30th Anniversary
of
Outsiders
Registered Charity Number 283350
Annual Report 2009 – 2010
Structure
These people are a wonderful mixture of human beings,
with various disabilities
Patrons
Jaspre Bark
Dr Belinda Brooks-Gordon
Caroline Bowditch
Dr Petra Boynton
Mat Fraser
Jane Gibbon
Barry Humphries
Alison Lapper MBE
Malcolm Pearce
Mik Scarlet
Dr Annie Sprinkle
Coordinator
Dr Tuppy Owens
Board of Trustees
| Gregory Sams | Chair |
| Michael Griffin | Secretary |
| Martin Craven | Treasurer |
| Sue Nathan | |
| Vieta Schroff |
Trainee Trustees
Jonathan Werran
Richard Sheppard
Lionel Roth
Jeff Dexter
Advisory Board
Members of Outsiders Club who advise the Board of Trustees and staff
Sarah Batten
Eirwen Edwards
Steve Major
Eleni Stephani (Spokesperson)
Consultants
Shital Shah Counsellor and trainer
Outsiders Club Membership
Around 500 full members, living around the UK and abroad, joining for one year (at any time of the year). Many renew annually and feel as if they are part of a family.
We also have 15
Honorary Members and 17 Associate Members
Volunteers
London Office
| Dr Tuppy Owens | Coordinator |
| Eleni Stephani | Social Secretary and Helpline Manager |
| Janet Brookman | Blind Members |
| Philippe Gasnier | Database |
| Sue Nathan | Membership Secretary |
| Dawn Powell | Research & Data Management |
| Annie-Celeste Taylor | Office Manager (paid till the end of 2009) |
INSIDE
| Dr Tuppy Owens | Editor |
| Mandi Peers | Regular Columnist |
Website
| Ian Hudson | Webmaster |
| Zoe Spencer | Designer |
| Dr Tuppy Owens | Writer & Editor |
| Lawrence Brightman | Computer Maintenance |
Local Groups
| Dr Tuppy Owens Sue Nathan Kim Baulkam Dawn Powell | London Hosts |
| Mark Rainer Eleni Stephani | London Co-Hosts |
| Steve Major | Midlands |
| Maz Peri | East Anglia |
| Sarah Battan | West Country |
| Lilian McCarthy Chris Green | North of England |
| Tuppy Owens | Highland |
30th Anniversary Management Team
Dr Tuppy Owens
Annie-Celeste Taylor
Jeff Dexter
Katie Sarra
Sex and Disability Helpline
Dr Tuppy Owens Coordinator
Sexual Health and Disability Alliance (SHADA)
A fast-evolving group of 100+ health and social care professionals
Helena Barrow Chair
Katie Wiltshier Secretary
Dr Tuppy Owens Convenor and Scribe
Els Payne Coordinator
Inner Nature
Shahid Rashid
Katie Wiltshier
Sue Newsome
Tuppy Owens
Katie Sarra
Other Specialist Groups
| Eirwen Edwards | LGBTI |
| Rea Danielle | Sweet Talk |
| Dr Tuppy Owens and Els Payne | V-Group |
| Katie Sarra | Festival Disability Field |
| Martin Craven | Erotica Stall |
| Ted O’Dwyer | Disability Stalls |
| Dr Tuppy Owens | Campaigns |
Outsiders Support Network
Outsiders is supported by around two hundred volunteers, coordinated by Dr Tuppy Owens, some of whom are also Patrons and Trustees, carrying out many roles, including:
- Running and helping at fundraising events
- Outreach stalls at other events to raise awareness and funds
- Writing for our magazine, INSIDE
- Peer support to other people with similar disabilities
- Website and computer maintenance
- Transport and general services
- Speaking at conferences and events
- Running workshops and providing advice
- Research
Mission, Values and Objectives
Mission
Provide a safe, private social, self-help and peer-support club for people with physical and social disabilities. Through projects and example, we improve the acceptance of all disabled people as sexual partners.
Values
Outsiders recognises that everybody has personal feelings and desires, most people craving intimate relationships, and disabled people should not be excluded by being prevented from enjoying their bodies or experiencing love.
Outsiders bases our work on the social model of disability and encourages disabled people to work on improving their lives and help their peers do likewise.
Outsiders works very efficiently, having started with no funding and surviving on good will and a great deal of enthusiasm. Because of limited resources and the nature of our work, our Club is limited to members who have the mental capacity to can handle their own affairs. However most of our projects include all disabled people.
Objectives
1) Run a safe, private club for people with social and physical disabilities
The club operates as a dynamic self-help and peer support network. Our members are people with physical and social disabilities who come to us because they feel isolated, find it difficult to make relationships, or have few chances to meet suitable people. Through Outsiders they enjoy increased opportunities to:-
- meet others through the membership list or at our social events;
- become more confident: Club volunteers, staff, and other members offer such encouragement by telephone, email, letters, and in person at social events and workshops;
- gain freedom: other members offer advice on how to be more assertive with those who try to control their lives, try independent living, and gain independence and privacy.
2) Work towards removing the stigma attached to disabled people enjoying happy personal lives
Outsiders encourages disabled people to speak out about the way we are treated by others in society.
Through the Sex and Disability Helpline we are able to reach a large number of disabled people and give them the encouragement to help themselves and ask for the help they require.
Our 30th Anniversary was, and events are, designed to encourage more disabled members of Outsiders to volunteer for us in a variety of capacities.
Outsiders has collected a group of volunteers who run stalls and disability areas at festivals etc., to publicize our work and ideals.
We are getting invited to do more interviews in the media, thus influencing the public. We also liaise with other spokespeople such as the disabled dancer Caroline Bowditch, and comedienne Francesca Martinez .
SHADA members discuss the sexual and relationship needs of disabled people and promote our work around the world.
3) Educate, support and work with other groups who share our objectives
Outsiders has been the pioneer in this field and we worked alone for three decades, which has been quite a battle. We have been keen to work with other agencies and this eventually happened with the formation of SHADA in 2005. We have also become close to other groups doing similar things:
- Danda and Sweet Talk who work with people with neurodiversities
- Stars in the Sky and theElfrida Society who work with people with learning disabilities
- Extantwho work with blind and VI people
How we serve our five different beneficiaries
1) Outsiders Club Members
We provide a secure, private club which offers its members respect, privacy, and a wide range of opportunities which vary according to their needs. Members join when they have reached the decision to make the “big step” to try and find a partner or at least step out of the emotional isolation they have found themselves in. Some have been abused, bullied and left out of society. Some have been told they bring shame to their families and will never find love or a partner. Some may have had no sex education and assumed that physical pleasure was something they would not ever enjoy, despite their inner desires.
Our aims with this group are to welcome them into a club where they feel totally safe and accepted. We create opportunities for them to discuss their problems, help them to gain confidence and develop new social skills (and make up for their lost teenage years). We provide facilities for them to meet other people in the hope that they will form deep friendships and find love.
2) Outsiders Support Network
Our supporters are people who take an interest in the work of Outsiders and help us by supplying free services in the form of design, office work, transport, running workshops and helping with our fundraising events.
Our aims with this group are to continue to engage with them and encourage them to support Outsiders through this recession and beyond. They are invited to gatherings, sent copies of our magazine INSIDE so they can read about our activities and see where their efforts are bringing benefits. They are soon to be featured on our website.
3) SHADA (Sexual Health and Disability Alliance) Members
SHADA members are medical, health and social care professionals, therapists, and managers of colleges and residential homes, who care about the personal needs of their disabled clients. They have joined SHADA to gain support, learn from each other and improve the way disabled people’s sexual and relationship needs are met by themselves and their staff. They also wish to promote these principles to other disability agencies, medical and care professionals around the globe.
Aims with this group are to support and encourage them to fulfil their goals by providing a conference, bi-annual meetings, a website, leaflets and projects.
4) Sex and Disability Helpline Callers
Callers are disabled people with sexual problems, and medical and health care staff who support them. They are usually very grateful to have found someone who at last takes their problems seriously, and delighted to learn how easily these problems can be solved. Help is supplied both by phone and by email.
The calls on this helpline help Outsiders to become better aware of the sexual problems that are being faced by disabled people around the world today. As this helpline is unique, and there is very little research in this area, many of the problems and interactions are on a “try it and see” basis and much invaluable information is constantly gathered together.
Our aims with this group are to answer the calls to the best of our ability, to keep up-to-date with the literature, and publish the discoveries made.
5) Disabled People throughout the World
… are too often kept hidden away rather than being encouraged to mix in society and enjoy themselves. The idea that they may enjoy a sexual relationship is often considered taboo. The Outsiders website features leaflets and resources that can be freely downloaded so they can be accessed internationally. Our website is fully accessible to blind and deaf-blind people. We have become one of the international authorities, and are considered an inspiration worldwide. Sadly, some hospitals, libraries and council office workers in Britain are still unable to access the Outsiders site because of censorship filters.
Our aims with this group are to encourage medical and health care professionals to initiate discussions about sex, relationships and isolation with patients and clients during consultation. We run training groups and send speakers to conferences, AGMs and seminars. We continue to influence the world via our website. We also need to persuade British authorities not to censor our website, so that it can be viewed by people working in schools and hospitals and other governments departments.
Management
The Trustees oversee all our work.
Annual General Meeting
The Trustees, Advisory Board, members of the Outsiders Support Network and Outsiders members meet up at the AGM which is usually held just before the London Lunch. Last year’s was held on Saturday 13th March 2010 in Leon Bankside. Dr Tuppy Owens chaired the meeting because Greg Sams was unable to attend. Everybody spoke for a minute or two, giving their names and roles, and Dawn Powell took the minutes.
Tuppy explained the reasons for
holding an AGM and Trustees answered questions and suggestions from the floor.
We asked that people take away leaflets and posters to attract new members.
Copies of the Annual Report were handed out to those who had been unable to
access it online.
The Trustees and the Accountants were re-elected and the trainee Trustees,
Richard Sheppard, Jonathan Werran, Jeff Dexter and Lionel Roth were voted for
as Trainee Trustees. The sad death of Ted O’Dwyer was announced.
Victoria McKenzie was awarded the first Ted O’Dwyer Award for “Rising
Above It” for her brilliant recovery from ME. She gave a very moving
speech.
The Trust
Outsiders Trust Deed and Change of Name
The Outsiders Trust started as The Integration Trust with a Trust deed dated 25th August 1981. The name was subsequently changed to The Outsiders Trust through a Supplemental Deed dated 12th August 2001.
Charity Governance
The charity is run by a Board of Trustees supported by the volunteer coordinator. Members of the Board are Trustees for the purpose of charity law, and served during the past financial year. They are listed on page 3.
With the number of Trustees now down to five, we are looking to increase the number and have four very competent new people on a year’s trial.
Advisory Board
Outsiders has an Advisory Board of disabled members. The aim is to have the whole of the UK represented and a wide range of disabilities. The purpose of the group is to inform the Trustees on the needs of Outsiders members. This is done through a number of mechanisms including attendance at Trustees’ meetings, advisory forums, verbal and written reports, and through direct feedback from the whole group via their spokesperson. We all meet up at the AGM.
Recruitment and Appointment of Trustees and Patrons
Outsiders’ board of Trustees is made up of individuals from the community with a wide range of skills and expertise. We positively encourage disabled applicants and people from minority ethnic groups. Most come through personal referral and involvement in Outsiders work.
Potential applicants are discussed by the Advisory Board and current Trustees and are invited to attend a Trustee meeting to meet current Trustees and make a short presentation. Then they become Trainee Trustees for one year.
Trustees are appointed or reappointed at Outsiders’ Annual General Meeting or can be co-opted at any time. In 1991, our Patron, the Revd Chad Varah, founder of The Samaritans, gave us appropriate guidelines for finding and keeping trustees, which we still follow today.
Trustees and Trainee Trustees meet four times a year at our Chair’s accessible house in NW London. Minutes are taken and written up by Dawn Powell.
Patrons are usually approached by Outsiders based on the work that they do and their support of the work of Outsiders.
Charity Registration
Outsiders is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission of England and Wales, with Registered Charity Number 283350.
The Club
We were sad to lose a very precious volunteer this year: our blind telephone operator and member of the Stalls Team, Ted O’Dwyer, passed away in December 2009.
Club Management
Outsiders runs its self-help and peer support network as a membership club. Volunteers, who mostly come from the membership and are disabled, work from home and journey to the office once a week when they feel up to it, and this is normally on a Thursday.
They are responsible for:
The Outsiders Club Constitution is updated every five years.
Volunteers meet to discuss progress and problems every two months.
Any changes in the running of the Outsiders Club must be agreed by the Advisory Board members, Trustees and volunteers, and proposals for change are sent one month in advance.
Bank Account
The Club runs its own membership bank account with NatWest Berkeley Square. This is so that the members can see that their fees and donations are going directly to pay for their magazine and membership list (rather than paying for admin staff and overheads).
SHADA
Policy
SHADA is a fast-evolving group, and members decided not to be rigid, lest this inhibit its development in any way. We are run with a small number of ground rules:
- If you have reserved a place at a meeting, let the Secretary know if you are going to be late or can’t make it
- Respect confidentiality wishes
- Respect everyone’s views within the group, even if you do not agree
- Be supportive of each other
- Look for/work towards creative solutions to overcome identified problems/barriers
- Give each other the chance to speak
- Be a peacemaker by recognizing conflict and interceding / resolving it
This year SHADA decided to create a stronger identity in readiness for the Conference at the Royal Society of Medicine and produced a smarter logo, a website and a publicity leaflet.
SHADA Management
SHADA is run by its members through a small team. Katie Wiltshier, the secretary, books the venues for meetings, and sends out news and notices of meetings to members. Dr Tuppy Owens books the speakers. Debbie Arthur of Respond had to step down as chair. Her place was taken over by Helena Barrow, registered manager of the Chasely Trust. This year, Els Payne joined the team as coordinator. The members decide on programmes, and together formed the wording of the Aims, Vision and Mission Statement. There are no membership fees, but members need to book a place at meetings.
Our responsibilities for the conference were coordinated by a specific self-appointed management team.
Fundraising
Outsiders funding comes from donations and subscriptions from members and associate members, donations from members of the Support Network, small general-purpose and project-specific grants, and through our own fund-raising events. We aim to broaden our fundraising methods over the next few years.
Grant applications are dealt with by the coordinator. This year, she gained advice from her local Volunteer Agency in the hope that grant applications would become more successful. Those who decide to fund Outsiders often comment that we are “a breath of fresh air”.
Recognition and Publicity
Through SHADA and our 2009 Conference, Outsiders has gained enormous respect and recognition. We are considered the world authority on disability and personal, sexual and relationship issues. Views are changing to at last agree with us that sex and emotional fulfilment are important in maintaining or gaining wellbeing.
Thanks to the hard work of the Royal Society of Medicine Press Officer, our joint conference received two-page coverage in The Times with an article by Helen Croydon. Helen has now joined our team on the Outsiders Support Network.
Outsiders was approached by several TV documentary makers but only of the programmes materialised: a married couple, Alex Cowan and Lionel Roth, who are part of the Outsiders Support Network, were interviewed for the Channel 4 Sex Education Programme, discussing how her MS makes an impact on their private lives. They were subsequently interviewed on the Jeremy Vine show.
One of our Trainee Trustees, Jonathan Werran sent out a Public Information survey to Local Authorities to find out their attitudes and policies on disabled people having the opportunity to enjoy a sex life. The results are currently being analysed.
Risk Management
Outsiders has a good track record of surviving 30 years without difficulty. This has been done by being very careful with money and using volunteers. We identify the following risks:
1) Our reputation as being down-to-earth and realistic about the personal experiences and needs of disabled people about which there is social stigma
2) Taking on a wide range of projects and activities with a low income
3) Relying on good-will and donations
4) Using disabled volunteers who may have health problems and short life expectancy
5) Having members who are inexperienced and vulnerable
Management strategies include:
1) Holding annual Public Liability Insurance (Bronze Package) with Ansvar, for £5million.
2) Using two bank accounts with Lloyds TSB which are a Treasurers Account and a Business Instant Access Account. Each has two required signatories.
3) Employing an accountant who is a partner in the company, Cartwrights, registered to carry out audit work by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
4) Using a secure office in a block which is protected by Chubb Security.
5) Protecting our members by ensuring that all applicants are vetted before they are accepted, and that they sign to affirm that they can handle their own affairs, and agree to our codes of etiquette and behaviour.
6) Not including as members people with severe mental health problems, brain injury or learning disabilities, if these people cannot handle their own affairs.
7) Having trained volunteers running our events, and always establishing good working relationships with the managers of the venues where we hold events.
8) Strategic and coordinated planning within the Trust, Club, SHADA, and individual projects.
9) Filling a gap in provision, because our work is unique. There are on-line disability dating agencies, but disabled people soon become disillusioned with them and feel unsafe meeting up with other people via the sites because they usually don’t turn out to be as advertised. Those sites also tend to feature people who do not really exist and worse, attract predatory and exploitative types.
10) Using the social model of disability, and encouraging disabled people to run things for themselves. There are large charities who take an interest in the same areas of work as Outsiders, but they tend to employ non-disabled people to carry out research (often on things we have known intimately, and documented, for a long time) and PR, rather than providing opportunities that will help disabled people improve their lives.
11) Including a large team of 150 volunteers called the Outsiders Support Network who support us in many practical ways.
12) Employing a wide range of funding methods.
13) Maintaining friendly links with our benefactors (who say we are like “a breath of fresh air”).
14) Submitting our Annual Report and Accounts to the Charity Commission well before the deadline.
15) Continuing to shift public opinion so that funders and the media are increasingly agreeing that our work is important, saying “I never thought of this before, but you are doing an amazing job”.
16) Benefiting from fundraising events run by the Leydig Trust which has a formal agreement with the Outsiders Trust that it donates all moneys raised to the Outsiders Trust. The coordinator of Outsiders is also the Director of the Leydig Trust and promoter of the events. She works voluntarily with a voluntary production team, some of whom are also Trustees of Outsiders.
17) On average, the Leydig Trust raises £10,000 a year. The events are all wheelchair accessible and they welcome disabled guests.
“Outsiders fund-raisers are exemplary around the world for their inclusivity, encouraging disabled people to come along and enjoy themselves, just like anybody else.”
Gender and Sexuality Report in the BRIDGE Cutting Edge Pack
published by the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex.
18) Ensuring that all activities are documented so that, should any key volunteers become unable to continue, their work can be taken on by someone else.
19) Regular meetings of the office volunteers, Advisory Board and Trustees are held so that any problems that arise can be discussed and dealt with and no time or money is wasted.
History
“Best club I ever joined.” Phil Nichol
Outsiders is unique in the range of issues we work with; unique in the wide range of clients we work with, and the wide range of disabilities; and unique in the work we have achieved over the past thirty years, with little or no external support — financial or in the form of office accommodation, etc.
Early Days of Outsiders
In 1978 the founder of Outsiders, Dr Tuppy Owens, had two disabled friends with whom she discussed the challenges they faced in socializing and forming relationships. She decided to help them make new friends and find partners. This was fun to do, and very successful, and felt extremely rewarding.
It was the spark that led to the founding of the Outsiders Club the next year, in January 1979, after an enthusiastic mention by Katherine Whitehorn in The Observer. Then, following the resounding success of the first Outsiders party in London, which 150 disabled people and well-wishers attended from all over the country, there followed an article by Ann Hills in The Guardian, and membership swelled.
One secret of Outsiders’ success has been its low cost with high effectiveness. With volunteers working from home, and members paying the costs of the phone and postage, the club had no financial worries. Being forced to hire an office, and becoming a registered charity with responsibilities, made fundraising essential.
The other secret is that we don’t need to do much to provide disabled people with a group in which they can help each other, make friends, and start enjoying themselves.
A key influence in the Club’s development has been the writing of an advice and guidance book Practical Suggestions, which came from members themselves. A severely impaired young undergraduate corresponded at length with Tuppy about his own experiences and frustrations, and the rest joined in.
Meetings were held in members’ homes to discuss all the ways disabled people could overcome the fear, stigma and prejudice they face in society, plus poor physical accessibility to venues, all blocking their success in forming sexual relationships.
It is interesting to note that it was much easier for disabled people to find partners when Outsiders began.
The Outsiders Trust
The Integration Trust was
incorporated as a charity with the Charity Commission of England and Wales in
August 1984, and we were able to
change the name to the Outsiders Trust in August 2001.
Highlights
of Outsiders History
The entire history of Outsiders is written up on our website. Here, we have just included a few key highlights and achievements over the years, up to the time of writing this report:
1981 (International Year of Disabled People)
Emotions in Focus International Exhibition of work by disabled artists opened in the Round House, London and then toured the UK.
We ran a space at the Festival of Mind Body, Spirit in which we offered massage by a blind masseur, sign language classes, socials, wheelchair experiences, and workshops.
Tuppy Owens spoke at the International Conference on Sex and Disability in Tel Aviv.
Outsiders was the main focus of the Award-winning Channel 4 film Skin Horse, directed by Nigel Evans and John Samson, with Nabil Shaban.
1985 Outsiders received its first grant funding from the Mental Health Foundation, to start local groups around the UK.
This gained a commendation for being one of the best End of Project Reports that they had ever received, and most of the groups set up during this project still flourish.
1986 The first Charity Ball was held in order to raise funds to pay the office rent.
1987 Tuppy Owens spoke at the SPOD Conference in Manchester.
1988 A play based on Tuppy Owens and Outsiders, written by Nabil Shaban, drew packed audiences in the Red Lion Theatre, Angel.
1989 Outsiders’ 10th Anniversary was celebrated in the London Lighthouse, with a display of images, talks and discussions, and opening address by one of our Patrons, Reverend Chad Varah CH, CBE, founder of The Samaritans.
1991 So You Want to Start a Local Outsiders starter pack was published.
Tuppy Owens was awarded an Honourary Doctorate for Good Work from the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco
1995 Tuppy Owens and Outsiders Chair, Annette Taylor, spoke at the Women and Disability Symposium, Tel Aviv.
Dr Tuppy Owens was presented with the Aphrodite Award by Annie Sprinkle in the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London
1997 Dr Tuppy Owens was flown to Los Angeles to speak at ICOP.
1999 Outsider’s 20th Anniversary was celebrated in Kew Gardens with a Tactile Fashion Show, Belly Dancing, Massage and a picnic of delicacies, which was filmed by a Canadian TV company and later shown on Bravo TV.
2002 The 6th Edition of Practical Suggestions was launched, redesigned by Dorothy Sharp and funded by the Paul Getty Junior Charitable Trust and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.
2003 Outsiders membership secretary, Sheila Dray, appeared on John Peel’s Home Truths.
Outsiders took over the Sex & Disability Helpline from SPOD, which had closed down.
2004 The National Information Forum awarded the Outsiders website for “a substantial amount of information presented in a sensitive way”.
Outsiders’ 25th Anniversary was celebrated at The Landmark, London with Talks, afternoon tea and a series of interactive art happenings called Plong! which included workshops, a Tactile Fashion Show, Speed Dating, and Wallflower Disco.
2005 SHADA held its first meeting, in Leroy House.
2006 Clare Richards, director of TV documentary about Outsiders, Disabled and Looking for Love won the 2006 Grierson Newcomer Award.
2007 Outsiders commendation by The Institute of Development Studies in their Gender and Sexuality Report 2007 (University of Sussex) for our work and our disability-inclusive fundraising events .
Outsiders was accepted
for free consultancy with Pilotlight.
Outsiders and Tuppy Owens were featured in the October 2007 Newsletter of the
Philip Larkin Society, “About Larkin”.
2008 Outsiders was commended in the House of Lords by Lord Faulkner and Baroness Miller.
Outsiders organized a protest on Westminster Bridge.
SHADA’s website was launched.
Outsiders launched our Free Speech Campaign for people with speech impairments and Sarah Batten, part of the campaign, was featured in a new book on speech, Find Your Voice by Joanna Crosse
2009 Outsiders celebrated our 30th Anniversary at the Landmark.
Outsiders held the conference “Disability: Sex, Relationships and Pleasure” with the Royal Society of Medicine on 13th November. A two-page article on the conference appeared in The Times the day before.
Tuppy Owens was invited to join the FPA Achievers Club.
2010 Outsiders 2010 Fundraising Show featured six disabled performers as well as Mat Fraser as Presenter..
Aims and Achievements 2009 - 2010
Aims
We set ourselves a range of aims, some building on past work and others being new initiatives. These were to:
- Celebrate the 30th Anniversary with our members and take the opportunity to thank our volunteers and encourage new ones.
- Hold a conference with the Royal Society of Medicine to promote our aims, publicize our work and raise funds.
- Draft Policy Guidelines to be handed out at the conference and to appear on the SHADA website for medical, health and social care institutions to use.
- Help Spokz develop a range of sex toys suitable for disabled people
- Diversify our fundraising activities so that we are less dependent on any particular venture
- Continue with the Free Speech Campaign.
- Modernize the website and put the membership database online.
- Run workshops for members and other disabled people who feel stuck or need help .
- Launch Great Expectations events around the country to increase membership and make Outsiders more vibrant.
- Increase the safety of our membership so that disabled people choose Outsiders rather than online dating services. The formal agreement between Outsiders and its members will be printed and put into use. This will clarify membership criteria and provide members with an understanding of the rules of the Club which they sign to adhere to.
- Collect together a team of people to produce a book on sex and relationships for blind people.
- Carry out a Freedom of Information Survey.
- Learn more about Social, Environmental and Economic Reporting and Audit.
- Survey our members to find out whether they are satisfied with Outsiders.
- Use our new logo for our website, banners and corporate imagery.
Achievements 2009 – 2010
Outsiders continues to be the only agency providing a personal service to disabled people and health professionals world-wide.
Our general objectives were achieved through the on-going running of the Outsiders Club, SHADA, publicity, campaigning and working with other groups.
Caroline Bowditch, the disabled dancer, accepted the invitation to become a Patron and spoke on our behalf at the Osteogenesis Imperfecta AGM.
Below is outlined how the specific goals of this year have been met.
30th Anniversary
The Outsiders 30th Anniversary was celebrated in the beautiful Landmark, Marylebone, on Saturday 22nd August 2009. Funded by the London Catalyst and John Wood, it featured a wide range of treats and pleasures:-
- A sensory fashion show with outfits that were interesting to touch, with smells, tastes and sounds (modelled by members)
- Thanks and Presentations to our volunteers
- Talks by three long-standing members: Ken Matheson, Maz Peri and Eric Phipps
- Tea and Cake
- Pleasure Islands where members provided treats to each other
- Show by blind performance group, Extant
- Interactive theatre by Mirror Mirror Playback Theatre
- Dinner at Occo.
Katie Sarra painted Stephanie, Clare Richards interviewed people for a short film to be shown at the forthcoming conference, and Ashley gained some enthusiastic volunteers for his photography project.
Members we had never met before came along and many of them offered to help Outsiders by taking on small roles, such as reading material onto tape, sending out birthday cards, phoning other members and supporting local groups.
Conference
Outsiders negotiated a deal with the Royal Society of Medicine that we share the profits (or losses) on a conference on 13th November 2009 entitled “Disability: Sex. Relationships and Pleasure”. The RSM were responsible for the marketing and sales, providing the venue, and food. SHADA provided the sponsors, speakers, and contacts. The conference was sponsored by Spokz.
165 delegates came along and the atmosphere was very positive. The conference was opened by Dave Thompson, MBE and ended with two very moving performances. Outsiders had a stall run by Eleni and our team of stewards ensured that disabled people were never stuck or excluded. An art exhibition of work by Katie Sarra and a photography exhibition of photos by Ashley both featured disabled models.
Left to right: Lorna Coldrick, John Gillett, Michelle Donald and James Warham
One of the Outsiders Stewards helping Dominic before his performance on stage
Feedback recognised achievement of a very high standard. Delegates particularly appreciated the exhibitions, performances, workshops and the chance to network. The feeling at the end was one of total triumph. The finances proved to be a break-even, so sadly no funds were raised.
Policy Guidelines
Linda Lewis of ASBAH and Tuppy Owens drafted policy guidelines in readiness for the Conference. These have also been put on the SHADA website. They are:-
- Policy for Colleges
- Policy for Residential Homes
- Policy for Nurses, Social Workers, Case Workers, Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists
- Policy within disability agencies
- Policy for Consultants
- Policy for GPs (general practitioners)
- Policy for Spinal and Other Rehabilitation Units
- Policy on the use of Sex Workers
All the printed copies of the Policy Guidelines brought to the conference disappeared within the first few minutes! Delegates who were unable to obtain a copy were told where to download them from on the SHADA website. We have since heard from many sources how helpful the Guidelines are proving to be, and new versions are currently being created in various homes and colleges, etc., based on our templates.
Supporting Spokz
Spokz is a company run by a spinally injured man, Steve, and his wife Mel. They were very keen to expand to market sex toys to disabled clients. We thought that this would be of great benefit to disabled people and offered to help them along. On 15th October 2009, Tuppy Owens flew to Berlin where she was the guest of one of the exhibitors at the Venus Fair. She was introduced to the top sex toy manufacturers and given samples of toys which would be easiest and safest for disabled people to use. She brought these samples back to the UK and gave them to Spokz to help them set up their website range and provide a support service to disabled people. This section of their website is now operational and Outsiders continues to support them, providing advice and contacts.
Diversifying our Fundraising
In June 2009, we ran the Pleasure Island in the Disability field at the Glastonbury Festival, looking after the disabled revellers, their batteries, and wellbeing, which raised £900.
We took a stall at DAD (Disability Awareness Day) on 12th July in Warrington in order to promote Outsiders and raise funds through gaining new members.
Inner Nature took place in Tiverton on 7th
October 2009. It was the brainchild of Shahid Rashid, a spinal injured member
of Outsiders. He created a peer-support day for people with spinal injuries to
discuss ways to achieve sexual pleasure.
We charged £21 per head, with free lunch and coffees. 35 people attended and
everyone thought it was a good platform for networking and future events.
Our stall at Erotica in November was a success and raised £994.07.
Our fundraising Show and Ball raised £7,000 but this was not available to pay into the bank in this financial year.
Free Speech Campaign
This campaign blossomed with the personal triumphs of our West Country organiser, Sarah Batten, whose speech is very difficult to understand. Firstly, she was interviewed for an important book on speech, “Find Your Voice” by Joanne Crosse. Secondly, she has started a passionate affair with Steve, our Midlands lunch volunteer. They are writing up the history of these developments for our magazine INSIDE.
Modernizing the Outsiders Website
We were delighted that Ian Hudson, who had previously rebuilt another disability website for us, agreed to take on the Outsiders site, transform it to Zoe Spencer’s design, and add online joining and membership interaction facilities. The website uses the highly secure open source content management platform Drupal. Ian was (mid 2010) still waiting for the new Drupal 7 to become available.
Workshops
We persuaded Richard La Ruina to come to the Outsiders London Lunch and give us a free hour of his time on 10th October. He taught our members how to successfully approach strangers in the hope of setting up a date. The workshop attracted a wide range of members including some with cerebral palsy, some with Aspergers, some who are chronically shy, and a deaf-blind young man. Participants enjoyed the workshop and felt they had gained enormously. Richard sent one of his colleagues the following month. Very soon after, one of the participants found a girlfriend and they are still together.
Inner Nature (see “Diversifying Fundraising” on previous page) was a pilot workshop aimed at people with similar disabilities, not necessarily Outsiders members. This first one was for people with spinal injury.
Great Expectations Local Events
Great Expectations thrived in the Highlands and then evolved to a group called Opening Doors.
The North of England Great Expectations meet monthly at the Showroom Café in Sheffield, run by members Victoria McKenzie and Lilian McCarthy.
West Country Great Expectations meet in various locations, sometimes with the Midlands group in Cheltenham.
Flyers and posters are printed on our new printers and distributed locally.
Safety
Outsiders interviewed a selection of disabled people who had used online dating services, and we were shocked to hear how they had experienced unpleasant encounters and dishonesty. This confirmed how important our club is, because our applicants are vetted and membership is terminated for anybody who behaves disrespectfully to other members. This reinforced our determination to ensure that every Outsiders applicant reads, understands and signs up to before they join. Our Agreement lists the rules of the club and advice on how to enjoy it to the full.
Sex Book for Blind People
Several blind and partially sighted people have been interviewed for this book and we have applied for a grant from the Ulverscroft Foundation.
Freedom of Information Survey
Jonathan Werran, trainee Trustee, sent a Freedom of Information Request to 206 local authorities responsible for adult social services, and 121 replied, which represents a response rate of 58.7%. The questions were as follows:
1) Does your authority’s care strategy explicitly empower disabled men and women to make informed choices and be at liberty to pursue their sexual aspirations?
2) Is your authority’s adult social services department on record as supporting the rights of disabled people to develop and maintain social, personal and / or sexual relationships, based on the recognition of their human rights?
3) Does your authority condone the hiring of sex workers by disabled people within your care?
4) Does your authority condone the payment of sex workers by disabled clients using money which originated from your services?
5) Do you have a policy on the use of sex workers by disabled men and women supported by your services? If yes, please enclose.
The results have yet to be analysed.
Social and Environmental Reporting
Tuppy Owens attended a two-day seminar “Prove, Improve, Account” run by the Social Enterprise Academy on 29th and 30th September 2009 and reported back to the Outsiders volunteers on Ist October. Some were somewhat reluctant to take on more work and expressed scepticism. They said they felt that they already know what a difference Outsiders makes to our members, by listening to them on the phone. They are also encouraged by the fact that members send in donations and give us money at events.
Ted O’Dwyer, our blind telephone operator, on the other hand, welcomed the opportunity to work to the structure of Social and Environmental Reporting. With the help of Dawn Powell providing the telephone numbers for him, Ted systematically worked his way through the entire membership to ask them the following questions:-
1) You feel more confident since you joined Outsiders?
2) Do you feel better about yourself since you joined Outsiders?
3) Have you made new friends since you joined Outsiders?
4) Have you found a partner?
There was 100% positive response to the first three questions, and a range of replies to the 4th question.
The Trustees were optimistic and were very sad that Ted’s work was sadly terminated by his death. They asked Tuppy to propose that another volunteer be taken on to handle this work in the hope that the other office volunteers will see what a difference it makes.
New Logo
Zoe Spencer designed a new logo which incorporates two of our previous images and is a joyful representation disabled people enjoying of life. It has been used to great effect on the banner, which went up at our 30th Anniversary, Glastonbury, and Erotica. It is the banner at the top of our new website, on our stewards’ T-shirts, and on the front page of this Annual Report.
The new Outsiders logo designed by Zoe Spencer
Future Plans
2010 - 2011 will be an exciting and challenging period with both local and international new projects:
Continue to achieve our Charity’s objectives
… with both local and international initiatives:
· Following our excellent arrangement of working with local charity the Eldrida Society, we decided to start working with more local groups in Islington. Our aim is to find out how to reach isolated disabled people and encourage them to come out more, hopefully to our events, and to join our club. This will help Outsiders feel more connected to a community, and help us understand how things currently work. It will teach us how to do effective outreach, so that we can apply what we learn to other parts of the country.
· We will publish a new education tool called The Sexual Respect Tool Kit. This will help GPs and other medical and health care professionals all around the world gain confidence to initiate conversations about sex, relationships and loneliness. The aim is that these subjects get included in the help that disabled people receive, where appropriate. We will prove how essential this is by listing the blunders that are made when personal information is ignored. The Kit will comprise a booklet, a CD and a DVD so that the professionals can read, listen and watch experts initiating conversations about sex, relationships, and loneliness without embarrassment or shame. We are building up a team of experts to create the Kit. We are also finding plenty of health professionals who are interested in helping us by trying draft versions out, to see if they work.
Publish the outcome of our Freedom of Information Survey
We have interest from Community Care who want to feature the survey, and we hope that this will lead to a better understanding of the struggles which disabled people experience.
Add new dimensions to our fundraising efforts
… by:
· Subscribing to Just Giving
· Fundraising at new events
· Improving our social networking to attract more funding, members and support
Establish Social and Environmental Accounting Procedures
The Office Volunteers agreed to us advertising for a new volunteer to take over social and environmental accounting from where Ted left off. We are hoping to find a disabled member with environmental and social wellbeing awareness and values.
Improve our website
We will :
- Feature the Outsiders Support Network on our website.
- Complete the modernization of Outsiders website to make it more vibrant, attractive and accessible to users as well as manageable by volunteers and staff.
- Complete the development of an on-line database linked to Outsiders website, so that new members can join online and members can contact each other via the website.
- Provide new opportunities on the website for peer support, galleries of images, and a general ideal to make the world a better place for disabled people.
Financial Statements
Following the resounding success of our Conference, Disability: Sex, Relationships and Pleasure, held in conjunction with the Royal Society of Medicine, the Trustees have renewed confidence in the Outsiders’ capacity to raise funds and have a positive influence on society.
Our new trainee Trustees are bringing fresh energy to the table with bright ideas and good connections.
We were delighted that two members of the Advisory Board are now “an item”, doubly delightful because they both have fairly severe impairments, including speech. Another member of the Board is in a long-term relationship, so we feel surrounded by success.
We are aware that memberships levels have not been increasing and are pleased that local initiatives are in place to examine the difficulty in reaching isolated disabled people.
We congratulate our volunteer coordinator, Dr Tuppy Owens, and our volunteers, for keeping costs low whilst achieving so much.
We were pleased to receive three grants: the second annual £3000 from Yapp for general office expenses; £1,000 from Austin Hope Pilkington for general purposes, and £1,000 from London Catalyst for our 30th Anniversary celebrations. One of our Trustees, John Wood, donated a further £4,000. Our Segro Shares were re-issued which resulted in a hand-out of £2,427.31. Our Pleasure Island initiative in the disability field at Glastonbury raised £900. Our stall at Erotica raised £994.07.
The income might look low but, in fact we received a grant for £5,000 from Awards for All just before this financial year. We received a gift-aided donation from one of our supporters, Andrew Ferguson, for £5,000 on 4th April 2010 which did not get into the bank account in time for this set of accounts. Plus our annual fundraisers were switched to Spring rather than Autumn, which meant a gap of 18 months, missing this financial year as well. These events raise an average of £10,000 pa.
There were no salaries to be paid, apart from £1.015 to office manager Annie Taylor who has now departed. Previous employment contracts both finished before this financial year. General expenses were slightly up because of the 30th Anniversary celebration and the increased number of projects. With our consultation process with Pilotlight finished, it was no longer necessary for Dr Tuppy Owens to come to London every month, which saved travelling costs, but the increased number of projects kept travelling quite high. We have to pay for one of our disabled volunteers to come to the office by taxi, which is represented by the high output of petty cash. Our projects also involved the purchase of two laser printers so that we can now print our own leaflets and mini-posters.
The most expensive projects were:- our 30th Anniversary celebrations at the Landmark which cost £1,000 room rental, £375 for teas, £650 for interactive theatre, and £230 for dinner subsidies; and the launch of Great Expectations in Inverness, where the disabled dancer, Caroline Bowditch, and her dance partner performed, costing £345.
The Conference held with the Royal Society of Medicine broke even and our Inner Nature Day in Tiverton made £20.
Pleasure Islands at Glastonbury cost £157.50 for T-Shirts, £200 for banners, but we raised £900.
In order to maximize our fundraising activities, we invested in a large banner. The new banner was taken to Glastonbury, to Disability Awareness Day, and to Erotica, and was used at our 30th Anniversary at the Landmark.
The Trustees decided that Outsiders should continue with our public liability insurance and our Charity Connect Policy (Bronze Package) was renewed with Ansvar Insurance Company for £5 million, costing £670.60. This had been previously paid for by trustee John Wood, but this year we paid for it ourselves.
Because we contested the raising of our rent at Leroy House (Workspace Group), we still pay £608 (including VAT) pm rent plus £11.75 pm for our storage cupboard. We pay Charity Rates @ £266.75 pa.
During this year, our accountants had an increased workload because of the salary component of our expenses in the previous year, and we received a bill for £316.25.
Outsiders continues to achieve enormous success on a very low budget. This is because we usually use volunteers instead of paying salaries, and hold our regular events in bar/restaurants, which are free. We run our workshops at the lunches in these bar/restaurants, which works because we pick a time when they are fairly empty and quiet.
Outsiders Club (separate from Trust accounts)
Membership fees from new members ........................... £2,361.50
Renewals from existing members ....................................... £1,928
Donations from members ...................................................... £834
This is the Outsiders Club’s core funding, held in a designated Club bank account, which is operated separately from the Outsiders Trust. These funds are used to pay for services that the members receive directly, such as birthday cards, telephone, postage, membership lists and INSIDE magazine.
Social Accounting
We look forward to finding a new volunteer to handle the social accounting of our work, so that we can include this data in our next Annual Report.
The Accounts and Independent Examiner’s Report are being published as a separate document..
Signed:
|
Gregory Sams, Chair Date: 5th January 2011 |
|
Martin Craven, Treasurer Date: 5th January 2011 |
Accounts
|
The Outsiders Trust |
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Balance Sheet |
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2009 |
|
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2010 |
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£ |
|
|
£ |
|||
|
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Fixed assets |
|
||||
|
|
|
|
||||
|
1,400.18 |
|
Computer Equipment and Website |
1,050.18 |
|||
|
(350.00) |
|
Less: Depreciation |
(262.55) |
|||
|
1,050.18 |
|
|
787.63 |
|||
|
|
|
Current assets |
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
10,951.30 |
|
Cash at Bank |
6,228.27 |
|||
|
- |
|
Prepayments |
349.07 |
|||
|
10,951.30 |
|
|
6,577.34 |
|||
|
|
|
Current Liabilities |
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
491.25 |
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Accruals |
491.25 |
|||
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- |
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Other creditors |
- |
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|
|
|
|
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11,510.23 |
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Net assets |
6,873.72 |
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|
|
|
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Represented by: |
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|||
|
|
|
|
|
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18,759.56 |
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Surplus at 5 April 2009 |
11,510.23 |
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(7,249.33) |
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Current year (deficit) |
(4,636.51) |
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11,510.23 |
|
|
6,873.72 |
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The financial statements were approved by the Trustees on 5th January 2011 and signed on their behalf by: |
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Greg Sams |
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Martin Craven |
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Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of the Outsiders Trust
I report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 5th April 2010 which are set out on pages 27 to 30.
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 43(2) of the Charities Act 1993 (the 1993 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
· examine the accounts under section 43 of the 1993 Act;
· follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 43(7)(b) of the 1993 Act; and
· state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner’s statement
My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a “true and fair view” and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent examiner’s statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
- which gives me reasonable cause to believe that, in any material respect, the requirements:
- to keep accounting records in accordance with section 41 of the 1993 Act; and
- to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 1993 Act
- to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Andrew Hill FCADate: 6th January 2011
Cartwrights
Accountants and Business Advisors
Regency House
33 Wood Street, Barnet
Herts, EN5 4BE
Contact
Head Office
4S Leroy House
436 Essex Road
London N1 3QP
020 7354 8291
Bankers
Lloyds TSB (current and savings accounts)
PO Box 25, 39-41 Union Street
Inverness IV1 1RD
Accountant
Cartwrights Accountants & Business Advisors
Registered Auditor
Regency House, 33 Wood Street
Barnet, Herts EN5 4BE
Funders and Supporters
We would like to thank the following organizations and individuals for their support this year for Outsiders and the work that we do:-
John Wood
Outsiders volunteers and members of Outsiders Support Network
Awards For All (Big Lottery)
YAPP
The London Catalyst
Glastonbury Festival
The Landmark
Lawrence Brightman
Dick Sheppard
Vivien Abrahams
Andrew Ferguson
Detailed Table of Contents
Mission, Values and Objectives
How we serve our five different beneficiaries