Resource

A Message from the CEO on 2018

It has been my pleasure and privilege to join the team at the Helen Bamber Foundation (HBF) this year, to build on Helen’s and the Foundation’s remarkable legacy. The Foundation is a special place - in the services it offers, the culture it promotes and the people it supports. Our clients are at the centre of all we do. We bear witness to their suffering so that their voices are heard, their truths told. Our success as an organisation is a testament to our clients’ resilience and bravery. We hope that you too will be inspired by their stories. I am proud to share with you the Annual Report and financial statements for HBF for the year ended 31 December 2018.

2018 has been a year of ongoing turmoil for those seeking protection in the UK: immigration, mental health and trafficking have all featured heavily in political and public discussion, and yet HBF estimates that only 1 in 10 survivors of extreme human cruelty receives appropriate care and support. During the past decade fewer services are available for these survivors - a situation which, if left unchallenged, will have devastating consequences for some of the most vulnerable people in our society. HBF’s expertise puts it at the forefront of this battle for compassion. In 2018 we cared for over 800 survivors of extreme human cruelty of which 129 were clients new to the service. In the coming years we will increase our efforts and are determined to transform the hostile environment into an hospitable one.

At HBF we know that Human Rights are not only universal but interdependent and interrelated. Physical, developmental, psychological and spiritual needs must all be met if a person’s dignity is to be fully realised and their recovery sustained. For this reason, HBF has to date focused on services that are proven to be effective. In 2018 two-thirds of our clients’ mental health improved. We have also undertaken research to encourage more practitioners to deliver therapy that is proven to work. But moving forward we recognise that the key to ensuring that all survivors get access to the support they need is by working collaboratively. In 2018 we have thus been reaching out to other organisations and individuals - listening to them, learning from them and sharing our own expertise. Together, we can care for more survivors than through our individual efforts. We are excited by the potential of those partnerships and welcome the opportunity to build more in the future.

Finally, the success of HBF is due not only to the dedication of its expert staff but also to the generosity of its many volunteers, and the commitment of our fantastic supporters, trustees, and patrons. You all help to ensure that those who have experienced multiple and deep-felt trauma have a place of welcome and sanctuary. Thank you so much for being part of our community and for sharing our vision. With your support and HBF’s robust growth strategy I am confident about the positive impact we can make for all survivors in 2019 and beyond.

Kerry Smith,

CEO Helen Bamber Foundation

Please click the download link below to read the full annual report and audited accounts.