attended outreach drop-ins across the county, that’s
a 17% increase on last year.
• Approximately 15,000 young people reached by our Youth Homelessness
Education Programme.
People come to us with a variety of complex issues that need to be
addressed before they can complete their journey to independent
living. Through one-to-one support and referral to specialist agencies
we are able to help people overcome addictions and health problems.
We also help people to understand why their health is an important
part of a more positive future.
• 208 individuals have engaged with our jobs, education and training
activities.
This year we supported over 1,000 people in managing their health,
whether it is physical health, mental health or substance misuse issues.
• 787 referrals to our rough sleeper service, an increase of 93% on
last year.
*These are all genuine quotes from our service users. However some of the names have been changed to protect the individuals’ identities
• 226 people were supported to stay in their own homes.
We have supported 93% of our service users with an identified need
to develop their confidence and choice.
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provide are designed to both treat acute need and save the public
purse more expense in future years. For example, working with
someone to get them off the street and into supported accommodation
costs in the region of £5,000; putting someone in prison costs in the
region of £42,000 per annum, a short stay in hospital costs
approximately £17,000.
Facing challenges and dealing with
frustrations is a major part of my job.
However, after more years than I care to remember in social
care and housing I have never been so frustrated or faced
greater challenges. Funding certainly has always been a
problem, but with planning and a professional and committed
staff team and Board, it has always seemed “do-able.” This
last year has taught me a number of lessons: one of the
more difficult, however, is that logic seems to fly out of the
window when commissioners are faced with difficult decisions.
The point here is that the main statutory funding stream that supports
our work has been cut by 12% nationally, but when translated into
local services that cut becomes very much deeper. The problem,
I feel, lies in understanding value for money and avoiding very
expensive interventions at a later date. The interventions that we
As an organisation Porchlight has always and will continue to seek
to be part of a solution to homelessness and poverty. I urge our
partners not to lose sight of this aspiration. It’s not just value for
money that we offer; we also offer stability, service user and
community involvement and a strong commitment to working to help
our statutory partners achieve the aims set out in their strategies.
Whether this is in the areas of homelessness, community development
and safety or partnerships with local employers in order to facilitate a
way out of the homelessness trap.
I am sure that the coming year will be no less challenging. The
government’s welfare reforms will, in my view, exacerbate some of
the problems faced by our service users and the wider community,
especially the more deprived communities in East Kent and parts of
West Kent.
Porchlight will continue to offer solutions through close partnership
working, providing a skilled and highly committed staff team to work
with some of the most excluded people in our society. I sincerely
hope that our statutory partners see the benefits we bring to the
table and I also hope stability and courage will be plentiful during
what promises to be a very difficult year for the poor and homeless
in Kent.
It is with both pride and sadness that I
say we have helped more than 2,300
vulnerable people in the county to move
forward positively with their lives this year.
Pride because it reflects the inspiring passion and dedication
of our staff and service users but sadness because it shows
that demand for support is rapidly increasing. With a 22%
rise in referrals to our accommodation and an even more
shocking 93% increase in referrals to our rough sleeper
service it seems that the recession has really come home to
bite, eating away at society’s most vulnerable.
Despite the harsh reality of these statistics the Board have been
conscious of the changing funding landscape and have been
preparing for severe spending cuts for several years by building up
reserves. We are determined that we can continue to provide the
essential support that is desperately needed by so many in Kent.
In addition to our work on the frontline we also remain committed to
changing people’s attitudes towards homelessness, its causes and
the people we support. This year we launched a Youth Homelessness
Education Programme in partnership with several local authorities.
This has meant that 15,000 school pupils are now more aware of
homelessness issues. By changing attitudes and raising awareness
we not only hope to prevent future housing need but to further
increase support for our work in the community as statutory funding
is cut and we have to rely more on the generosity of the public and
local businesses.
We have also developed our focus on jobs, education and training
this year by offering a 4-month accredited Employability Programme to
our service users, aimed at helping them develop the skills necessary
to gain employment. Many of the individuals who have taken the
course have gone on to gain employment even with the charity itself.
This is an amazing achievement and really has changed lives.
Our community-based services have also continued to grow this
year with the addition of a healthy activities service that is helping
people with mental health issues in Thanet access healthy activities
and peer support. It’s a clear indication that the charity can adapt
and provide unique solutions for specific communities.
On behalf of the Board of Porchlight and our service users, I would
like to once again express our deepest appreciation to all the staff for
their continued dedication, professionalism and hard work in helping
vulnerable people at a time when the charity sector as a whole is
fraught with uncertainty. It takes a special kind of person to do the
work that they do and we count ourselves lucky to have each and
every one of them on board.
We have been part of the Big Society
for 37 years now. The Government’s
vision of communities pulling together
to make a difference has always
been at the heart of our work.
simple; change is a journey and a journey that our service users
should have full participation in. The approach to address all the issues
that prevent people from moving forward in their lives has proved
very successful with 92% of service users moving on from our support
saying that our services had made a positive difference to their lives.
of street homelessness. This will not only help an individual to move
forward with their life but also enable them to contribute to the
communities in which they live. Reduced pressure on GPs, hospitals,
the police and the welfare system is something we are proud to
contribute to.
A stable home and tailored support can be just what is needed to
prevent offending, address mental health issues, give someone the
confidence to access education, gain employment or break the cycle
With the support of the community and our partners we will continue
to be part of the solution.
For almost four decades we have worked at a local level to
address the specific needs of the community. In that time
we have helped thousands of individuals who have, for a
variety of complex reasons, found themselves in housing
need. Not only have we provided stable homes but also
given people the opportunity to build the life they deserve,
to enter education or employment and to once again be part
of a community they thought had deserted them.
Our services go way beyond the visible bricks and mortar
accommodation. Our dedicated and highly experienced staff work
with vulnerable people to find their solution. This means that we will
support someone to shape their own future and help them to access
other experts to address all the issues they face. This holistic approach
is what makes us so successful in changing lives and also how we
contribute to building a positive community for everyone.
We focus on the outcomes for an individual and monitor their progress
using the ‘Outcomes Star Model.’ The purpose of the model is to break
progress down into 10 key areas, each having 10 manageable steps.
The areas of progress include motivation, managing money, social
networks and substance misuse. The ethos behind this approach is
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The outreach team work throughout
Kent providing a street outreach and
rough sleeper service that helps
people who are sleeping on the
streets, with no fixed abode and
the “hidden homeless” who might
be sofa-surfing or very transient.
The team provide emergency support by helping individuals
to access temporary accommodation and, once housed, shortterm tenancy sustainment. The 24-hour outreach helpline ensures
the service is accessible to all and provides emergency contact
in times of crisis. This year, we have promoted the Change A
Future Campaign, to encourage members of the general public
to use the helpline or our website to tell us about someone they
know who is sleeping rough.
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We encourage people to access other support services where necessary
such as drug, alcohol or mental health services. Workers undertake
street outreach sessions to locate people who are homeless as well as
running drop-in sessions in each local authority area. This year the staff
team introduced specialist areas to enable the provision of a targeted
and effective service. We again co-ordinated the annual street count of
rough sleepers for local authorities, enabling them to submit statistics
on numbers sleeping rough to the CLG (Department for Communities
and Local Government).
The specialist Street Population service continued in 2010-11
and helped 30 people to address anti-social street behaviour in
Maidstone.
In total the Outreach service has seen an increase of 54% in the
numbers helped, reaching 1,379 people in this year compared to 894
people in 2009-10. There has been a 93% increase in the number of
referrals to the specialist Rough Sleeper service and the Kent
Outreach Service helpline has received 9,257 calls.
4. To develop specialist areas within the Outreach team to enable more
effective partnership working and assistance to diverse communities.
What we aimed for and what we achieved:
1. To promote a proactive Outreach service to locate rough sleepers,
involving the general public and ex-rough sleepers (through
volunteering) to help vulnerable people.
We launched the Change a Future Campaign targeting the general
public and asking them to get involved by telling us about someone
who may need our help. The Helpline number has been promoted
at every opportunity with an average of 770 calls a month. The
service now has a member of staff on reactive outreach each day
to respond immediately to requests for help.
2. To attain accreditation as an advice provider and ensure that Outreach
staff gain advice and guidance qualifications.
Porchlight is a member of APEK (Advice Partnership for East Kent)
and works within the Advice Partnership code. We were unable to
provide specialist advice and guidance training to frontline staff
due to constraints within the training budget.
3. To link in with the ambulance service and hospitals to promote our
services and become part of the Hospital Discharge protocol.
We worked with the JPPB (Kent Joint Policy and Planning Board)
to develop the Hospital Discharge protocol and developed a poster
campaign targeting people being discharged from hospital homeless.
This year has seen the development of 7 specialisms within the
Outreach staff team. These specialist areas are: mental health, young
people, offenders, housing law, domestic abuse, substance-misuse
and minority groups. This has facilitated more effective partnership
working with other agencies and our ability to provide a better
service to those we help.
“Porchlight and
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council have
worked together very successfully for a number
of years. This year we have developed our relationship
further by adopting a joint approach to assisting several
entrenched rough sleepers in the area. Our housing
options team find Porchlight’s outreach workers
to be supportive of the work they are doing and realistic
about the options available to their clients.
“Porchlight’s input into the West Kent Joint
Homelessness Strategy and suggestions on ways
the West Kent local authorities may improve our
services have proved really useful.”
Jane Rogers,
Housing Options Manager,
Tunbridge Wells
Borough Council
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5. To develop street population services in other local authority areas,
outside of Maidstone.
3. To establish collaborative partnerships to improve the effectiveness
of our outreach services.
Despite promoting the street population service to a number of local
authorities and applying for funding to set up services in other
areas, no new street population services have been developed.
4. To continue to monitor the levels of rough sleeping across the
county and provide statistics and advice that contribute to
local strategies to address rough sleeping and homelessness.
6. To ensure that the service remains strategically relevant so that
services are protected from potential cuts.
5. To ensure the outreach service meets the needs of specialist
groups, particularly those of minority groups.
The service captures Stock, Flow and Return data. We completed
an internal review of the effectiveness and strategic relevance of
the service that was submitted to Kent Supporting People. We
then participated in a strategic review of the service undertaken
by Kent Supporting People. We also commissioned an independent,
external audit of the service, completed by Crunch Consulting.
This balanced score-card audit identified the areas of strength
and areas for improvement for the delivery of the outreach service.
Areas of strength included the ability to work in partnership with
stakeholders, use of reconnection, establishment of joint protocols,
staff understanding of the needs and issues of the street population,
data collection and analysis, and staff being well supported and
managed.
Our objectives for next year:
1. To continue to provide a recognisable street outreach service
despite the possibility that the service will be decommissioned
and a smaller, alternative service being re-tendered by Kent
Supporting People.
2. To further develop the Outreach Service Helpline to provide advice
and assistance to a growing number of people in housing need.
“North Kent Women’s Aid has an
excellent working relationship with
Porchlight. The staff at Porchlight were
extremely supportive when we set up our
hostel for young people, and their continued
expertise and advice has been invaluable.
We look forward to carrying on working in
partnership with Porchlight to support
people in the community who become
homeless through no fault of their own.”
Annette Moorby,
Operations Manager Accommodation,
North Kent Women’s Aid
“Porchlight joined
Gravesham Gateway in early 2011
offering two drop-in sessions a week.
These sessions have shown a real need
for the service provided with increased
footfall to the surgery and some
constructive referrals of customers
to other partners within the Gateway
such as K.C.A Horizons and
Job Centre Plus.”
Daniel Laws,
Gateway Manager,
Gravesham Borough
Council
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We provide supported
accommodation for people
who are homeless and help
them to change their lives.
We have a range of hostels providing different levels of support
from medium to high support (which operate 24-hour support
services). We have specialist services for young people and
those with enduring mental health. We also work with ex-offenders
and people with substance misuse issues.
2. To ensure that all accommodation-based services continue to
reduce arrears and void levels.
This year, the number of people helped through our supported
accommodation decreased as the support service to residents of the
Managed Houses contract was transferred to the landlords of the
properties. We were successful in our tender to deliver a new young
person’s supported accommodation project, which opened to residents
in April 2011.
3. To develop partnerships with the private rented sector and
other accommodation providers to improve move-on options for
service users.
In 2010-11 we received 1,497 referrals into our accommodation
projects, an increase of 22% from 2009-10. Of these referrals,
we were able to accommodate 496 people indicating a consistent
over-demand for our supported accommodation. In 2009-10 we
accommodated 422 people, showing an increase of 18% on last year.
4. To provide IT and internet access in all accommodation projects.
the CLG Outcomes: Achieving Economic Wellbeing - 88% of users
improved their financial wellbeing; Enjoy and Achieve - 87%
participated in various learning, work-like activities, training/
education; Be Healthy - 87% have improved mental or physical
health; Stay Safe - 86% have more secure and stable housing
and are safer; Make a Positive Contribution - 93% have improved
confidence and choice.
The void levels remain low for the year with an average across all
accommodation of 1.4%: this is within our target of 4%. At the year
end arrears were at 2.2%, which is slightly over our target of 2%.
Partnerships have continued to increase with the private rented
sector throughout Kent and we maintain an excellent relationship
with the National Landlords Association - Kent Regional Sub-Group.
What we aimed for and what we achieved:
1. To ensure that all accommodation services achieve positive outcomes
for a minimum of 80% of our service users.
5. To ensure all frontline staff have a professional housing related
qualification.
The positive outcomes achieved by these services continue to
improve and have exceeded this target of 80%. We monitor against
Internet access has been installed in all our accommodation
services. Computers have also been provided for service users to
use in relation to employment-seeking activity, to access information
for education and housing purposes, and to help establish and
maintain social and support networks.
Having become an accredited and recognised Chartered Institute
of Housing training centre, we have begun to train our frontline
staff in the CIH accredited housing qualification. In 2010-11 we now
have 6 staff with a professional teaching qualification to deliver
the training and 6 staff have been awarded the Level 3 Certificate
in Supporting Homeless People.
Our objectives for next year:
1. To review and adapt our model of delivery to ensure that outcomes
continue to improve within all accommodation and floating support
services for a minimum of 85% of our service users.
2. To continue to ensure that all accommodation-based services
maintain low levels of arrears and voids, working with service
users to improve strategies to address bad debt.
3. To maintain partnership working with the private-rented sector
and other accommodation providers, to improve move-on
options for service users and to introduce a Bond Scheme to
facilitate this move-on into the private-rented sector for
Porchlight service users.
4. To develop a culture of change within all our services that enables
service users to fulfil higher aspirations in relation to education,
training and employment.
5. To ensure at least 75% of frontline staff have a professional
housing- related qualification by the end of 2011-12.
Neil Beligesgsnsess Education Co-ordinator
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n’t
ow
a
d
c
k
I
a
re
b
Kerry*
We have a number of services
specifically for young people
aged 16-24 years including
three accommodation projects.
This year we were able to accommodate 40% of the 176 referrals
we received for our young person’s supported accommodation.
Within our young person’s supported accommodation the focus is
firmly on education, employment and future independent living.
Weekly life-skills sessions addressing skills such as cooking, money
management and working as part of a team are all designed to help
our young people to manage their own tenancy in the future. Life
skills are often linked to physical activity through the Activity Worker.
had
e I have ok
ble hom
lo
ta
d
s
n
a
a
e
ts
at I hav
out deb t. I am
n
“Now th unity to sort
ployme
ort
the opp ing out my em re I have that in
rt
u
into so rd to make s
ha
ove on.”
working ce before I m
pla
*
Abbie
The Activity Worker engages service users with the wider community,
getting them involved in activities that not only build confidence and
life-skills but can also develop transferable skills that are useful in
the workplace. Many service users are now actively involved with
gym sessions, swimming, yoga classes, canoeing, football, horse
riding, gardening and film groups to name but a few. Some young
people have even become peer buddies to help others with the
transition between supported accommodation and more independent
living. The Activity Worker also develops links and works in partnership
with community and statutory projects to ensure service users have
knowledge about and access to opportunities in their community.
What we aimed for and what we achieved:
1. To deliver services targeting young people to prevent an increase
in youth homelessness.
The Youth Homelessness Education Programme delivered
workshops and talks to young people about homelessness and
where to get help if needed. The programme reached over 15,000
young people in Kent in this year.
2. To further develop our young person’s services, increasing multi agency working, family mediation services and pre-tenancy training.
Multi-agency work continues within our young person’s service.
There are now specialist young person’s staff with mediation skills
and a buddying system has been established across our young
person’s service. Pre-tenancy training has proved very successful
in teaching young people the skills required to live independently
and be a responsible tenant. We were also successful in securing
the contract to deliver a new supported accommodation service
for young people in Tonbridge.
3. To support young people in accessing and completing programmes
of education, training and employment.
This year we have continued to link our young people to local
agencies that provide specialist advice on careers, apprenticeships
and CV writing. We have also linked in with training providers to
ensure people aged over 18 have the relevant first aid and health
and safety certificates which make them more attractive to an
employer. Furthermore we have strengthened links with educational
institutions to make sure service users are attending courses and
if necessary resolve any issues. Key workers will accompany young
people to college open days and support them in applying for courses.
Computer and internet access in our young person’s supported
accommodation is also proving useful for job searching,
applications, skill building and CV writing, facilitated by
established job clubs.
Our objectives for next year:
1. To secure additional funding to continue to deliver an awareness
programme that targets young people to prevent an increase in
youth homelessness.
2. To further develop our young person’s service to prepare young
people to live independently through pre-tenancy training and
development of life-skills.
3. To continue to support young people in accessing and completing
programmes of education, training and employment.
“The St Nicholas
Festival Trustees were delighted to
support Porchlight Young Person’s Services
as one of their chosen charities for 2010.
In choosing Porchlight, the Trustees were
particularly impressed by the focused, intensive
approach used by the Porchlight workers to develop
the confidence and life-skills of their young service users.
They also appreciated the fact that Porchlight are
involved in developing transferable skills that can be
used in the workplace, and that there is an emphasis
on engaging young service users with the wider
community. The Trustees also hope that, through
their support, the service users may gain more
confidence in the community within
which they live.”
Jane Williams,
Patron, St. Nicholas Festival
ky
Mark Ppeortrexs-Ocffeh nder Worker
Floating Sup
without
ownhill ith bills,
gone d
w
e
v
p
a
u
h
t
h
“I would w I have caug
s.”
No
e
.
n
fi
rt
o
d
p
n
p
su
debts a
Gary*
ton orker
Pam Buprornt is
W
ex-Offender
Floating Sup
make
ients. They
-to-reach cl
rd
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ay
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to help them
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ork with so
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mes of ex
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ts to the ho
vocacy an
regular visi
into a societ
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s,
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ld
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reak the cy
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and the
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a place in th
can be
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ab
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if
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for, a positiv
e
both
riv
ith
st
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exactly wha
hing
at opportun
ere is somet
t will grab th
or
pp
life. When th
su
e
w
e people
.
goal, often th
to their past
y goodbye
sa
d
nders in
an
s
hand
pport ex-offe
signed to su
munity.
m
de
co
lly
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ca
th
ifi
back into
rvices spec
g
se
in
at
ve
rships
gr
ha
ne
te
rt
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W
d
rengthen pa
tenancies an
d hard to st
bation.
ke
ro
or
P
t
w
maintaining
en
ve
K
ha
d
isons an
st year we
vice, local pr
Over the pa
ffending Ser
O
h
ut
Yo
e
with th
We prevent vulnerable people from
becoming homeless through our
floating support service.
This service works with people in their own home and helps
them address the issues affecting their housing security. This
year two of our floating support services were de-commissioned
at the end of March 2011; specifically the Canterbury generic
floating support service and the Thanet ex-offender floating
support service. We continue to have a specialist floating support
service for ex-offenders in East Kent to help them reintegrate
into the community, plus generic floating support for East
Kent, as well as providing support to residents in high support
accommodation for those with enduring mental health.
Our floating support services, including the specialist services for
those with enduring mental health and services for ex-offenders,
provided support to 226 people as against 267 people in 2009-10.
This reduction is due to the decommissioning of services previously
mentioned. In addition, the Primary Care Community Links Service
helped 61 vulnerable people to address a housing-related issue that
was causing ill-health.
What we aimed for and what we achieved:
1. To ensure that all floating support services achieve positive outcomes
for a minimum of 80% of our service users.
The positive outcomes achieved by these services continue to improve
and have exceeded this target of 80%. We monitor against
the CLG Outcomes: Achieving Economic Wellbeing - 88% of users
improved their financial wellbeing; Enjoy and Achieve - 87%
participated in various learning, work-like activities, training/
education; Be Healthy - 87% have improved mental or physical
health; Stay Safe - 86% have more secure and stable housing
and are safer; Make a Positive Contribution - 93% have improved
confidence and choice.
2. To increase the competitiveness of our floating support services
to safeguard against potential re-tendering of contracts.
We have continued to implement a cost saving strategy to reduce
wastage and increase the competitiveness of all of our services.
Floating support contracts were not re-tendered in 2010-11.
Our objectives for next year:
1. To review and adapt our model of delivery to ensure that outcomes
continue to improve within all accommodation and floating support services for a minimum of 85% of our service users.
2. To work with Kent Supporting People to ensure our services
provide value for money, re-tendering where necessary and re-designing services to account for cuts to contract values.
to
ave had
would h ompleted
I
t
h
g
li
c
Porch
have
to start
sn’t for
. Now I
“If it wa ollege course ith my fiancée
c
w
y
in
m
leave
er.”
moved
rse and new life togeth
the cou
our
*
James
“We have found the
Porchlight representatives helpful
and knowledgeable in their field,
and look forward to a continued
working partnership in the future”.
Daniel Laws,
Gateway Manager,
Gravesham Borough Council
ard
Richardker Barn
and
the fringes
y, pushed to
et
and
ci
n
so
io
at
m
ol
fro
iral of is
are excluded
wnward sp
h more
do
uc
a
m
People who
to
in
em
th
we offer
ill often slip
comes to us
ps, physical
ignored, w
n someone
e user grou
he
ic
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rv
.
ty
se
ili
h
ab
ug
ro
th
ce invisible
vulner
on
rd
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ak
. We work
e
ojects, to m
pr
d
tre
than a roof
en
inclusion, th
mmunity-c
rough their
co
Th
d
r
n.
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ot
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allenging
of it once
society part
face and ch
our
ey
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l
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rs
nt
ie
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te
rr
ba
e true po
wn of the
we show th
ess.
breaking do
conceptions
is
of homelessn
m
e
e
cl
tiv
cy
ga
e
th
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ki
ea
br
people’s ne
y to
s. This is ke
service user
t just
and no
t.”
ething
of som nk you for tha
rt
a
p
l
Tha
“I fee
*
m
Ada
a lonely
.
person
Activity Wor
s,
service user
our young
r
y
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ty
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ss the co
d self-este
tivities acro
life
nfidence an
ac
to
s
co
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se
w
ni
ke
lo
lin
ga
ry
e
ve
that ar
Richard or
to us with
e community
that will
hom come
knowledge
e heart of th
th
of
many of w
in
nd
ki
es
e
iti
th
tiv
d
essful
ac
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cc
f
su
ou
lie
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ry
be
arranging
p their selfhas been ve
lo
rd
ve
ha
de
even
ic
R
to
as
.
le
the future
ubs and w
skills he is ab
l football cl
pendently in
ca
de
lo
in
e
ith
w
liv
ks
help them
up.
mmunity lin
ess World C
building co
r the Homel
fo
this year in
l
ia
tr
al
n a region
asked to ru
The Community Outreach Support
Service (COSS) focused on supporting
residents in one of the most
deprived communities in Thanet.
It was a partnership between Thanet District Council, Kent Adult
Social Services, the Eastern and Coastal NHS Primary Care
Trust and Porchlight. The service ended in September 2010 due
to lack of funding. The service delivered individual support to
vulnerable people living in the community as well as group
support and advice. It empowered and enabled the community
to address issues of housing security, anti-social behaviour and
social inclusion. In the period April to September 2010, 100 people
were helped through this service.
We have a range of other services that enable us to provide holistic
support to service users and reinforce our work within the community
to prevent homelessness. The Primary Care Community Links service
continued to work with GP surgeries in Thanet offering advice, advocacy
and support to people in the community, who were referred to the
service by their GP.
of life to h
ble way
wit
me a sta restart my life
n
e
iv
g
s
d
a
.”
n
h
g
a
in
rt
s
k
o
e
in
pp
iec
th
“The su pick up the p e and way of
d
me to
er attitu
g
n
o
enable
tr
s
e,
a positiv
Dale*
The service works by doctors at the surgeries identifying patients that
need help with social issues such as debt or housing that might be
contributing or causing their mental health issues. We then work with
the individual for up to eight weeks to address problems which are
contributing to them becoming isolated, unable to cope with day-today life and eventually facing homelessness.
We have built a good working relationship with the surgeries who
understand that we are there to bridge the gap between medical
intervention and the support people need to get their whole lives
back on track. The service has contributed to a decrease in repeat
visits to the GP.
The Primary Care Community Links service helped 61 people –
an increase of 11% on last year.
This year we introduced a new service for people with mental health
and a housing need, to encourage participation in physical activities
and the promotion of a healthy lifestyle. This service is delivered in
partnership with the Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT and the
Chances4Change programme. Since we began to deliver this service
in June 2010, we have supported 42 people to access and
participate in healthy activities.
What we aimed for and what we achieved:
1. To continue to work with all stakeholders to secure long-term funding
for the continuation and development of the service.
Despite working closely with Kent Adult Social Services and the
Eastern and Coastal Primary Care Trust, we were unable to secure
sufficient funding to continue this service beyond September 2010.
2. To continue to reduce the number of evictions and residents with
rent arrears within the target community.
During the life of the project 320 people engaged with the service
in a meaningful way. 117 people were assisted with maximising their
housing benefit thus preventing rent arrears and we prevented 24
people from being evicted.
3. To develop the service into a community hub, linking in with other
agencies and providers to deliver holistic support to the target
community.
The service remained a community hub that facilitated multi-agency
working until the centre closed in September 2010.
Computer and internet access in our young person’s supported
accommodation is also proving useful for job searching, applications,
skill building and CV writing.
4. To continue with allotment activities and other groups to promote
healthy living, build skills and encourage service users to participate
in their local community.
Service user activities were actively promoted. The management of
the allotment was handed over to Sanctuary Carr-Gomm to continue.
Our objectives for next year:
1. Integrating service user activities across all our services to ensure
that everyone has equal access to meaningful activities.
2. To develop volunteering roles to facilitate community-based
activities.
3. To continue to work alongside other community-based
organisations to provide integrated support to vulnerable
people.
r
Dave WatioenbansdtTreaining Manager
Jobs, Educ
es
t opportuniti
involvemen
er
all
us
h
e
ic
ac
rv
ro
ght app
ning and se
with the ri
t or
at
in-house trai
en
th
ed
ym
s
id
lo
ve
p
ov
ie
pr
bel
-term em
Dave has
years. He
year he
achieve long
ght for 5
otential to
. In the last
p
ity
e
at Porchli
un
th
m
ve
m
ha
co
e
ng and
le
p
th
ni
ai
eo
in
tr
p
es
d
vulnerable
ful activiti
ucation an
ng
ed
ni
s,
ea
b
m
jo
r
othe
ge with
al learning.
engage in
le to enga
of addition
208 peop
some form
ke
ta
has helped
er
d
un
gone on to
94% have
ucation and
lieve that ed
t of
We firmly be
n routes ou
t are the mai
employmen
s.
es
homelessn
poverty and
l our service
d support al
an
e
ag
part
ur
co
We en
unities. It is
ssing opport
are
e
w
d
an
users in acce
arity
re of the ch
credited
of the cultu
in-house ac
g
in
er
liv
de
l
ca
lo
ith
dedicated to
w
making links
rience
pe
ex
training and
k
or
w
to provide
ve
businesses
ities. We ha
ent opportun
m
oy
pl
of our
e
or em
m
so
r
fe
able to of
the
even been
tions within
trainee posi
s
er
line
us
nt
e
fro
ic
serv
% of our
fact that 31
or
s
es
sn
es
el
charity. The
rienced hom
pe
g
ex
in
ow
ve
sh
ha
staff
r itself in
es speaks fo
ce
on
e
er
w
related issu
who
l of people
the potentia
y.
et
ci
so
by
sidelined
Service user involvement is central
to all that we do and the way we
do it and we are incorporating
co-production into the development
of services.
Through this approach we are able to involve our service users in
the wider development of the charity and encourage peer-led
activities at a project level.
This year we changed the focus of our service user involvement by
delivering a structured 4-month accredited Employability Programme
to enable our service users to develop the skills and abilities necessary
to secure or return to employment. We want to remove the glass ceiling
for the people we support so that they can embark on and sustain
meaningful careers in the future.
We have also continued to broaden the experiences of our service users
through the promotion of volunteering opportunities both within the
charity and with external partners.
Our hard work coupled with the dedication of our service users has
meant that 22% of people who engaged with jobs, education and
training this year obtained formal qualifications with others taking up
paid employment, undertaking additional learning and participating in
work-like or voluntary activities.
Partnerships
What we aimed for and what we achieved:
1. To expand our Building Skills and Employment programme for
service users, to provide a qualification and meaningful work
experience opportunities.
We have continued to develop the training provided to service users
to enable them to return to work and secure sustainable employment
through the delivery of a 4-month Employability Programme and
the development of short courses on employment-seeking skills.
12 service users have completed the Employability Programme
and between them they have gained 68 certificates.
2. To continue to develop the Trainee Support Worker programme
for ex-service users, to train them for a career in support work,
and motivate current service users.
The Trainee Support Worker programme has continued through the
support of the Future Jobs Fund. This has meant we have been
able to offer a 6-month trainee work placement to 13 ex-service
users who have benefited from this in 2010-11.
3. To reinforce our service user involvement structure and ensure it
is integrated throughout the charity and at all levels.
Service user forums have continued to operate at a district level,
providing users of all services in an area to feed into organisational
development. We have also continued to hold quarterly management
meetings with service users, which has enabled a direct input into
the development of service delivery.
4. To establish a range of healthy living and other meaningful activities
in all areas to build the skills and confidence of service users.
Activity opportunities for service users continue to be developed
and provided throughout all of our services. The Health and
Wellbeing Group coordinated an activity day for all service users
to participate in, that worked to reinforce specific activities at a
project level. Funding was also secured to enable a wider range
of activities to be facilitated.
Our objectives for next year:
1. To develop partnerships and collaborative working to enable
service users to access voluntary work and work experience
opportunities within the community.
2. To develop a volunteer strategy and operational programme
that integrates the use of volunteers in the delivery of activities
for service users.
3. To participate in a pilot study relating to co-production of services
and to develop a model of co-production and personalisation
that complements the service delivery structure.
4. To establish a range of healthy living and other meaningful
activities in all areas to build the skills and confidence of
service users.
5. To undertake basic skills assessments for all service users and
deliver functional skills and employment-related skills sessions
at project level.
We actively work in partnership with over 130
statutory bodies, agencies, charities, businesses
and educational establishments across Kent to
ensure that we can provide effective solutions
to homelessness for individuals from a strategic
level to the frontline.
The partnerships, which grow year on year, are essential to our ability
to change the lives of vulnerable people. Building on our research
from 2010 entitled ‘Slipping through the net: Homeless People in Kent’
which identified pockets of good practice but a lack of integration;
we have worked hard to strengthen relationships with partners this year.
In particular through the Joint Policy and Planning Board we have
contributed to the development of new protocols that ensure integrated
and joined-up provision. It is now even more important that we continue
to do this, at a time of spending cuts and austerity measures.
Research commissioned by the Communities and Local Government
Department showed that for every £1 spent on Supporting People
services £2.12 was saved on other public services.* That is a
significant saving for the public purse. As a member of the National
Housing Federation we recognise that strong partnerships can
improve this by also tackling housing need and the complexity of its
associated issues.
*SOURCE: Capgemini UK plc: “Research into the financial benefits
of the Supporting People Programme” (CLG 2009).
As part of the Kent Homeless Officers Group and charing both the
East and South West Kent Homelessness Forums we are able to
have our expertise recognised and provide valuable input to shape
future policy including the housing need strategies of local authorities.
Partnerships are also helping to build upon the professionalism of our
staff. Last year we became the first centre in the country to be accredited
by the Chartered Institute of Housing to deliver the ‘Engage to
Change’ homelessness sector qualification to our staff. This year 6 staff
members completed the course to receive a Level 3 in Supporting
Homeless Persons Certificate. It is our aim that eventually all of our
frontline staff will hold a professional housing qualification.
Furthermore we work to develop partnerships that show our current
and potential service users and staff that we are a charity that values
diversity. We continue to be a Stonewall Diversity Champion and part
of the Changing Faces Face Equality Campaign. We want to send a
clear message to vulnerable people that they will be treated with
respect and understanding when they access our services.
We look forward to our continued work with the following organisations in the coming year:
16+ – Affinity Sutton – Age UK – Amicus Horizon – Arundel Unit – Ashentree House – Ashford Borough Council
– Ashford Christian Fellowship – Avante Partnership – Canterbury Christchurch University – Canterbury
City Council – Canterbury College – Canterbury District Community Alliance (CDCA) – Canterbury Health
Centre – Canterbury and Herne Bay Volunteer Centre – CARAT Team – Carr-Gomm – Casa Support – Catch
22 – Catching Lives – CDRP – Cedars – CHAC – Changing Faces – Chartered Institute of Housing – Chaucer
College – Chaucer Homecare – Churches Together in Canterbury – Citizens Advice Bureau – Coleman House
– Community Mental Health Teams – Connexions – Cookham Wood YOI – CRI – Dartford Borough Council –
Dogs Trust – Domestic Violence Forum – Dover District Council – Drug Interventions Programme Team – Early
Intervention Psychosis Team – East Kent Alcohol Services – EAT – Edenbridge Community Centre – Emmaus
– Fairbridge – Folkestone Churches Winter Shelter – Folkestone Rainbow Centre – Gateway Centre – George
Turle House – Grand Community Centre – Gravesham Borough Council – Health Promotion – HMP Elmley –
HMP Standford Hill – Home Start – Homeless Link – Hope (Kent) – Housing 21 – Hyde Housing – IAPT – Invicta
Chamber of Commerce – Jobcentre Plus – Joint Policy and Planning Board – KCA – KDAAT – Kent Adult Social
Services – Kent and Canterbury Hospital – Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust – Kent
and Medway Youth Offending Service – Kent Association for the Blind – Kent Business School – Kent County
Council – Kent Housing Group – Kent Police – Kent Probation – Kent Supporting People – Kenward Trust –
Laurel House – Maidstone Borough Council – Maidstone Day Centre – Mears – Medway Council – Mental
Health Forum – MIND – MOAT – Morelli’s – National Landlords Association – Necessary Furniture – NHS
Eastern and Coastal Kent Primary Care Trust – Northgate Ward Community Centre – North Kent Women’s
Aid – Nutwood House – Open College Network – Orbit South – Pfizer – Pret-A-Manger – Public Safety Units
– Queens House – Rethink – Richmond Fellowship – Riverside – RPS Rainer – Runway Training – Russet –
Sainsbury’s – Salvation Army – Sanctuary Housing Association – Sandwich Technical College – Sevenoaks
District Council – Shelter – Sheppey Healthy Living Centre – Shepway District Council – South Kent College
– SSAFA – St Martin’s Hospital – St Michael’s Church – Sittingbourne – Stanhope Parish Council – Stepahead
Support – Stonewall – Stonham – Substance Misuse Team – Swale Borough Council – Swanley Library –
Thanet District Council – The Beacon – The Quays – Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council – Trinity Foyer
– Tunbridge Wells Borough Council – Turning Point – Unison – University of Kent – Volunteer Bureaux – Webbs
Garden – West Kent Housing – White Cliffs Housing – William Harvey Hospital – Youth Homeless Forum
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Independent Auditor’s Statement
to the Members of Porchlight
We have examined the summary financial statement for the
year ended 31 March 2011.
1%
1%
5%
Respective responsibilities of trustees and the auditor
26%
47%
11%
9%
The trustees are responsible for preparing the summary financial
statement in accordance with applicable United Kingdom law. Our
responsibility is to report to you our opinion on the consistency of the
summary financial statement with the full annual financial statements,
and its compliance with the relevant requirements of section 427 of
the Companies Act 2006 and the regulations made thereunder.
Supported Accommodation
Floating Support (Homeless Prevention)
Young Person’s Services
Kent Outreach Service
Community Support & Investment/Activities
Fundraising
We conducted our work in accordance with Bulletin 2008/3 issued by
the Auditing Practice Board. Our report on the company’s full annual
financial statements describes the basis of our opinion on those
financial statements.
Governance
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In our opinion the summary financial statement is consistent with the
full annual financial statements of Porchlight for the year ended 31
March 2011 and complies with the applicable requirements of
Section 427 of the Companies Act 2006 and the regulations made
thereunder. We have not considered the effects of any events
between the date on which we signed our report on the full annual
financial statements (30 June 2011) and the date of this statement.
BAKER TILLY UK AUDIT LLP, Statutory Auditor
Chartered Accountants
18 Mount Ephraim Road, Hanover House
Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 1ED
22 July 2011.
Reserves Policy
Porchlight makes a commitment to the people it helps, and
the Registered Providers (RPs) and Councils it works in
partnership with. Supporting People income is likely to reduce
in the future, therefore we need to have sufficient reserves
behind us to continue the good work we do.
The reserves policy was reviewed in May 2011 at the Overview subcommittee meeting. Regular reviews of the reserves policy are also
recommended by the Charity Commission in their guidance including
CC19 Charities’ Reserves and guidance for trustees (Questions to
consider at key stages in the life of a charity). The trustees have also
referred to another publication, “The Economic Downturn: 15 Questions
Trustees Need to Ask” in which reserves policies feature extensively.
We have aimed to build our reserves to at least six months’ running
costs, to prepare for the possible cuts in future funding. Our key
contracts have a six months’ notice period, therefore six months’
reserves would ensure the charity remains a going concern in the
unlikely event of key contracts being terminated. Six months’
expenditure is now in the region of £2.2m.
Currently our reserves stand at £1,148,076, of which £853,787 is
general unrestricted reserves. This leaves us a shortfall of £1.35m,
hence we are looking at diversifying our income streams to increase
our incoming resources. We are retaining the current year’s surplus
to build our reserves towards the required level. The trustees review the
policy annually and monitor the amount currently in our general reserves.
M
DONATION FOR
We make a real difference to the lives of vulnerable people and the
communities we live in. Help us change even more people’s lives
through a regular gift online or donation now!”
I enclose a cheque made payable to Porchlight (please do not send cash in the post).
The main emphasis this coming
year will be to build on our work
in relation to employability of our
service users, access to education
and training and volunteering.
We will also be looking at our financial modelling and the way we
manage risk to enable Porchlight to engage with the “payment
by results” (PbR) agenda being piloted in Kent. We will start
the process of transforming our hostels into real places of
change, again to emphasise the positive nature of the charity’s
work. Our approach to risk management has also been reviewed.
We will be increasing our investment in accessing alternative
funding streams both to augment services and to attempt to
replace funding lost as a result of government cuts.
As a charity working within the homelessness sector we fully realise
that the most effective route out of poverty and homelessness is to
gain employment and encourage independence. This is of course
easier said than done, bearing in mind that many of our service users
are extremely vulnerable. However, we are committed to bring the
skills, aspirations and contributions our service users can make to
society to the fore. This will be achieved through forging closer links
with corporate partners, suppliers and training providers. We want to
be known as a provider of choice, a place that improves lives and
enhances the communities in which we work.
As part of the localism agenda, the “Big Society” and the need to deliver
some services with a more pragmatic approach, we will be recruiting,
training and supporting volunteers from right across communities in
Kent. This however will be a “two-way street” with both the volunteer
and the charity getting something out of the experience. Porchlight
volunteers will be a real part of the organisation feeding into both
service delivery and strategy. We believe both the organisation and
the community will be stronger and will feel a sense of shared reward.
Our service users will be the main beneficiaries as the skills within
the community will become available to those most in need.
In many ways this proposed system of PbR for future commissioning
will allow providers like Porchlight to show what we can do when
the “agenda” is sensibly presented. In other words, being paid for
successes is preferable to being paid simply because we have the
most up-to-date policies or because our performance returns are
submitted on time. Porchlight believes that not only our service
users, but also the purchasers of our services will be able to judge
the effectiveness of our interventions through this process. So we
as a charity are not afraid of these proposals. However, we are
concerned that all providers are treated equally in relation to
accepting some of the more challenging referrals and not be
distracted by simply achieving a “positive outcome” in order to
collect payment. We will therefore be entering the debate in a positive
but robust fashion.
We want to offer a real opportunity for people to change their lives
for the better. To this end, we are reviewing how our hostels and
accommodation-based projects work with and for service users. We
want to ensure that as much choice and input as possible from
service users is incorporated into the planning process of service
delivery. This will maximise their chances of breaking the destructive
cycle of homelessness and addiction, as well as enabling vulnerable
people to access mental health services with support. This will
ensure that Porchlight’s intervention means something to the
individual and the community in which we work.
In order to facilitate these changes we will continue to professionalise
the staff team and will be assessing staff abilities. It will be important
for frontline staff to be able to both assess service users’ level of
functional skills and develop support plans to improve them. These
will be the first steps towards enabling engagement with training and
employment opportunities, thereby identifying a pathway out of
poverty and social exclusion.
In order to address the expected funding cuts from our statutory
stakeholders, we will be increasing the investment in our fundraising
activities. We will increase the resources to the Development and
Communications team by recruiting to a post dedicated to trust and
corporate fundraising and relationship management. This post will
complement the community fundraising activities and enable Porchlight
to continue to build partnerships within the local community.
I will help change lives with a gift of
Title
£
First name:
Surname:
Address:
Postcode:
Tel:
Email:
I am a UK taxpayer and I want Porchlight to claim tax back on all donations
I have made covering the last 6 years, and all future donations.
I am not a UK taxpayer
Signed:
Date:
NB. You must pay an amount of income tax or capital gains tax equal to the tax we reclaim on your donations in
the tax year. You can cancel this Declaration at any time by notifying us in writing. If you are a higher rate tax payer
you can claim further tax relief on your Self Assessment return.
Please return this form to:
Porchlight Head Office,
2nd Floor Watling Chambers,
18-19 Watling Street,
Canterbury CT1 2UA
Porchlight would like to thank all the people who have supported us
over the last year. During a difficult time for the charity sector we recognise
that your support and trust in our work is crucial to our continued ability
to help the most vulnerable and excluded members of our society.
In particular we would like to thank the following people and organisations:
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Paul*
Ashford Borough Council
BBC Children in Need
BBC Kent / BBC Television
Big Lottery Fund chances4change Partnership
Canterbury City Council
Church Communities UK
Comic Relief
Department of Work and Pensions
Dover District Council
EAT
Guardian News and Media Ltd
Heart FM
Kent Adult Social Services
Kent Housing Group
Kent Homeless Officers Group
Kent Supporting People
KM Group
KOS Media
KRN Media
Maidstone Borough Council
Media Trust/Community Newswire
NHS Eastern and Coastal Kent
NatWest
Pfizer
Q’Straint
Sevenoaks District Council
Shepway District Council
Swale Borough Council
St. Nicholas Festival
Tim Stubbings Photography
Thanet District Council
Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
Our services
Homelessness Prevention
Kent Outreach Service
Simon Mead House, Ashford
Adult Hostel, Canterbury
Young Persons’ Hostel, Canterbury
Craddock House, Canterbury
New Town Street, Canterbury
Guildford Lodge, Canterbury
Shared Houses, Canterbury
Fern Court, Dover
Prospects, Dover
George Culmer Court, Margate
King Street, Ramsgate
Primary Care Community Links Service, Thanet
New Wharf, Tonbridge
Senior Management Team
Mike Barrett MCIH – Chief Executive and Company Secretary
Gill Bryant MCIH – Head of Operations
Catherine Keen FCCA MAAT DChA – Finance Director
Helen Marsh MCIPD – Head of Human Resources
Lisa Oeder MInstF – Head of Development and Communications
Board of Trustees
Anne Norris JP – Chair
Stuart Chapman – Treasurer
Graeme Bosley – Vice-Chair
Jenny Bough
Celia Glynn-Williams
Sue Hornibrook
Glenn Miller
John Townend
Pat Unwin
Keith Wren
Patron
Tim Brett JP DL