WHO WE ARE Providing opportunities for individuals to transform their lives through football The Homeless FA is the national homeless football charity in England. We use football to empower every person experiencing homelessness by giving them the opportunity to develop their skills and abilities, gain self-respect and confidence, improve their health, and ultimately transform their life. We believe that every person experiencing homelessness has the potential to turn their life around, and football can enable this transformation. Leading organisation The Homeless FA Community is open to all initiatives that use football to engage and support people experiencing homelessness. We are England’s leading football-for-development initiative for those socially excluded through homelessness. Working with our Community, our partners in England and internationally, we aim to be a hub of knowledge in this sector. We will achieve this by gathering as much evidence as is possible on how football can make a positive difference to the lives of people experiencing homelessness. Positive perceptions Central to our work is promoting positive self-perception of our players while challenging and changing public perceptions of homeless people. We encourage the homelessness sector to utilise the power of football, and empower the sporting world to recognise football’s potential to support the most vulnerable members of society. This includes education about the complex needs and challenges facing our players. We support relevant research, and the monitoring and evaluation of homeless football initiatives.

"Putting the word ‘Homeless’ on a crest and turning that into a positive is pretty amazing. People think of a homeless person as someone who has nowhere to live, nothing, no money etc, whereas things like this changes the perception of what they think homeless is. Whenever I see my kit or my jacket with the crest, I feel a sense of pride." Dan, 2013 player  

Photo credit (left) Tom Bunning

FOREWORD 2013 has been an exciting and positive year for the Homeless FA as it continues to evolve and grow its impact in the homelessness sector. Our 2013 Annual Review highlights the incredible work that has been undertaken, and we the Trustees are very proud of the achievements made in such a short space of time. At the outset I would like to acknowledge the wonderful role played by the Homeless FA team – they are innovative, caring and determined to go the extra mile for the cause. The numbers are impressive. 269 individuals directly involved in 9 Training Centres delivered with the support of some of the England’s leading professional football clubs. 186 organisations within the sector supported by the Homeless FA Community to deliver programmes and interventions to improve the lives of many thousands more through football. 67% of participants achieving an accredited qualification and 38 individuals were chosen to wear a national badge and a badge of ‘homelessness’ with equal pride when representing Team England. As well, this year

saw us host of our first international tournament with eight European teams attending, playing and learning from each other in Manchester. But whilst those numbers are impressive, behind them lies an even more powerful truth about the positive impact the programme has had on all of those it has reached. I would encourage you to take time to read the testimonies of the individual participants in this report. They are honest accounts of their activities with the Homeless FA, the Training Centres and Team England, and how their experiences helped affect a positive life change. For many the changes can be dramatic, for others they may be modest, but for all we believe just the opportunity to build their confidence, engage with others and enjoy football is a great first step to a positive life change. There were many exciting things that took place and will be remembered as a key part of 2013. However, it was perhaps most importantly the year that saw our partnerships with the

professional clubs and The FA really grow and develop. The football clubs and volunteers who planned and delivered the Training Centre Programme have really proven that the Homeless FA’s model can engage, support and inspire players. Alongside The FA, which has opened the doors of St. George’s Park to Team England, they and all of English football, have shown that it is prepared to challenge itself and to meet its potential to help tackle homelessness through the game. So much of our success is down to the commitment and generosity of our partners and funders and I would like to acknowledge their support as well. The Homeless FA is a team and like the best teams we are fortunate to have a great set of supporters. 2013 was a good year and we look forward to the season ahead. Robert Sullivan - Chair

Photo credit (right) Tom Bunning

INTRODUCTION Welcome to the 2013 Homeless FA annual review. I hope that it will give you an insight into some of our key achievements in 2013. Following a dynamic first year of operation in 2012, we ensured that momentum wasn’t lost in 2013. We successfully continued to use football to give every person experiencing homelessness in England the opportunity to develop their skills and abilities, to build self-respect and confidence, to improve their health, and ultimately to transform their life. I am incredibly proud of how far we have developed as an organisation in the past year. Research has always been central to our work and shapes the way in which we operate, with the demonstrated impact of our work and learning gained through monitoring and evaluation, ensuring 2014 will be an even greater success. We will further extend our Training Centre programme to include Aston Villa and Fulham football clubs, with the latter also working with us on an exciting pilot project with St Mungos. There will be several changes in 2014, all designed to improve our players’ experience of the Training Centre Programme. Working with our education partners the Mitre Group and Sports Leaders UK, we are already working to develop bespoke learning resources, which will ensure that the Sports Leaders Award

qualification facilitates the outcomes we set out to achieve. Most exciting of all, we will be rolling out a nationwide Peer Mentor programme. Peer Mentors are to be selected and trained by the Homeless FA from outstanding past participants, and will attend all Training Centre delivery days, encouraging and supporting 2014’s players. This new feature will offer further opportunities for our players, and we are confident that it will be the most inspiring element of our 2014 programme. The Peer Mentor programme was motivated by 2012 Team England player Rosie Martin, whose personal journey we are proud to share in a later section of this report. The Homeless FA is keen to share the learning gained through our programmes and partnership work. This was done successfully in 2013, particularly through the European Lifelong Learning Grundtvig event, hosted in partnership with Manchester United. In addition, our inaugural BetterTax HFA Cup saw teams representing Homeless FA Community members from across England, all coming together to help us pilot our innovative tournament model with a ground-breaking fair play points system. In 2014 we intend to create further opportunities to work with Homeless FA Community members and our international partners.

Most important to us are our players. Last year, 100% of our players reported an increase in their self-confidence, whilst we were thrilled to see 63% go into further education opportunities and 29% achieve full-time employment (within six months). We are committed to ensuring that the voice of our players is central to our work and at the Homeless World Cup in Poznań we were the first country to have its entire coaching staff comprise of past players. Within the past year, the Homeless FA has continued to secure significant partnerships with market-leading organisations in homelessness, football and beyond. We have also worked with some incredible and inspiring individuals, and we thank each of them for their belief, support and commitment to the Homeless FA. We are an ambitious organisation, and will not be resting on our laurels. 2014 promises to be another inspirational year. Gareth Parker – Head of the Homeless FA

OUR YEAR IN NUMBERS

The need Our work

90% of players were unemployed when they applied for a Training Centre

22.5 months was the average time our players had experienced homelessness

449 applications to take part in our Training Centres

186 organisations are part of our Homeless FA Community

269 players took part in 9 Training Centres

100% of players reported increased confidence levels

67% achieved an accredited leadership qualification

11 countries attended our international tournament and learning event

2 national awards won

£237,396 in income was received

OUR PLAYERS

Rosie was unemployed, estranged from her family, living in a high-dependency hostel and trying to cope with depression when she applied to the Homeless FA Training Centre at Arsenal Football Club in 2012. She applied thanks to the encouragement of staff at Porchlight, a Homeless FA Community member in the South of England.

On that first day of the Training Centre in Spring 2012, Rosie acknowledges that she had no confidence in herself. She was ashamed of her self-harm scars and, despite the hot weather, wore a long-sleeved top under her training kit. Rosie’s increasing confidence was apparent. By week 4 she was wearing short sleeves to the training session. By week 5 she was leading training sessions. Always with a smile on her face. Her incredible progress throughout the Training Centre saw Rosie selected for the Team England Squad that travelled to Mexico City in 2012. Rosie credits the Homeless FA’s partnership with Manchester United’s Believe F.C. (Future Confidence) programme as a key part to her incredible personal development.

Throughout her time with the Team England squad Rosie demonstrated that she was a natural mentor with incredible insight and strong communication skills. These abilities led the Homeless FA to recruit her as the first ever Homeless FA Peer Mentor. At the Arsenal Training Centre in 2013 she provided support to the 30 players, and assisted with player selection for Team England. She was subsequently given the role of Team England Peer Mentor at the Homeless World Cup in Poznań, Poland. Rosie supported all of Team England’s players, and voiced the players’ perspective in the Homeless FA’s evaluations. Rosie will oversee the Peer Mentoring programme in 2014, which will offer opportunities for progression to Team England players. Rosie will be coordinating over 20 volunteers and ensuring they are all suitably trained and supported. “This whole experience has been life-changing. I could never have imagined 18 months ago that today I would be not only in a job I enjoy but training for a career. The Homeless FA didn’t judge me, genuinely believed in me, and this made me feel worthwhile for the first time in a long time.” Left: Rosie celebrating with a player at the 2013 Homeless World Cup in Poznań, Poland (Photo credit Lars Wehrmann).

Photo credit Tom Bunning

Stacey Stacey heard about the Arsenal Training Centre through her hostel and was keen to gain her Sports Leaders Award. A natural leader she hoped to become a teacher and saw this as an achievable first step toward this goal. Stacey was selected to represent England at the Homeless World Cup in Poland. Speaking to Sky Sports, while at the tournament, Stacey reflected: “It’s been about getting a lot more confidence back, self-esteem, believing in my abilities and I want to hold onto that. So when I go back home, no matter how hard things get, it’s like, you can come back to here.” Since attending the Homeless World Cup Stacey volunteered with a youth football club and through the Homeless FA achieved her Level 2 coaching badge. She is now playing football regularly, has moved into her own flat and secured a role as a teacher. Francis Francis had always been passionate about football. Having battled with addiction for over a decade he hoped that the Homeless FA Training Centre would allow him to meet new people and improve his situation. He demonstrated his natural leadership ability from the first session and was commended for how he supported his teammates. After representing England at the Homeless World Cup and leading them as captain against Switzerland, Francis was offered work as a coach with Norwich City, where he had attended their Training Centre in 2013. Francis wants to continue to be involved with the Homeless FA and has gained his Level 2 coaching badge. Louise Louise was struggling with depression and alcohol use when she first attended the 2013 Training Centre at Arsenal’s stadium. ‘Amazed’ by the stadium and wanting to improve her fitness and health Louise worked hard to reduce her alcohol intake each week. While it began as a reduction in quantity by the fifth week she had not had a drink in 6 days. The routine and new social groups that the Training Centre provided were a key to this success. Louise continued to gain confidence and completed courses through her service’s education programme as well as taking a referee qualification. During the celebration day at St George’s Park all players mapped their achievements over the past 12 months. Louise was able fill her timeline, exclaiming, “I could have filled a second sheet, I’ve done so much and it started with the Training Centre!” Louise has been sober since the Training Centre and will be helping the Homeless FA with their 2014 research programme.

OUR SUPPORTERS The Homeless FA’s work and accomplishments would only be possible through the constant support of partners, funders, Community members, volunteers and most importantly our players. These individuals and organisations contributed to the continuing development of the Homeless FA as it worked toward achieving its vision in 2013. Our founding partners, BetterTax, Homeless Link and CentrePoint continued to support us this year. Without their encouragement and financial contributions in our earliest stage of development the Homeless FA could not have existed.

A range of organisations has supported our activities in 2013. We thank each of them for their encouragement and financial backing. Individual donors A very big expression of gratitude is needed for the individuals who have run marathons, cycled to Paris, hosted events and tournaments on our behalf. As well as, thank you to the volunteers who ensured the quality of our work year-round.

The Albert Hunt Trust

TRAINING CENTRE PROGRAMME

Homeless FA Training Centres were delivered over 5 days in partnership with professional clubs in inspirational learning environments. Our players received a range of professional football player experiences – match tickets, stadium tours, kit and ‘contract signing’. All players were able to achieve their Level 1 Sports Leaders Award, which is a strong foundation for working with groups, communication and self-organisation. Players also took part in football training provided by club coaching staff, using the 4v4 Street Soccer format. As well, upon completing the Training Centre, players receive a certificate and ‘Hero Portrait’1. All Homeless FA Training Centres are aspirational, inclusive, fun and provide an opportunity to individuals who have had too few in the past. 94% of applicants were unemployed. The average duration of homelessness experienced by applicants was 22.5 months. We successfully engaged and supported some of the hardest to reach individuals in our communities for a total of 8,628 hours. What we set out to achieve with players

                                                                                                               1 Examples of our Hero Portraits can be found throughout this report for the Training Centres and Team England (Photo credits Tom Bunning).

The Homeless FA Training Centre programme was expanded, growing from 3 to 9 regions across England. These centres were delivered in partnership with 9 professional football clubs: Arsenal, Brighton and Hove Albion, Bristol City, Derby County, Hull City, Manchester United, Norwich City, Sunderland AFC and West Bromwich Albion.  

Increase their leadership skills

Improve their interpersonal skills (emphasis on

communication)

Increase their organisational skills

(a foundation for employability)

Improve their physical health

AWARD WINNING RESULTS Award-winning Programme Engaging with some of the most hard to reach, the Training Centre programme has been recognised by the Prime Minister (Big Society Awards) and NIACE (Adult Learner’s Week) for exceptional retention and achievement levels.

“I was very impressed by the work they do in partnership with community groups, businesses and sports clubs in not only helping people in need, but providing them with new skills and more importantly new hope, allowing them to go on to contribute to their communities.” Prime Minster, David Cameron

100% of our players report increased confidence

levels

67% achieve an accredited leadership qualification

79% of players took on a leadership role within the

Training Centres

Photo credit Tom Bunning

Photo credit Tom Bunning

TEAM ENGLAND In 2013 we selected and managed the Homeless Team England squads. 37 players were selected through the national Training Centre Programme and represented their country at various international events. Football club staff, Training Centre Coordinators and Peer Mentors undertook selection of players for the Team England squad with a particular focus on teamwork, positive communication and respect. While part of the Homeless FA’s Team England squad, these players had the opportunity to train as part of the FA’s Club England at St George’s Park. Hosted by the FA our players took part in football training sessions delivered by our past players and healthy living workshops by Sunderland AFC. All players also had the opportunity to represent England in an international tournament. To offer additional opportunities to past players and provide inspiration to current players, all staff teams included former players. Roles held by these outstanding individuals included Head Coach, Assistant Coach and Peer Mentor.

The Homeless FA’s emphasises the personal development of its players and teams were not selected on football ability. While part of the Team England Programme players were able to work on personal development plans supported by Manchester United’s Believe F.C. (Future Confidence). Session topics included: goal setting, motivation, visualisation, perceptions, communication, self-belief and managing emotions. Left: 3 of our 2012 players who coached international teams in 2013 (Photo credit Joana Freitas). Right: Manchester United Foundation’s Believe F.C. is pivotal in helping to transform our players’ lives (Photo credit Tom Bunning.

63% of players progress into further education

58% of players improve their housing situation

29% of players gain full-time employment within 6 months of Training Centre

Futebol De Rua (Aveiro, Portugal) 6 male players, with representatives from the Arsenal, Brighton & Hove Albion, Bristol City, Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion Training Centres, attended a week-long tournament in Portugal. The Futebol de Rua is the flagship national tournament of Portuguese Homeless World Cup partner CAIS. Prior to departure the players took part in a launch event for the team at Arsenal Football Club and Piebury Corner (the Homeless FA’s official pie partner). As well, players had an opportunity to train at PowerLeague’s facility in Croydon. The Homeless FA were particularly proud to win the tournament’s Fair Play Award and see Head Coach (and former player) James Buckley receive the Coach of the Tournament Award. James was also invited to attend and took part in Portugal’s coaching programme later in the year.

Homeless World Cup (Poznań, Poland) This year’s Homeless World Cup tournament took place in Poland and the Homeless FA was again awarded a place for both a men’s and a women’s team. 45 men’s teams and 13 women’s teams took part in the 8-day tournament, with countries from all over the world taking part. The players’ experiences formed part of a short documentary about the Homeless FA and its Training Centre programme that was aired repeatedly on Sky Sports and can be viewed on YouTube2.

                                                                                                               2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrEjRqrxM-o

Great British Street Soccer Cup (Edinburgh, Scotland) The Great British Street Soccer Cup was an event hosted by Street Soccer Scotland. This activity provided one of our women’s teams the opportunity to meet players from Scotland, take part in training at Hampden Park as well as other cultural activities in Edinburgh. They finished their visit by playing against a team from Street Soccer Scotland. Grundtvig Lifelong Learning Event (Manchester, England) In 2013 The Homeless FA hosted its first international football tournament in Manchester. Run alongside a learning conference the final day of the event saw 5 men’s and 3 women’s teams, from across Europe, take part in a 4v4 street soccer tournament at PowerLeague’s flagship indoor facility. By arranging a domestic activity a wider range of opportunities were made available to Homeless FA players.

Photo credit Joana Freitas

Photo credit Lars Wehrm

ann

Photo credit (right) Joana Freitas

RESEARCHING | LEARNING | SHARING A strong programme of research informs all of our work. This allows us to be confident and honest about what the Homeless FA does, how and why. Our monitoring and evaluation is guided by 5 principles, that it be:

Homeless World Cup research project The strong emphasis on monitoring and evaluating encouraged the Homeless World Cup to appoint the Homeless FA as lead partner in an 18-month international research project funded by Nike. During 2013 and 2014, the Homeless FA will work with other Homeless World Cup national partners to evidence the impact of football programmes for people experiencing homelessness around the world. As well, a tool will be developed that allows all Homeless World Cup national partners to record and report their impact.

Aligned with our organisational

culture Participatory Process-led Honest Accessible

Photo credits Joana Freitas

Photo credit Lars Wehrm

ann

Grundtvig Lifelong Learning Partnership Our desire to learn and share with other national organisations saw us form part of an EU Grundtvig Lifelong Learning partnership with 15 other European countries. As a launch event to this partnership and to provide additional international activity to our Team England players The Homeless FA hosted its first international learning event and tournament in November. This event brought together delegates from 11 European countries. Attendees included players, football coaches and project managers who were able to experience an abridged Homeless FA Training Centre. The event took place in Manchester, and was hosted alongside the Manchester United Foundation. Wanting to highlight the fantastic support of our partners, we invited Piebury Corner to cater the opening night’s meal – ensuring all attendees enjoyed a meal of pie and mash before attending a Manchester City Champion’s League match. The following day was hosted at Old Trafford and included Believe F.C. sessions, Homeless FA ‘hero portraits’, and an opportunity for learning and sharing for staff. The following day saw all attendees take part in a training session at Manchester United’s AON training complex in Carrington. In the afternoon a men’s and women’s tournament were hosted by PowerLeague at their flagship facility. It was a wonderful few days for all and they were concluded with a special celebration at Old Trafford hosted by the Homeless FA and Manchester United Foundation.

Photo credits Joana Freitas

HOMELESS FA COMMUNITY The Homeless FA engages with local communities across England through a national network, the Homeless FA Community. Our over 200 Community members ranging from homelessness services to Premier League football clubs and community organisations. The Homeless FA has continued to provide further opportunities and benefits to these organisations through partnerships brokered at a national level. In 2013 this included securing a reduced subscription fee for Upshot, the online monitoring and evaluation tool developed by the Football Foundation. Towards the end of the year the Homeless FA and its education partner The Mitre Group have piloted an education programme. Mitre Group offer free sports-related qualifications to Homeless FA Community members keen to provide such opportunities to their clients. Qualifications have been delivered in Brighton and several are planned for early 2014.

BetterTax HFA Cup The Homeless FA successfully piloted their first national street soccer tournament, the BetterTax HFA Cup. Taking place in December at the Trafford Powerleague in Manchester, this was an opportunity to showcase

a special brand of 4-a-side football. It was considered a great success, with 100% of players, staff and spectators surveyed saying that they would like to take part in the tournament again. 100% of players believed that the event helped them to make new friends, 97% that it helped distract them from issues in their life and 97% that it made them feel a part of something. It was a great opportunity to see players from across England taking part in an event while representing their local services and support organisations.

Fair Play The tournament involved a small number of the Homeless FA Community members and included a groundbreaking tournament structure with equal points being awarded for both the result and fair play. Teams assessed their performances on the pitch and self-awarded fair play points. Discussions were seen to focus players and coaches on the importance of fair play and how their behaviour on the pitch could be altered. 94% of participants felt that discussing their fair play after each fixture influenced their behaviour during the matches. The Homeless FA was excited to hear that two other tournaments have now adopted this approach.

Photo credit Tom Bunning Photo credit Tom

Bunning

THE FUTURE After such a successful second year, the Homeless FA is looking ahead to a year of continued development and achievement in 2014. The Homeless FA will work to increase awareness amongst the general public of the potential for football programmes to transform the lives of people experiencing homelessness. As well as continuing to develop relationships with football and homelessness organisations the Homeless FA will seek to provide further education opportunities to our players and our Community members.

In response to the high level of interest in the Training Centre Programme, particularly in London, the number of football club partners will be increased to 10 with the addition of a south London club. We have also worked with our partners to evaluate the Sports Leaders qualification. Our 2014 Training Centres will see the introduction of a bespoke learning resource, developed with our players

Inspiring potential The most exciting improvement to the 2014 Training Centre Programme will be the development of further opportunities for players to achieve their goals. This will occur as part of our new programme ‘Inspiring Potential’. A large part of this will be by developing a Peer Mentoring Programme. We recognise that the best ambassadors of our work are our players. They are also the best placed to encourage and support current players. Homeless FA Peer Mentors will be in attendance throughout the Training Centres. Their role will be to encourage and support players by drawing on their experience of a Homeless FA Training Centre. These Peer Mentors will be selected and trained by the Homeless FA from outstanding participants in the 2012 and 2013 programmes. Another opportunity is for individuals to develop as coaches. All coaching staff in 2014 will be selected from the Homeless FA’s past players who have gained coaching qualifications and share our ethos of fair play. Supporting The Homeless FA Community We value the opinions of our Community. In November the Homeless FA conducted a survey and 84% of Community members would be interested in accessing education opportunities for their clients. 90% want access to coaching tools developed for the sector. 95% of the Community were interested in being able to take part in networking opportunities in their region. In 2014 we will finalise our bespoke coaching resource for the sector. Recognising the need for practical coaching tools it will be piloted with Homeless FA Community members prior to a national launch. This resource will allow us to more widely promote the ethos and learning of the Homeless FA and enable more grassroots football initiatives in the homelessness sector. As well, every Training Centre club will host a showcase day during the Training Centre programme. These events will provide the opportunity for Community members to meet with others in their region and hear more about our work.

Photo credit Tom Bunning

International partnerships We will continue to work with international partners through the Grundtvig programme and the Homeless World Cup research project. These opportunities to learn from organisations across the world will benefit both the Homeless FA and members of the Homeless FA Community. All international activities also provide further chances for Homeless FA players to voice their experiences and influence the organisation’s work, values and vision.

Photo credit Tom Bunning

Photo credit Tom Bunning

Photo credit Joana Freitas

ACCOUNTS These financial summaries are intended to give the reader an assessment of our overall financial position but are not the statutory accounts. It should be noted, however, that the figures have been prepared from our statutory accounts. The full annual accounts have been submitted to the Charities Commission and Registrar of Companies. A copy is available from The Homeless FA upon request. Income received in the period was £237,396 and expenditure incurred was £251,548. Our reserves at the end of the year were £38,151. All restricted income received in the year was spent in full and therefore the reserves carried forward are all unrestricted.

Breakdown of charitable spend

Community £13,908 HFA Cup £1,313 Research £35,529 Training Centres £75,335 Team England £88,428 Total £214,523

Donations & GIK

£12,963 5%

Events £10,425

4%

Trusts & Foundations

£96,137 39%

Corporates £131,180

52%

INCOME

Governance £4,168 Fundraising

£14,435

Support costs £18,422

Charitable spend

£214,523

EXPENDITURE