Paperweight Impact Report 2024
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paperweight.org.uk
Registered company number: 07705745 (England and Wales)
Registered charity number: 1146302
Advocacy
Benefit
Court
procedures D
Debt
Employment
Kindness
Landlord
tenancy
McKenzie
friend
National
Insurance O
On top of the
situation
Family law G
Get
Housing
Immigration
Jewish heart
Probate
Quality service R
Redundancy S
Safe
Tribunals
Utilities
Victimisation W
Welfare
Xtra
Yarzheit
Zzzzz
Impact Report 2024
The Paperweight Trust
Contents
Forward:
making a
diference
Impact Report
Forward: making a diference
3
Impact Report 2024
4-12
The Paperweight Trust
Impact Report 2024
Each time I hear an awful client story I think
it could not possibly get any worse – until sadly
it does, but then the wheels turn, an angel in
the guise of a Paperweight caseworker appears,
gets to grips with the issues and slowly, a ray
of sunshine appears.
Paperweight’s interventions prevent, halt and
often reverse a spiral of descent which begins
with an innocuous bill or incident and sets off
a series of events and crises which can end
with bankruptcy, illness, separation or divorce,
homelessness or worse.
Not only does Paperweight save the immediate
person, but also the surrounding family and
by doing so, relieves the pressure and impact
on friends, community and other charitable
organisations.
Don’t just take my word for it – there are
over 20,000 grateful people who have been
helped. Quietly, efficiently, professionally,
Paperweight, the Jewish Community’s
Advice Centre, is transforming people’s lives.
I extend a huge and very sincere thank you
to all our volunteers, supporters and friends.
Together we make a difference.
Benjamin Conway
Chair of Trustees
I hope these pages will give you an
insight into our work and a window
to a sometimes-hidden part of our
community. As the world becomes ever
more dangerous and chaotic and our
leaders appear weak and confused,
here at Paperweight we continue to
save lives.
From the middle-aged man who has
seemingly lost everything, to the elderly
lady who is alone and confused, to the
young girl who has been abandoned
and is living on the street.
The Paperweight Trust
Impact Report 2024
The Paperweight Trust
Impact Report 2024
Impact Report
2024
Rules change, lives change…
At Paperweight, we keep on top of the changes
in Government policy and train our caseworkers
so our clients can be helped as effectively
as possible. Over the past year, we have also
witnessed changes which have affected the
middle-income community members the most
and we focussed on these issue with targeted
advertisements and editorial pieces explaining
the Government’s Mortgage Charter and the
options available, following through so that
members of our FCA registered Money Advice
Team were available to guide and advise.
is for
Specific
Before we engage on a star-counting process
we would like to explain how important
Paperweight is to the people we help. To do that
we borrow a well-tried methodology from the
world of business – because, not surprisingly,
more effort has been applied to understanding
how to run businesses and other enterprises
successfully, than to running charities.
Increasingly, in seeking funders who help boost
the income side of our balance sheet, besides
the many thousands of private individuals who
intuitively and generously provide the majority
of our funding, we are asked to show that
Paperweight is S.M.A.R.T.
Absent an answer to any of the following 5
key pointers and the venture will not prosper,
and the consequences for those it serves
and those doing the serving are really quite
terrible. And since our “venture”, Paperweight,
is the enhanced welfare of our clients we take
decisions cautiously but decisively.
Let us conclude this category with a real-life
thank you that exemplifies that Paperweight
are concerned with a specific role. The named
individuals are respectively Harvey the head
of Paperweight’s Debt Management Team
and himself a retired Solicitor and Daniel,
an experienced international business strategist
one of almost 200 volunteers who fill various
critical roles. The client was a highly educated
lady battling with her husband’s rapidly
degenerating dementia:
This is once case amongst thousands.
Over the last few months I have had
tremendous support and help, first from
Harvey and more recently from Daniel.
They have been wonderful. I was completely
overwhelmed by the prospect of taking
responsibility for our financial afairs from
my husband (who has dementia) but Harvey
and Daniel gave me support and, better,
enabled me to get to the point where I think
I understand things better and, hopefully,
can take things forward myself in the future.
I don’t know how to begin to thank all of you.
What a tremendous charity you run!
Thank you – all of you – for all you do.
Paperweight’s role in the community is clear.
Active crisis management for those whose
circumstances has pushed them past the tipping
point. There are three strands but because lives
are complicated they overlap, and although many
of our partner organisations cater for their own
defined sectors, it is Paperweight that applies
an holistic approach and has the resources and
methodology to actually remove or minimise
the cause of the crisis. The three main areas are
Finance and Debt, Legal – particularly Abuse
& Family Law and Social Welfare and Benefits.
Had Abraham has a telescope he would have
seen that some of the stars came in pairs or even
clusters. So too, within these three areas there
are of course specialist situations that fall within
that overall description but require a different
approach. Examples are:
• Elder Care with issues of mobility, affordability,
control of health decisions , incapacity.
• Marriage breakup bring homelessness, Family
Courts hearings, financial arrangements, access
to children.
• Getting the correct entitlements assessed
and made concrete, against a background of
Local Authority reluctance and bureaucracy,
PIP (or other) assessments and the behemoth
that is Universal Credit.
In all these areas and more Paperweight’s teams
will rapidly determine what can be achieved,
what steps must be taken by the client and
what the specific remedy is. To attain this first
goal Paperweight has a well-defined structure
so everyone knows what they can and should
be doing. And in our training we explain why
we have these processes and what they are
designed to do.
God has promised Abraham that his
descendants will flourish:
And He took him outside, and He said,
“Please look heavenward and count the
stars, if you are able to count them.
Genesis 15.5.
This instruction reinforces behaviour that has
come to define our age. If we want to value
something we seem to have to count it.
is for
Measurable
3%
18%
31%
1%
17%
30%
Age range unknow
80+
69 - 79
40 - 49
20 - 39
Under 20
43%, Male
57%, Female
38%, Male
62%, Female
43%, Male
38%, Male
62%, Female
36%, Male
38%, Male
Client
Total Clients by Age & Gender
64%, Female
62%, Female
57%, Female
The Paperweight Trust
Impact Report 2024
The Paperweight Trust
Impact Report 2024
What is very noticeable, and this appears year after
year, is that the number of female clients is always
in the majority. There are a number of factors at
play here, and the age cohort determines the likely
reasons. They are unhappy facts but, based on the
sample population we see a generality that has
different implications per age group.
• Men are much more reluctant to seek help
for any problem
• Men are more likely to believe that they can
“trade their way” out of a financial crisis
• Men are not around – “out all day” or out
once-and-for-all leaving the woman of the
house to pick up the pieces
• Men suffer serious ill-health younger
• Men die younger
But obviously, many men come to us too
– 800 this year.
Paperweight personnel are trained to be non-
judgemental and empathetic. Our processes and
policies are not going to change human nature, but
we can prevent the least desirable consequence
and provide the “tools to carry on”. We have a firm
knowledge of the issues that are the source of the
clients’ crisis or sometimes the consequence of an
earlier one.
Of course measurement of our impact can also be
expressed in two other ways, how the community
view us among the constellation of worthy causes
and how we recognise our own stars:
Awards without
In March 2024, we were the very proud recipients
of one of the 2024 Barnet Civic Awards, presented
by the Mayor of Barnet. Barnet is home to the UK’s
largest Jewish population c.60,000, We are delighted
to have been awarded the Barnet Award For
Outstanding Service To The Community. We add this
to a Civic Award awarded back in 2016 whose rules
blocked any further nominations for 7 years. 2024
therefore marked the first time we were eligible
to re-enter a nomination and the recognition is
testament to all the hard work of our volunteers
and staff.
Awards within
To honour our late Trustee, Leonie Lewis MBE,
Paperweight inaugurated in October 2023 an
annual award for outstanding Volunteer
Commitment. Special guests were Leonie’s
widower Howard and one of our patrons, Lady
Elaine Sacks. Recipients were David Taylor and
Arlene Barc both of Paperweight’s Family Law Clinic.
An additional award for Outstanding Professional
Firm Contribution was presented to Victoria
Constanti of Brightstone Law, one of several
pro-bono professional firms that regularly
dispense life-saving advice to our clients.
The ceremony was additionally honoured by the
attendance of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Political
Advisor, Ameet Jogia MBE who gained an insight
into our vital work in the community.
2,695
Is the number of clients who we dealt with in
the past year – these are individuals and include
69 (elderly) couples. This is an increase of 35%
on the previous year. What is driving such an
increase ? Here’s Bayla Perrin, CEO :
We record key personal information so we
can better understand the demographic
and adopt our campaigns accordingly.
The “ Great Unsubscribe Fib” : we all know from
the deluge of sales-linked emails we receive
directly following a purchase on-line, the
supplier wishes to retain us as a customer come
what may, and to encourage us to buy more of
the same or delve into other products on offer.
Leaving their clutches is sometimes impossible.
A metric for success amongst businesses of all
sizes is Customer Retention. Another would be
how happy the customer was with the service
or product, and of course the ubiquitous post-
purchase “Review”.
Here Paperweight departs. Of course we wish
the client to be happy with the outcome and
that requires a substantial investment of time
and patience in determining the extent of the
Client’s crisis or crises, their background and
history, particularly whether attempts have
been made before to resolve matters, and
most critically setting the boundary on what
Paperweight can achieve.
Against these benchmarks we can then
establish what new or repeated processes
can be undertaken (sometimes reversing
old embedded errors) and setting the
Client’s expectations.
There is scarcely a day when the
media does not carry multiple heart-
breaking stories of the turmoil which
tick-box statistic-focused organisations
in the public sector wreak on the
vulnerable. Overpayment of benefits,
underpayment of benefits; forcible
entry by power companies and
illegal installation of pay-per-use
electricity meters; homeowners in
blighted estates; families struggling
with physical and mental health; the
elderly rendered near invisible by a
Health Service barely fit for purpose;
Alzheimers and other dementias
which impact equally on the suferer
as well as their carers and families
who struggle to keep pace with
the cruel disease and its ongoing
consequences; Universal Credit and
the intricate penalties generated by
those trying to earn a living, dreamed
up by a DWP Committee whose
members have never confronted
an empty fridge. The list is endless.
is for
Achievable
is for
Relevant
0330 174 4300
info@paperweight.org.uk
paperweight.org.uk
Advocacy
Guidance
McKenzie
friend
Safe
Yarzheit
Family law
Landlord
tenancy
Redundancy
Xtra
Benefit
appeals
Housing
National
insurance
Tribunals
Zzzzz
Court
procedures
Immigration
On top of
the situation
Utilities
Debt
Jewish heart
Probate
Victimisation
Employment
Kindness
Quality
service
Welfare
The A-Z of Paperweight...
These are just some of the things with which
Paperweight can help. For the full list please
visit our website. We’re here for you 24/7.
The Paperweight Trust
Impact Report 2024
The Paperweight Trust
Impact Report 2024
Paperweight needs to be up-to-date on all
relevant legislation and guidance in the
areas in which it operates. But it also needs
to understand the history and background
of each and every client. Some are complete
and reluctant novices in regards their new
unhappy circumstance, others “know their
rights” and see that the world is against them.
But in every regard every new initiative
Paperweight has undertaken has been
assessed and discussed and costed and
examined from every conceivable angle.
But we are not counting stars, we are
dealing with the most vulnerable members
of society so of course there are setbacks.
In any respect almost all of our clients depart
from us in a better situation than which they
arrived. Our feedback forms confirm this
again and again.
Paperweight is active in situations to which
many people cannot directly relate. How many
family members (post WW2) of whom they are
aware have ever been homeless? How many
friends or family have empty fridges?
Financial issues seem to be closer to home
because there is some common experience.
But cumulative credit card debts exceeding
a year’s gross salary of the breadwinner may
seem exaggerated to some.
Care for the elderly and the complex balance
between independence, optimum medical
attention and the issues with physical frailties
and mental cognisance are creeping in to
everyday chatter.
In truth every area of our work – singly or
in collaboration with other stakeholders
– is one which if neglected will only serve
to burden the communities further.
Paperweight’s relevance is manifest too in its
geographic reach and enthusiasm of the new
host communities – from London, Manchester
and Gateshead we have spread to Leeds,
Birmingham, Brighton and Bournemouth.
Breaking news – Leicester is now also formally
represented too.
An age-old problem …
or the Old Age problem ??
By reviewing the statistics garnered from our
database and with an awareness of changes
in the wider community, Paperweight has
introduced the ElderCare Hub to help those
in our community and their families with the
challenges of reaching old age.
Retirement, companionship, new opportunities
and just time to enjoy friends and family are
often clouded with new health issues which
force a change in lifestyle for those affected.
These changes can extend to mobility and
cognitive conditions.
Factored into the impact of these changes
are the considerations that, of a couple, even
the healthier partner (the carer), may also be
getting frail, that the home seems to suddenly
comprise steep staircases, inaccessible bath
tubs and opportunities to fall.
Medical appointments stretch beyond the
calendar pages and daily life is just getting
tougher. There seems to be help available, but
how to access it? Who to turn to for professional
advice tempered with knowledge and
appreciation of the community in which you
so dearly wish to continue living – with as large
a dose of independence as circumstance and
finance permit?
Paperweight’s ElderCare Hub is a team of
individuals who know their way around the
Health and Social Care systems. They can sit
down with clients – in the comfort of their own
home – and discuss which areas of their or their
partner’s life are giving them sleepless nights.
Clients may feel that the ideal is to remain
in their own home for as long as possible,
but when the “gold standard“ of care-in-the-
community becomes just impossible, then
Paperweight will help guide them through
the best available options for leaving their
home, either to sheltered housing or some
form of residential or nursing care.
They will explain rights and obligations in
regards costs and ensure that clients are
equipped with all the facts.
Paperweight’s ElderCare Hub is run by people
from the community, for the community,
with an understanding of the value of
independence and the amenities with
which they are familiar and will always
factor these into any assessments.
11
10
is for
Timebound
Up to 1 week
Up to 1 month
Up to 3 month
Up to 6 months
Up to 1 year
Over 1 year
Thank you for contacting Council
Tax at the Royal Borough of
Kensington & Chelsea. Due to the
high volume of correspondence
there is currently a delay in
response times of up to 20
working days. We do apologise
for the delayed response.
The Paperweight Trust
Impact Report 2024
The Paperweight Trust
Impact Report 2024
Question: Which of the following scenarios
accurately reflects first calls to Paperweight’s
National Helpline.
A. The bailiff is at the door demanding money
I do not have
B. The Landlord has served an eviction notice
C. My husband’s solicitors have served papers
D. I have a Family Court hearing tomorrow
and haven’t completed the form.
Answer: All
These clients have unwittingly set the bar
very high indeed, leaving Paperweight with a
situation that needs to be very rapidly assessed.
In communication with outside parties
we always endeavour to meet their time
requirements but have often found that a
holding letter from ourselves can reduce time-
tension and enable a route out of the complexity
to be designed and navigated at a realistic pace.
We ensure that our commitments match our
resources, and that includes the most valuable
resource of our volunteers’ – Time.
Some clients’ problems are resolved within the
week. Others within a month. Here is a snapshot
of the past 12 months’ turn-around of cases. The
majority are resolved satisfactorily within three
months, but by necessity, especially if there are
Court appearances or several agencies involved,
so this can run into many months.
The times are from first caseworker meeting
/telephone call to the closing of the file.
We aim to start working for the client within
three working days from first contact.
Here, by way of contrast, is a redacted email
response from a London Borough to one of our
caseworkers making representations for a client:
That’s four more weeks of needless stress
for the client.
Paperweight’s opening sentence in its
Charitable Aims describes “The relief of
financial hardship and emotional stress.”
Post-script. What S.M.A.R.T.
won’t do.
All factors carefully weighed up, all boxes
crossed, will not lead to a successful business.
But it will give a good business idea a chance
to flourish.
Paperweight is not a business, even though
we expended some £340,000 for the financial
year to 31.7.23
Because of clients-in-process from one financial
year to another, it is a complex matter allocating
costs-per-client with a broad brush. In addition,
some were helped with a few phone calls,
others took very many months of meetings.
Hardly any we could not help at all.
Conservatively, looking at client numbers: last
year’s 1,945 and this year’s 2,695 we can say
for sure that at least 2,320 (being the straight
average) were helped for that £340,000
expenditure i.e. at an average cost of just £145
per client. No High Street professional could
possibly tackle the casebook for that sum.
In terms of value for money for the community
– the savings could run into £,000 s per client
We would say, with heads held high that
Paperweight is amongst the most cost-effective
social enterprises generating profits – that is
closed cases with successful outcomes – that
are just out of this world.
For example, the average
hourly rate for a family
lawyer in London with more
than 8 years of experience
is £546. And that’s just the
average. Some of London’s
top family law firms charge in
excess of £750 per hour.
A bit about stress – the
chicken and the egg of crises
and Mental Health
More than 50% of our clients tell us that their
new unwanted circumstances creates stress
and that they suffer ill Mental Health as a
result. Their complicated mental health prior
to the array of problems that drove them into
Paperweight’s arms, may also be a factor in
why their circumstance has so deteriorated.
The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute,
founded and chaired by Martin Lewis OBE
describe in detail the devastating effect of
“the brown window envelope”, the impact
of debt collections agencies tactics, and the
inaccessibility of many notional government
helplines for those suffering ill Mental Health.
At Paperweight we see these situations daily.
Our trained personnel will first and foremost
aim to gain the trust of a client who has been
badly battered by careless authoritarianism and
ill-thought procedures. The MMHPI at a high
level is painstakingly effecting changes in policy.
Paperweight’s caseworkers are interacting daily
with mental health sufferers, dealing directly
with clients terrified of their circumstance who
cannot believe that matters will improve, when
experience has shown just the opposite.
If we wish to strengthen our T we need to
successfully recruit, train and retain more
volunteer caseworkers and at the same time
reinforce our key office-based staff with skilled
managers and leaders. This is Paperweight’s
goal for 2024/25.
Conclusion
Abraham’s stars march gracefully round the
heavens. Paperweight’s clients arrive pell-mell
and in much distress, having been catapulted
out of their normal orbits. We can do far worse
than set them on a new and achievable path,
return their self-confidence, give them the tools
to face their problems, so they too can shine.
It’s the SMART thing to do.
To access our free services or to make a donation to support
our work, please call 0330 174 4300; email info@paperweight.org.uk
or visit paperweight.org.uk
The Paperweight Trust Registered Charity 1146302 Registered Company 07706745
The Paperweight Trust is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority – FRN 973164
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The Paperweight Trust
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The Paperweight Trust
Impact Report 2024
Postscript – you are not alone
As the CEO of The Paperweight Trust, it is my
privilege to have been a part of the remarkable
work we have accomplished together over the
past year.
In regards all the areas of our involvement,
Paperweight wades in, erects barriers to the harsh
outside world and starts the healing process
by sharing the burdens and providing bespoke
solutions and a focused, personal guide through
the maze of modern life. Where there are crises –
national, local or personal, we endeavour to create
resolutions. That is our forte, to hand-hold the
vulnerable and disadvantaged, many of whom
have reached rock bottom.
We hope this report has served as a window into
the impact we have had on the lives we have
touched and the tangible and positive changes
we have made. Each of our successes is a
testament to the transformative power of an
organisation that is led from the heart with
resilience, determination and compassion and
which works together as a complete team, in unity.
Our successes are due to the unwavering
dedication and commitment of our entire team,
as well as the generosity and support of you, our
cherished supporters and partners which has
helped us to forge ahead. The past few years have
taken us – and continues to take us – through
some extremely challenging times and as we
look back on our achievements, let us also look
forward with hope and optimism, both important
to sustain us and to carry us through.
Together, we will continue to work for those
who are vulnerable and disadvantaged to ensure
they have a chance of a better life.
Thank you for your continued support and belief
in our mission. It is through your generosity and
partnership that we are able to make a meaningful
difference in the lives of so many vulnerable and
disadvantaged in our community.
With gratitude,
Bayla Perrin, CEO
June 2024
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