TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

WHITECHAPEL MISSION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The Governing Documents

The Whitechapel Mission is governed by the Model Trust Deed dated 15th December 1932 as amended on 30th August 1967 and 2nd November 1994.

Briefly, these documents set our purposes as the advancement of: The Christian faith in accordance with the doctrinal standards and the discipline of the Methodist Church; and Any charitable purposes for the time being of the Methodist Church.

The first of these purposes we address by holding regular services of Christian worship in accordance with normal Methodist practice on Sunday evenings at 6pm.

In regard to the second , we focus our efforts on providing for the basic human needs of the poor and homeless people who come to us.

Objectives

Our object is to save lives at risk because of homelessness or poverty, by offering practical evidence of the Good News that the hungry shall be fed, the naked clothed and the outcast welcomed and made clean. In pursuit of this object the Mission provides a friendly hassle-free atmosphere, with:

Worship opportunities
Food and drink
Showers and toilets
Wash and shave facilities
Toiletries
Second hand clothing & Blankets

We open from 6am until 11am every day, except Wednesdays, serving between 120 and 150 people with a full, cooked breakfast.

Thank you!

These must be my very first words to all of you:

(a) to those of you who have supported us over many years, and still do so, with your gifts and your prayers - I hope you feel able to look with pride on the history and tradition that has brought us to this present day;

(b) to those of you who heard of us for the first time this year and whose hearts were moved to help us and pray for us - I hope you are proud of, and impressed by the work done at Whitechapel on your behalf, and on behalf of the Methodist Connexion.

Thanks must also be my first words to Tony Miller, the Director, and to the Staff and to our Volunteers for their unflagging zeal and tireless hard work. They have my admiration and they deserve yours. There are too many to mention by name, but, they are the front line troops in providing the services we offer the street-sleepers and poor people who come to us for help.

On a more personal note, my thanks go out to all of you who supported my family and me, during the months following my stroke on 10th December, 1998. I am happy to report that the doctors and 'physios' all confirm that I have made an excellent recovery. I can now claim to be living proof of the power of prayer. Thank you all so much!

The year 1998-99

This year has not been without other difficulties but, we have begun to see the refurbishment of Thomas Jackson House pay off.

The 11 studio flats have been let en bloc, for a 5-year term to the Bart's and Royal London Hospitals NHS Trust for accommodating senior staff, and the first tenants began to move in on 1st November 1998. Occupancy soon reached 100% and, apart from one or two teething troubles, everything has gone remarkably smoothly. Thanks to our new tenants and to Tony and Sue Miller.

We understand that there is now a 2 year waiting list of people wanting one of our flats.

The Day Centre for the Homeless

As we had planned from the start, the income from Thomas Jackson House has been used to expand our services to the homeless.

First, we decided to open for 'breakfast as usual' right through the Christmas and New Year holiday break. In order to avoid stress levels for the staff becoming unmanageable, an appeal was made at the London North East District Synod for a team of volunteers from each of eight churches to staff the Day Centre and clean it, supervised by a member of our staff, for one session each day. Happily, the response was immediate and very positive. To judge from comments received since, everyone involved found it most rewarding. We aim to try and make it a permanent feature of our Christmas at Whitechapel, as part of a policy to have daily 'hands on' experience of the Mission's work available to, and 'owned by' the members of the Methodist Church at large. So if you're interested, make sure your name is on the list for next year!

Staff Secondly, looking after poor and homeless people is, as economists would say, a 'labour-intensive' business. We have to accept that, though it might be economically more efficient, it is no answer to our people's needs to set up a row of vending machines and leave them to get on with it. Perish the thought! What people in trouble need is help with a human, non-'institutionalised' face, a human touch and, sometimes, a human shoulder to cry on. Sentimental? No, as a matter of fact, it is pure, practical, common sense. If you keep sending people away without taking the trouble to find out what they really need, you're only 'fobbing them off '. It takes very special people to take on this kind of commitment. You know the names of some of them: Tony and Sue, Ruth, 'Big Chris'. People like them are hard to find but, we needed to add to the team. So, at the beginning of 1999, we took on an additional, full time paid member of staff, Mr. Will Millington. Will has fitted in quietly but brilliantly, if you'll forgive the apparent paradox! Later, on 6th April, 1999, 'Big Chris' Nelson who has been a member of the Whitechapel family of Volunteers for seven years, to our great delight, agreed to come on the Staff as a paid part-timer.

Further Changes

Also, at the beginning of April, in response to the findings from our Survey in October 1998, we increased our hours (and days!) of opening by serving breakfast on Saturdays too.

For some 20 years, we have opened on Sundays from 4:30pm to 9pm serving soup and sandwiches, but, of late, more and more people have been coming from all over London, having had all day to travel and drink(!) The tension and level of violence had increased to a point where many of our local folk were staying away.

We decided to try an experiment and make Sundays the same as other days of the week by offering a cooked meal at breakfast but no soup kitchen. later in the day. After letting everyone know, we started the new regime on the first Sunday in May with good results. The doctor is reporting that people who he has only ever seen drunk, are now coming to him sober for the first time, which must surely be less unpleasant, as well as making for better diagnoses.

Sunday is, of course, not the same as any other day in the week and we like to mark it by worshipping at 9:30 am. Sadly, it has still been very sparsely attended.

The result of all this is that Wednesday has become the only day when we are closed for breakfast and we keep that day clear for a staff meeting and for doing odd jobs about the place.

The Greening of Whitechapel Mission

For some years past, Barclays Bank Head Office Community Support Group has supported us. And this year, true to form a small group of Barclays' staff came to us having secured a small grant to be spent on a project at Whitechapel Mission. Various possibilities were discussed and, in the end, the one chosen was to fill the window boxes, of which there are several, with flowers and shrubs, add three hanging baskets, and generally try to soften the harsh concrete outlines of our building. We hope this will give us a slightly less forbidding exterior and add to the amenity of the neighbourhood, perhaps even doing a little to help counter the pollution generated by the constant flow of heavy traffic. A computer-controlled watering system has been devised and installed by our own 'in-house expert' (No prizes for guessing who..! ). So, thanks Barclays for helping us to play a small part in beautifying the Thames Gateway to the City of London. The only people who let us down were the Press who, having promised to turn out in force for the handing over of the presentation cheque, mustered one photographer who took a series of pictures, one of which was eventually published in East End Life on 28th June, 1999. The plants have all done well, by the way, thanks to Docklands Garden Centre who supplied them and the Barclays staff who helped with the planting out, and thanks too, no doubt, to the computerised watering system!

ACOP's Offices

At the beginning of the year the Association of Chief Officers of Probation moved their Head Office out of Flats 2 and 3 in Whitechapel Mission to a more prestigious address in the West End. This has meant a loss of £10,000 p.a. rental income.

Because of the administrative and computer expertise built up and available at Whitechapel, the London Mission (Tower Hamlets) Circuit proposes to use the premises to provide office accommodation for the Circuit Administration and will start on 1st September, 1999. It is expected that the income forfeited by the Mission allowing the Circuit to use the premises in this way will be recognised in future when the level of the Mission's Circuit Assessment is fixed.

The Treasurer’s Word

When the 1998 Report was issued we were having to watch our cash flow carefully, as we had just refurbished the Thomas Jackson House flats which the Royal London Hospital were renting and there were a number of out standing items to be paid for. At the end of this financial year the position has worsened as the Circuit Office has been moved to the room previously occupied by ACOP, which has entailed considerable alterations to some of the Mission structure and also new furniture which has been incorporated in the mission assets.

Our income from donations is gradually reducing each year as a large number of our contributors are elderly and getting to the stage where they can no longer afford to contribute or are passing on to higher service. We are still grateful for the generous donations we receive from other Methodist Churches and also churches of other denominations, but we envisage that it will be necessary to transfer some of our investments to short term deposits with the Central Finance Board where we can get access to withdrawal much easier and quicker.

This year the accounts show a deficit for the year before unrealised investment gains of £28,107. This was offset by the unrealised investment gains to give a final small addition to reserves of £5,491. We were able to increase our investment income with the rents from Thomas Jackson House but our income from this source was partly offset by an increase in premises costs. As noted elsewhere we increased our number of staff with a consequential increase on staff costs but we see this as money well spent. The Trustees are able to confirm that on a fund by fund basis the charity's assets are sufficient to meet its current obligations. The budget for the year to 31st August 2000 anticipates a deficit at present. We are fortunate in having reserves which we can draw upon, although more than half of those reserves are represented by fixed assets, the E M Rose legacy contributed almost £11,000 this year towards the costs of the mens' day centre and care unit and will be able to make a similar contribution next year. We are anxious, however, not to be seen to "fritter away" our funds and are particularly anxious to ensure that the R A Keen legacy is used only for clearly defined projects. We have no shortage of ideas and the need for our services is clearly demonstrated elsewhere in this report. In order to continue our level of service we must try to increase our income and we would ask all our contributors to consider a small increase in their giving to help us take this work forward. From April 2000 new rules are expected to come into force which will enable us to recover tax on any donation, no matter how small, provided the relevant form has been completed. If you company operates a payroll-giving scheme you may also make donations to us through that. Finally would you consider providing for a legacy to us when you next update your will?

Methods of Giving

The Whitechapel Mission is a registered charity and the Trustees wish to express their grateful thanks to all, whether you be great or small, who support the Mission financially. Those of you who pay Income tax may like to consider the possibility of using one of the tax-efficient ways of giving which enable the Mission to increase the value of your gift by reclaiming basic rate Income Tax.

Various methods are available:

(i) Gift Aid which enables basic rate Income Tax to be reclaimed immediately on any donations.
(ii) Charities Aid Fund or
(iii) G.A.Y.E. (Give as you Earn)

If you are not in a position to enter into a covenant but would like to contribute regularly, you might like to complete a Banker’s Order. If you would like to know more please write to:

Legacies

FORM OF BEQUEST BY WILL

For the guidance of friends who may desire to make bequests for the general work of the Whitechapel Mission, the following form of bequest is suggested:

I GIVE AND BEQUEATH to the Treasurer for the time being of the Whitechapel Methodist Mission, 212, Whitechapel Road, London, E1 1BJ, for the use of the said Mission the legacy or sum of £............... (free of duty) and direct the said last mentioned legacy or sum to be paid within twelve months of my decease from the proceeds of my real and personal estate, but primarily out of my personal estate, and the receipt of the Treasurer shall be sufficient discharge to my executors.

NOTE: The Mortmain and Charitable Users Act, 1981, enables testators to give by Will for the benefit of any charitable use not only pecuniary Legacies, but also tenements and hereditaments of any tenure. The Will must be signed by the testator at the foot or end thereof in the presence of two independent witnesses, who must sign their names, and addresses and occupations, at the same time, in their presence and the presence of each other.

The Warden's Report

As Christmas approached we saw the normal increase in media coverage for the homeless people of London. It has become a regular occurrence on the lead up to Christmas. This year it concentrated on "do-gooders" and the harm they do. "If we all stopped making life so comfortable for these homeless people there would be fewer on the street".

I have been at The Whitechapel Mission since September 1983 and have to accept that there is some validity to the point they are attempting to make. There would be those that would be forced to sort their lives out and move on. But, if Whitechapel has shown me anything at all, it has shown me that there are others that would simply die. I am sure that I am not alone in my belief that if there was a chance that any one man might die because the work stopped, then it must never stop. We also accept at Whitechapel, that it is not our role to judge people. We can not afford to get it wrong and therefore have to accept that everybody that comes through our doors should be offered the best help we can offer.

At 6 o'clock each morning, the doors of the Whitechapel Methodist Church open to welcome inside the cold and wet wretches of the street. We spend 5 non-stop hours attempting to care for the bodily needs of the 120-150 each day that come to us for help. We feed them, clothe them, offer showers, and even a doctor. And then we wait. And in some cases we wait for a long time. We wait because we have to wait. We wait for the day that they trust us enough to ask for help. We wait for the day that they feel they can talk to us and that we will listen.

Two week before Christmas, a man that I have known for over 10 years asked if I would chat with him. I know him as a drunk, with an attitude problem. Surly and abrupt, wanting to be left alone and very rarely even saying thank you to anybody for anything. He wanted to just chat. We spoke for about 10 minutes about nothing, but it was obvious that he wanted more and then he hit me with it. He wanted to share with me what had brought him to the streets and wanted me to understand why he would never go back. I will call him John.

In a previous life he was a travelling salesman and claimed to be very good at it. One evening he had been selling his wares in a hotel to some businessmen and in an environment of the restaurant had had a very productive evening. At the conclusion of the meeting, and after quite a large amount of alcohol had been consumed by all, he decided not to drive home, but book into the hotel for the night. He did this and early the next morning awoke, dressed and headed for home. He needed to shower and change his suit before going on to work that day. He set off and felt fine, but was aware that he had consumed a large amount of alcohol the night before.

He had travelled a few miles before seeing the police car, with the blue lights flashing, within his rear view mirror. Rather than pulling over, and not even sure if they were chasing him, he decided to put his foot down and get home before he was stopped.

As he took the next bend in the road he lost control of the car and smashed into an oncoming car before ending up in the ditch. As he climbed from the car, he discovered that he had killed the two occupants of the other car, but worse still, it was his wife taking his little girl to school.

The court decided that he had suffered enough and a £1000 fine and a ban from driving for three years was sufficient punishment.

John would not have cared if they had sent him to prison for life. As far as he was concerned, no punishment was sufficient for what he had done. He lost his job instantly. A travelling salesman who cannot drive was not much use to his company. He could not bear to be in the house alone with so many reminders of his lost family. He started drinking heavier and heavier and discovered that while drunk, it did not hurt any more. His heartache was temporarily buried. When he sobers up, he remembers what happened and the pain comes back.

So he tries everything he can to stay drunk. He does not want anybody to get close to him or care for him. He feels that he does not deserve help, or friends or companionship.

It took more than 10 years for John to reach a point where he was ready to talk to us about his life and it may be a long time again before we can move on from there, but we are here for him each morning and we will wait.

So, we offer food, clothing and other very basic and simple services, but that is not what Whitechapel is about. We cannot know everything that is happening to every homeless person in London. We cannot know whose life we simply make "comfortable" and who could have died last night. And we cannot know how we touch other peoples lives and when they will decide to ask for our help. We can be here each morning to demonstrate God's love in a practical way.

We thank you for your support and for allowing us to be here.

Tony Miller

All of the work we do at Whitechapel could not be possible without the generous support we get from the people reading this report. It’s your support, prayers and thoughts that keep us going.

YOU CAN HELP OUR WORK BY ....

Praying for our work and our workers
Sending a donation now
Undertaking a special project on behalf of the Mission
Making a legacy in your will
Arranging a Gift Service or Carol Party from your church
Sending or delivering clothing
Asking for a Mission Speaker for one of your meetings
Visiting the Mission