It scarcely seems possible that it is a year since I took on this role, and it is with great pride that I report on the year.

Demand for our services is high. We have welcomed several new active members in the last 12 months, and our team also responds to around 20 non-member enquiries each month, offering signposting and support via phone call and emails.  We have seen an increase in subscribers to our emails and newsletters – a growth of 18% in the last 12 months.

Our weekly social evenings at Walkergate Park are of central importance to the sense of community we foster, with an average attendance of ~28.  This is supplemented by the twice monthly social drop-in, which has recently moved from MEA House to Shieldfield Art Works, attended by ~15 people.  Walking football attendance has increased from ~10-12 players to upwards of 16 players and our monthly outings – local walks, laser tag, Ouseburn Farm, Life Science Centre, Bowling, Christmas Meal, Discovery Museum have been well attended.  We always exceed our initial allocation of places at the annual Headway “Look Ahead North” residential weekend at Calvert Trust Kielder.

The value of these social opportunities & interactions cannot be over-estimated. During the year, we were reminded of the proven linkage between social interaction and quality of life.  Many of our members feedback that Headway Tyneside activities are the highlight of their weeks. But they are also opportunities for signposting conversations, and skill development.

We’ve also offered two sets of cookery schools sessions (via Nourish Food School), two pilot yoga sessions, two brain injury awareness courses, an event for carers and four benefits advice clinics. Within a safe space & community, we are giving individuals opportunities to re-build life skills.

This is taken a step further in our commissioned Headway2Work programme for Durham and Darlington which was renewed in the Spring of 2024 and is designed to support individuals looking to pursue training, voluntary work or paid employment. The key metric within our NHS contract is delivery of services to a specific number of people per year – a metric we have consistently exceeded – & still demand exceeds supply. For us, however, the real impact is told through the clients success stories: 

After meeting [Headway2work] my confidence began to return gradually. I started to see a future back at work. Each meeting was looked forward to and I felt each one provided a positive outcome for me as an individual.

We are deeply indebted to our enthusiastic, patient, skilful and committed staff – Jo & Ellie – for delivery of this programme with excellence. We are very sorry that Ellie is soon to be moving onto exciting new development opportunities and leaving Headway Tyneside in August. So, we thank her for her passion, commitment and contribution and wish her well into the future. 

I would also like to acknowledge the partnership with the many stakeholders who make our programme possible, including:

• Walkergate Park and the STARR team
• Our volunteers
• Our providing partners, such as Newcastle United Foundation & Nourish
• Shieldfield Art Works
• Melissa Davies, Senior Welfare Advisor, Irwin Mitchell
• Calvert Trust
• NE & North Cumbria NHS ICB

I would particularly like to acknowledge the contribution of Jill Kings, most recently our Clinical Services Development Manager, over a long period of time. Jill has recently stood down from her role, and we will miss her experience, energy and wisdom but we know that she will remain a passionate supporter of our work. Thank you, Jill, for everything that you have done.

From a governance perspective, Helen Kolster has now stepped down from the Board after passing on the Chair role. However, we have been delighted to welcome Lisa Crowther onto the Board and the Clinical Sub-Team. The Board’s emphasis at the start of the year was on the management of risk, with the development of a documented risk register against which good progress has been made. A drum-beat has been established for policy development and updates and we have also ensured that our policies are accessible to members and stakeholders.  In the second half of the year, the Board has initiated work on future strategy, and these conversations will continue later today.

Trustee positions are voluntary in nature, entered into because the holders believe it is “the right thing to do”, are passionate about the ABI community and have skills and experience to offer, but the significant responsibility is taken while juggling other personal, family and professional commitments. I am extremely grateful to my Board for all their time and effort, and their support of me. I hesitate to call out particular individuals when we are very much a team, but do want to recognise Sophie’s unstinting efforts to manage our finances in a robust, compliant and transparent way, Matt’s leadership of the Clinical area including the many, many hours put into the re-commissioning of H2W, and Rachel for her regular, active support of the WGP social evening. To all trustees, thank you.