Last week we held the Justlife AGM. Staff, supporters, funders, partners and service users gathered in east Manchester to celebrate the past year and look to the future. What a great way to kick off the new year!The highlight of the evening was hearing two service users speak bravely about their lives, experience of working with Justlife and their hopes for the future. Their stories highlighted the importance of the current Justlife projects.The AGM also served as an event to launch the latest annual report and accounts (Financial year end March 2015). 2014-15 was a story of growth with new projects coming to life in Brighton and further development of the work in Manchester. Typically growth bought with it change and change has bought both challenge and opportunity as we’ve sought to make a real difference for individuals who are experiencing periods of vulnerability.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE ANNUAL REVIEW AND ACCOUNTS.There is no doubt that the need for our services is increasing. The number of statutory homeless households placed in B&Bs stood at 5,630 in Apr-Jun 2015 an 18% increase on the same time in 2014; but the actual number is likely to be 5-10 times higher than this. It is inspiring to read how our teams have made a tangible difference in the lives of hundreds of individuals who in the majority of cases would have had no other support at all. The current landscape around homelessness services is challenging. Cuts to vital services are already affecting individuals and with further rounds of expenditure cuts to come it seems that demand for our services is set to increase while resources become more and more scarce.Finally, we wish to thank our supporters, volunteers, staff and trustees who have work so hard to achieve all that is represented within these pages and so much more which is woven into the life stories of the individuals of those helped.
