Life Changes has a new base in Southampton.
One of the dilemma’s that we have struggled with here at Life Changes is when and how to return to face-to-face counselling. The pandemic has yo-yo’d back and forth, and various offers of “free” accommodation have eventually come to naught. Entering into a commitment for rented rooms before the pandemic “allowed’ us to utilise them would add an unacceptable financial burden on our ultra-low-cost charity - but we have finally taken the plunge and rented three rooms in Carlton Crescent in the very centre of Southampton. Let’s hope the pandemic has indeed reached the stage where this investment is justified.
This does not mean that we won’t continue to offer online counselling. The ability to talk and see each other from the comfort or security of our own dwelling, despite being many miles apart, has been a revelation, and for many reasons there will always be people who would prefer to access their counselling in this way. The choice will remain with our clients, but for those who would prefer to work across the room with their counsellor, we hope these rooms will provide a pleasant environment which will help the process along.
For the last two years Life Changes has provided a bespoke counselling service for the patients of the Eastleigh Southern Practices GP consortium. The sad news is that the funding for this project has now run out but Life Changes can take pride in the fact that we have provided a service that met, indeed exceeded, the hopes of the commissioning GP’s.
Dr Neeraj Sonpal lead GP of the consortium gave the following endorsement ...
This year has seen a significant degree of consolidation as we continue to put LCC on a more sustainable footing in the post covid era. This will also be my first AGM as Chairman and I would like to thank the work and effort Philip Meakins has put in over the years to getting the organization to where it is now!
During the last 12 months we have been effectively been providing three services, our core service, supported by our team of 24 volunteer counsellors, the grant funded paid counsellor project (PCP), employing 8 counsellors that have qualified and migrated from the core service, and lastly, the ESP Network project, that uses a number of experienced paid counsellors, majority of which have worked with LCC for some time...
Life Changes is pleased to announce we have obtained a Lottery Grant and can once more fund a limited number of financially challenged clients who cannot afford our current minimum fee, as well as continuing our work with Domestic Abuse victims (who frequently fall into the same category).
You are invited to attend LCC’s AGM on the revised date, Monday 8th January at 1900 hrs. on Zoom. We promise to pass rapidly through the boring bits and concentrate on giving all who have a stake in the organisation the opportunity to tell us how we are getting on from your point of view.
Do you have any ideas how we can improve our service to our clients and /or our trainees. Are there any opportunities for the future you can inform us of. Or would you just like to meet the people who run the organisation in the (virtual) flesh? Maybe you would like to pick our brains about where we are going in the future? Perhaps best of all, would you like to join us in helping run the organisation?
Whatever your position or point of view , we would certainly like to see you so drop Liz Rose an e mail at coordinator@lifechangescounselling.org.uk and we will send you a Zoom link for the meeting.
In the meantime, may I wish you all the best for the festive season and a happy 2024.
Philip Meakins
Chairman
22/23 Chairman's Report
LCC is pleased to announce that our Paid Counsellor Project (HiWCF) has successfully entered its second year on target. We currently have 6 of our alumni (counsellors who have worked with us and subsequently qualified) working on this project and by the end of next year, this is planned to be up to 8. Not only does this extra workforce help us keep our times from referral to treatment nicely low, the additional expertise and experience they represent is helping our ambition to constantly improve the service we offer to our clients.
On a separate issue, our venture into providing a service to the NHS has now also been running for a year. The PCN (GP consortium) for whom we provide the service is very pleased with it and has extended the contract for another year. Well done to all involved for making such a success of this venture.
Annual Report 21/22 and Financial Update Nov 2023
Life Changes Counselling has provided low-cost counselling in the Southampton area for 17 years. We charge according to ability to pay and until recently have been able to run the organisation with clients paying between £0 and £30. Our target for seeing clients is 6 weeks from referral (currently significantly less than this).
Since the summer the number of clients unable to pay anything at all has overwhelmed our business model and we have begun to run through our reserves in an unsustainable way. In August the trustees, with deep misgivings, decided that in order to balance the books we would temporarily stop taking new clients unless they were able to pay £35 a session, reducing it to a minimum of £15 if there was significant financial stress. Grant applications were made to fund those who were unable to afford these revised fees. To put these fees into perspective private counselling costs £50 and upwards, whilst NHS and large charities cost out at £100 to £150 a session.
Ed's amazing achievement in the Great South Run - October 2022
The Trustees of Life Changes Counselling invite you to the Annual General Meeting to review the year April 2021-March 2022 and onwards.
It will now take place on Sunday 27th November @ 7.00pm on Zoom
After the formal business of the meeting, we would like to turn this into your opportunity to contribute your ideas as to how we can
continue to improve our organisation.
To allow us to plan, please RSVP to: coordinator@lifechangescounselling.org.uk
