Welcome to the 2020 Annual Report for the Anna Phillips Foundation. Below is a summary of our activities, and achievements during the year together with a statement of our objectives.
As set out in the Constitution of the Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), the only voting members are its Charity Trustees. When fully operational the CIO will only be able to function optimally with volunteer support.
Our Objectives:
a) facilitating various activities conducive to good health using principally the natural environment as the medium for the therapies. We continue to prepare the location in North Wales for these activities. This work includes ensuring the physical environment is both suitable and safe for clients who seek relevant and beneficial therapy for their trauma related mental health challenges.
The charity continues to build strong partnerships with specific organisations who engage with the identified clients and who will act as referral sources as appropriate. Work continues towards a practical framework for an Integrated Care Pathway which aims to improve mental health and wellbeing for all participants.
b) the charity continues to develop meaningful relationships with key researchers studying the benefits of nature in addressing trauma related mental illness. This includes exploring the most appropriate methods of measuring progress of patients and to publish the results and so enhance the knowledge base.
c) the Foundation is proactive in seeking to improve the public understanding of the social causes of self-harm and suicide and mental illness in general, and uses various social media both to raise the awareness of the challenge before society and share ideas on how to reduce the enormity of the problem through various nature based therapies.
Our Activities, Achievements and Performance
In the course of the year we continued to develop the woodlands location in North Wales, which is a key contributor to the therapeutic aims set out in the objects of the charity..
This work included planting an additional 200 trees and carrying out basic infrastructure work. The construction work has contributed to a significant improvement in drainage at the location, and to creating a new access as well as pathways around the woodlands. These landscape improvements will help towards enhancing the therapeutic experience of service users as well as contributing to improved health and safety.
The charity also developed deeper relations and partnerships with a number of relevant statutory and third sector organisations.
• Worked with the WCVA to develop key policies on safeguarding and volunteers for the Foundation.
• Worked with the School of Medical and Nursing Sciences at Bangor University to share experiences of starting the charity and to share with the mental health nursing students a better understanding of the nature and scope of our work.
• Developed a relationship with members of the Department of Clinical Psychology, Bangor University to share challenges of establishing the CIO’s work and to build a framework for future research collaboration.
• Built a framework of understanding with the Mental Health Division of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to develop the idea of an Integrated Care Pathway for people with mental health challenges, arising primarily as a result of trauma. This should form the basis of a pilot for using the natural world as a therapy for people who would most likely benefit from such support.
• Steadily built key strategic relationships via social media to help us address our objective of improving the public understanding of the relational causes of self-harm, suicide and the associated mental health challenges.
Volunteers
We are proactive in encouraging volunteer participation in developing our woodland site in North Wales. This provides a wonderful opportunity for people to engage with nature for personal wellbeing while enriching biodiversity and enhanicng the facility for green care and therapy.
A pdf copy of the full Anna Phillips Foundation 2020 Annual Report is available on the Charity Commission for England and Wales portal.