Derby City Mission Annual Review 2022

Annual Review 2022 Transforming Lives Together

Firm Foundations, Open Spaces

The world’s first City Mission was established in Glasgow in 1826. It was the vision of David Nasmith, an evangelical Christian, who was moved to action upon seeing the conditions that poverty brings – overcrowding in poor housing conditions, homelessness, hunger, addictions. His heart was to reach out to meet the spiritual, as well as the physical and material needs, of local people.

Derby City Mission was established in 1989 by Geoff Holland who was also moved by the same desire to see local people set free. Without his vision and obedience to God’s call we would not exist today. We are built on those same original foundations of seeing our city and the people in it flourish. We do this through our Christian faith in action, practically meeting needs as we look to God for guidance in all we do. I am honoured to be part of this work, following on from Geoff’s original vison and the following two stewards here in Derby, as well as the wider City Mission Movement. God is building on these firm foundations in order to grow us even more.

Genesis 26 tells us about a time of terrible famine, and how God promised to bless Isaac and prosper him if he stayed in that land. Isaac obeyed. He was certainly blessed but his time was not without difficulties.

He faced outright opposition as his father Abraham’s water wells were filled in by local Philistines. Isaac had to keep moving and eventually found another place to dwell. His men dug a deep well which Isaac named Rehoboth. It means open spaces or spaciousness. It was confirmation of God’s promise to bless Isaac ‘for now God has made room for us and we will prosper in this land’. We will continue to build on our firm foundations as we seek to journey in this land of open spaces that God has given us. We too anticipate difficulties as war, cost of living and inflation affect us. But we know that God is with us and so we will prosper in this land. We look to Him as the source of our provisions so that we can keep helping people in need to flourish.

Elle Warrener-Davis – Managing Director

Board of Trustees Update

Praise, my soul, the King of heaven; To his feet your tribute bring.

Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, evermore his praises sing.

This is where I want to focus, through the challenges of the last year I can testify that God has blessed Derby City Mission with an amazing team, both the “customer facing” team in specific ministry areas and also the back-office team who oil the machine and make everything work.

I was privileged this year to sign-off on a number of staff appraisals. I sat down to do this as “task” and ended up being totally humbled, reading the self-reflection pieces on each appraisal. Praise God, these are the people who make up DCM. I am so grateful to God for those he has placed within the charity.

God’s provision does not stop with the staff team; we asked for help as we went through our recruitment and selection process. Again, I’m grateful for other city church leaders who gave their time to support us in that and help in that discernment process. It is these leaders and volunteers who practically and prayerfully surround DCM that make it work. These volunteers are amazing, again working in both front-line ministries and also helping out behind the scenes. It’s an amazing blessing to see dedicated and energetic volunteers freely giving their time and expertise on a whole range of topics as we collectively testify to God’s love in our city.

The first two drafts for this covered the requested content, it took me to version # 3 to realise that my role is to testify to you for God and his rich provision. I am so grateful to God, he has so richly blessed DCM with an amazing team of staff and trustees, he has given us access to the right gifts and talents for each season.

Looking at the last 12 months I can see how God has a firm hand on DCM. This makes me so excited for the journey ahead, confident that God will continue to guide us. Praise our Lord!

Nigel Town - Chair

It’s an incredible privilege to care for people and we have seen God move incredibly in the lives of those who have stayed with us. As well as our Guests staying overnight, we also act as a Hub for Derby’s Rough Sleepers during the daytime where they can meet with various agencies, a dentist, chiropodist and a counsellor to name just a few. We also run one-off health clinics for Hep B testing and COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters.

We do activities with all the guests, engaging with and sharing experiences together to build relationships and trust. Over the year, we have cooked with the guests, had outings, carried out social enterprise schemes like selling tie-dye bags and making soap. We’ve also put on event days with Derby Adult Learning centre to encourage our guests back in to education. From this we have seen several of our non-English speakers sign up for English classes and some of our guests sign up for catering courses.

In the past year, Safe Space has continued to support and care for Derby’s rough sleeper community by providing vital support for those who are most in need. Safe Space has capacity to sleep seven people overnight and over the last year, we have had almost 2,000 overnight guests.

“I spend most of my day in Safe Space at the moment because it helps me stay off drugs and I know that I’m loved.” - Steve

“This is the first time in a long time that I’ve felt safe and my head has felt straight.” - Carl

Safe Space

TheByMySide Project

The ByMySide project is new to Derby City Mission, working with Derby Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services.

The project is aimed at those with substance misuse issues and a history of rough sleeping or who are at high risk of being evicted. The team work intensively with the clients as their advocates and spend time building trust and act as a surrogate family as they often have little or no family support.

Due to their chaotic lifestyles, rough sleepers are rarely able to access detox or rehab so we are determined to give our clients the best chance of successful recovery by taking an holistic approach and showing them that change is possible.

We have a daily light touch drop-in Recovery Programme and use a variety of techniques including a wide range of activities and interests for our clients to build their confidence and demonstrate they have a future post recovery.

The project only started in March but we are already seeing God moving powerfully in the lives of our clients and we are excited to see what He will do next.

“This project has really been good for me, and the activities they put on make me feel normal again and reminds me of the things I used to do. This project is definitely helping with my addiction and keeping me on track and in treatment.” - Fiona

Storehouse reopened on 4th November 2021 after a pause through Covid. Every Thursday we provide a hot meal and friendship to those who are homeless and in poverty and for those who also need community. Around 50 people attend each week and across a fortnightly rota we have about 30 volunteers involved. We’ve had a lot of people come and help who were previously supporting the former Churches Nightshelter project and this has blessed us immensely. Without them we simply would not have had enough staff to open, so a massive thank you for all who have got stuck in.

The guests are finding life post-Covid hard. The impact of higher energy bills and food bills mean more of them are seeing Storehouse and places like ours as a necessity to balance their books as costs soar way above their wages and benefit provisions.

For some, this is a desperate place for help being homeless but for others it’s also a place which offers food and support to prevent them from falling deeper into poverty. I expect over the coming months and into the winter that we will see a growth in our guest community as needs grow.

We encourage prayer and have seen God answer prayer for our guests. We believe that God wants us all to feel loved and be looked after. Jesus told Peter to feed my sheep, and there are numerous other passages in the Gospels where we are encouraged to love the least, the lost and the lonely as Christ has loved us. Storehouse is not just a provision of food and shelter but also looks to spiritually bless its guests also, so that they may know Gods love personally.

The aim of the project is to support prison leavers to maintain their private rented sector tenancies. Frequently, clients who leave prison will not be considered by private landlords as they often have chaotic lifestyles and historic poor tenancy sustainability so many landlords won’t take a risk on them.

By supporting clients to do the things that are necessary to secure their accommodation, we are giving them the chance to have a secure home of their own, from which to build a firm foundation to be able to address the issues in other areas of their lives.

We accompany clients to appointments such as Probation, Job Centres and drug / alcohol services. Many of our clients become anxious when dealing with professionals. By allowing us to advocate for them, it takes the stress out of situations, they achieve the things that make their lives easier and their accommodation is more secure.

We regularly signpost our clients to other projects either within DCM e.g. Jubilee who help secure their tenancies by dealing with any financial problems, or externally e.g. Opportunities & Change which enables them to build relationships and trust with other people. God’s presence in this project has been keenly felt. We have seen incredible transformation within the lives of those we have been working with.

Jubilee

Providing debt and benefits advice across Derby

The Jubilee Project offers free debt and benefits advice at five locations across the city each week. The type of debt that we now see has changed a great deal since COVID and we are now dealing with post pandemic debt. This is usually very large and complex. Last year, from the work we undertook, our clients financially benefitted by over £1.5 million. This included £1.1 million of debts written off. We completed 2,987 appointments and fed over 5,000 people in desperate need. We have a fantastic team of volunteers who are able to offer support and guidance and a highly trained team of Advisers who work with the clients to help resolve the financial difficulties they are experiencing. As the cost of living crisis deepens, the Jubilee Project is vital in supporting people to get through this incredibly difficult time.

* Name changed to protect identity

‘I felt like COVID had taken everything from me. I lost my job, my home and my mental health. Coming to Jubilee helped me see that I have a future and I can re-build my life. They helped me sort out the mess and got me back on my feet. Thank you doesn’t feel like enough! - Mark*

Community Café,Shop & the Foodbank

In October 2021 we opened our Community Shop and Café, a place where people struggling to feed themselves and their families can self-refer to get help with food. A sister project to Jubilee, we wanted to get away from pre-packed food parcels. The Community Shop has enabled clients to choose their own items using virtual credit, giving them dignity and choice. From November 2021 to June 2022, over 1100 people have been to use the shop, supported by a large team of empathetic volunteers. Alongside the shop we run a café where people can come and have a cuppa and a chat. A dedicated group of volunteers welcome the clients in and offer help and support, as well as art and craft activities.

This has enabled clients to open up and chat more whilst colouring, painting or card making. We have seen some lovely works of art and real connections being made.

The Food Bank has again been a busy place over the past year, as it now supports the Community Shop as well as other projects run by the mission.

We are grateful for the ongoing support of faithful donors, as at times we have struggled to meet the high demand for food. Thanks go to everyone who has supported us through our Asda & Sainsbury’s front-of-store donation points. Your continued support is essential to enable us to help those most in need in our community. Above all our thanks be to God for the provisions we receive and can bless others with.

Schools and

Children’s Work

Looking back over the year, Tim Pawson our School and Children’s Worker has enabled the Discovery Squad to physically get back into schools after the Covid period moved many of their sessions online. This year they have been facilitating at least one school assembly each week that equips school children with biblical knowledge in fun and engaging ways. As the year continues and into next, we hope to return back to doing two to three assemblies per week as we did before Covid. This year, we continued regular assemblies with Ozzy Road school team in St James Infants and Juniors School as well as St Peters Junior school, Littleover. Over the Easter season, Tim organised Experience Easter again this year, with help from a wonderful team of volunteers.

Street Pastors

It’s amazing to see how God has used Derby Street Pastors over the past year. We’ve adapted and weathered the Covid storm which brought many challenges. But, we are now back supporting the Night Time Economy which is returning to pre-epidemic levels of footfall. We’re incredibly thankful to the different agencies we encounter across the Night Time Economy. It’s amazing to be part of a diverse team who all help maintain a safe environment for those enjoying our city.

In the year 2021-22, we’ve had over 2,137 conversation with members of the public, collected 2,656 bottles and glasses, given out 201 pairs of flip flops and 237 bottles of water. Over the past year we have helped 180 members of the public get home safely and supported 60 people to access emergency care, either by ambulance or by other means.

Although we are reduced in number, the Street Pastors team have really shown their commitment to serving the city of Derby. Their dedication and determination is incredible in making sure that shifts go ahead, which is a true testament to their desire to share the love of Jesus in an extra ordinary way. We are so thankful for those who have continued to support us financially and encourage us in prayer, and for those who have retired from being Street Pastors. We are planning to recruit this autumn and next spring for more Street Pastors.

“Thank you so much to the street pastors last night who came to the rescue of our friends and us last night. Also, for my flip flops. May the Lord bless you always”

- A member of the public, July 2022

“On behalf of the Constabulary, I would like to thank you for the work that you do in supporting our work around the night time economy and very particularly around those vulnerable members of society. “ - Rachel Swann QPM, Chief Constable

November saw the continuation of our quarterly Citywide Prayer gatherings in partnership with City Vision, hosted at New Life Church, Derby. However, due to a number of reasons, the March and May gatherings weren’t able to go ahead.

In early January 2022, we were able to block out some time from the team’s busy calendars, setting aside time for prayer together as a staff team, including volunteers and a number of our regular prayer intercessors who joined us via Zoom. During our prayer week this year, we prayed through the topic of ‘Justice’ in relation to challenges faced by the people we support through our ministries as well as local, national and international issues. Each month, we continue to produce our Prayershield, a prayer resource that aims to focus the prayers of intercessors and our supporters on a variety of needs within our city.

At Derby City Mission, we believe in the power of prayer to transform lives and situations, as well as, to help guide the decisions we make daily both on an individual and collective basis. Please take a look at our website and sign up to our monthly Prayershield.

The Christmas Connection Project provides wonderful Christmas presents to children living in poverty who might otherwise not receive anything. In December 2021, we were able to give Christmas present parcels to 850 children.

Around 200 of these children were referred from families being supported by our Jubilee Project and we received referrals from 13 other organisations including Christian charities supporting families in need, refugees and asylum seekers, as well as churches, schools and a community centre in areas of the highest deprivation in Derby.

The volunteers in this project are incredibly passionate about blessing the parents and praying for each child who receives a present. We expect to see another big rise in need this year as the cost of living crises deepens.

* Name changed to protect identity

“Feeling like a failure is horrible but feeling like I’d failed my kids is a whole new level of horrible. Receiving the huge bag of presents for each of my children was incredible. It meant that I hadn’t failed them and we had the most magical Christmas together.” - Shania

Thank you to all staff and volunteers, named and not named, for your hard work and faithful service. We would also like to thank our Trustees who have invested substantial amounts of time and energy to guide and support the staff, operations and undertake the executive recruitment process in this year of change. This year, we have appointed Elle WarrenerDavis as our new Managing Director and have spent time drawing together our projects and ministries to offer an extended array of support for the people in our City. All of these services, existing and new are now managed by dedicated project leads and overseen by Sarah Fowler in a new Head of Services role. We’re looking forward to what 2023 and beyond will hold for the Mission.

New Staff joining our team

Elle Warrener-Davis - Managing Director

Craig Picton - Communications Coordinator

Lindsey Sharp – Jubilee

Rebecca Kendall – By My Side Intensive Advocate

Pauline Byers – By My Side Intensive Advocate

Anne Bridges – Safe Space

Igor Cwiekala - Safe Space

Lewis Davenport - Safe Space

Sara Debeljak - Safe Space

Wojciech Nadzieja - Safe Space

Roman Pawlowycz - Safe Space

David Allsop - Finance Assistant

Terry Langley - Street Pastor Coordinator

Team members moving up into new positions

Sarah Fowler – Head of Services

Alison Pawlowycz - Food Coordinator

Ruth Golton - Safe Space Manager

Catesha Scarlett – ByMySide – Senior Intensive Support Worker

Danny Foden – ByMySide Intensive Support Worker

Dan Land – ByMySide Intensive Support Worker

Sandra Dawkins – My Place

Helen Mullen – My Place

Valued team, retiring or moving on Julio Abraham, Phil Morton, Tony Chambers, Richard & Shirley

Wormsley, Rebekah Ford, Meg Angell, Margaret Smith, Karen Steel and Katrina Allsop-Jones.

THANKYO

Partnerships and Volunteers

UWe would like to thank all our funders, supporters and members. Without the help and generosity of the many individuals, churches, schools, Rotary Clubs, charities, agencies and local businesses and networking groups we could not continue delivering our vital services to thousands of local people within our community.

Volunteers are vital to the work of any charitable organisation and for Derby City Mission, that is no different. Although Covid and Project resource changes have resulted in a challenging year, our volunteers have been fantastic at adapting to all that is thrown at them, for the betterment of everyone we support. We wanted to take this opportunity to thank all who have contributed to the work of Derby City Mission. Your impact, whether ‘front or back of house’ truly has been incredible!

Waysgive

It’s easy to donate financially to support the work we’re doing through Derby City Mission. Whether you’re looking to give a one-off donation or commit to supporting the people of Derby month in, month out through regular contributions. All the you donate goes to improving the lives of people in Derby, moving people from chaotic lives to contributing ones.

Visit our website for more information about gifting to Derby City Mission.

Donation

Giving Give

you Live

& Resources

FUNDRAISE for change!

Not able to give, but still keen to support our work? Why not commit do doing something extraordinary, inspire a community and fundraising on our behalf!

Whether it’s a sponsored trekking adventure, a bake sale for all your neighbours or a daring skydive the possibilities are endless, but by committing to a challenge, the rewards could be endless too!

You can download our Fundraising Resource Pack from our website that will give you all you need to know to achieve this amazing challenge.

Download our Fundraising Resource pack and discover more about fundraising for Derby City Mission here.

We would love to thank all who have taken the plunge and fundraised for Derby City Mission through 2021/2022. Whether it be setting up lemonade stands at the end of your drive or engaging a whole stadium full of local football fans, your contributions have been phenomenal.

Financial Report

The surplus for the year to 31 st March 2022 was a pleasing and encouraging £127k. We havebenefitted from one or two significant “windfalls”, most notably the surplus on sale of 25 Charnwood Street. However, it is a notable reduction on the 2020-21 result of £232k, and is an indication of the harsh financial climate we operate in. A full set of audited, published accounts are available from Viv Merkelt at the DCM office address.

Within the £127k surplus, £123k was “unrestricted”, which has enabled us to rebuild some of our “free reserves” towards the level which the trustees consider to be needed: they now stand at £154k, some £46k short of the target. These are sometimes known as the “rainy day” reserves, to cover unknown and unpredictable events. Our other reserves, totalling £555k, are not “free” in the sense that they are held for the specific purposes for which they were given, or are held in the form of fixed assets and so not readily realisable.

So, although in surplus, we are on a declining trend as far as some significant sources of income are concerned. Comparing the year just ended with the previous year, donations and gifts have dropped from £501k to £357k in 2021-22, and grants from £796k to £680k. The trustees are bearing this in mind as they look to the future and seek to improve the underlying financial performance with the development of a revised strategy for fundraising.

The sale of 25 Charnwood Street referred to above was a significant event, not just in providing some unexpected income, but also enabling the repaying the commercial loan of £177k, leaving interest free loans of £575k, and so resulting in a much healthier balance sheet than the previous year.

In summary, we are thankful for the surplus for the year, being able to sell 25 Charnwood Street and repay our commercial loan, and for the growth in reserves; but we aremindful of the tough financial challenges which lie ahead.

Eradicating Extreme Poverty in Derby, Derbyshire and surrounding counties

To eradicate extreme poverty in Derby, Derbyshire and surrounding counties ensuring that no-one is without a roof, food or clothing.

Long term care and support by addressing the causes of homelessness

To care for people long term, and help move them from chaotic lifestyles to becoming contributing members of society. By addressing entrenched causes of: - homelessness, addictions, mental health issues, criminal lifestyles, broken relationships and low skills.

Sustaining work through social enterprise, donations and grants

To sustain our work through social enterprise, donations and grants. In order to deliver this and through the grace of God, we are continuing to develop our new building. Our building will be a space where we help to restore broken people and lead them away from chaos by addressing causes rather than just treating symptoms.

Derby City Mission is a Registered Charity 1140235. Derby City Mission is a charitable company limited by guarantee, registered in England No. 07363967