End of Year review 2023-24

April is the month of renewal and the start of many new and exciting developments. It is also a chance to reflect on the past financial year and consider how much we have been able to achieve. 

I hope you find the end of year report encouraging. Of course, behind each fact and figure is a story of a person, family, or an organisation is trying to find answers and solutions.  

Our services aim to create opportunities for people to come into contact with a peer support volunteer at the right time and in the right way for them.

By embracing the ‘pathways’ concept, it doesn’t much matter what someone’s first point of contact is. The important thing is that we make a difference. 

End Of Year Activity – 2023-24 

Communications 

Microsoft Teams 

There has been plenty of sharing and encouragement on the volunteers’ channel Hearing Link Services Volunteer Group. 

With an average of one new post every two days, it is well worth checking in on a regular basis. 

In 2023-24, we had 96 members, made up of staff and volunteers. There were around 160 posts, which in turn created over 700 reactions. This is a year-on-year increase of 158% for posts and +137% for reactions (replies, comments, emojis, etc..) 

Teams has also become central to services delivery with the creation of bespoke chat groups for LinkUp support groups, Community Days and Hearing Support Sessions. This has allowed us to keep in touch directly in a much easier way, and saves scrolling back through emails to find a relevant piece of information.

Newsletters 

Newsletters have continued to be an excellent source of information, and we sent 11 volunteer updates in the year. We know they are appreciated from the comments we receive, and also from the excellent average open rate of 85%.

These days were new for 2023-24 and co-delivered by the Partnership Instructors in the Community Support Team. In all, 30 days were planned, 27 were delivered, and 25 were attended by peer support volunteers. 

In total, 37 peer support volunteers attended, and delivered around 150 hours of direct support and information. 

As well as appreciation from attendees, volunteers rated the days 3.9/5*. Partnership instructors rated the days similarly with 4.15/5* 

Quotes from staff and volunteers included: “Very friendly and enjoyable”, “I couldn’t [improve it], it was a great success”.

“[Need] a better loop and other devices to help to communicate”. “People benefited from getting together and having a chat”. “Volunteers are fantastic, keep up the good work!” “Good to see other areas holding similar events”. 

The community days were also excellent opportunities to connect with local services and professionals, and each day had a unique feel to it. 

LinkUp Support Groups

There were 10 sessions planned, and there were all delivered, helping 153 people in the year. In all, 28 peer support volunteers delivered 392 hours of support across the events. We know how important these weekends can be. People come to us at a time of doubt, questioning and sometimes crisis. It is not easy to make that step. Once we know who is coming and their goals for doing so, I love reflecting on the fact that we have a great programme and above all a great team of advisors and Peer Support Volunteers waiting for them. Each LinkUp support group has its own identity, and never fails to deliver!           

Helpdesk

The Helpdesk remains a consistently popular entry point to our services. While there has been a drop in people getting help this way, last year 31 peer support volunteers directly helped 385 people. That’s more than one person helped every day of the year.

We know the time it takes to formulate a reply varies, but if a volunteer takes even half an hour to create one, that’s over 190 hours of peer support delivered.  

The replies also form part of a pathway conversation with an Advisor, leading to further referrals onto our services. This builds confidence for the enquirer in the Charity as a whole, and our reputation improves because of that. 

Community Outreach – Hearing Support Sessions

We started the year with two monthly sessions – one in Edinburgh Audiology, and the other in a south London community setting.  

The list gradually grew over the year to finish with six venues which include: Worcester NHS, Edinburgh City Libraries/Macmillan, East Renfrewshire Voluntary Action and Nuffield Health north London.  

An amazing achievement with more to come. 

We held 36 sessions in the year and they were attended by 545 people. We also had 19 peer support volunteers delivering a total of more than 120 hours of help and advice. 

Further help was offered to 37 people as they were directly referred to our other services. These were followed up by the central support team.

Helpful Hours

Another new service started in the year. The first topic of ‘How to get the most out of your audiology appointment’ launched in July at the Hearing Information Day. Since then it has had two more in-person sessions and a further six webinars. They were created by a group of five peer support volunteers and have been delivered by three of the group.  

150 people benefitted from the service, of which 20% are professionals in the field.  

Each segment of the webinar was appreciated almost as much as the next, so this really is a service with something for everyone! 

Hearing Information Days

One new event in two key locations. Held at The Grange and the Beatrice Wright Centre the idea was to provide expanded opportunities for local service providers to showcase what they do alongside everything that makes a community day so successful.   

We designed a whole day experience so visitors could pick and choose different elements that interested them. 

We included the launch of Helpful Hours and hearing dogs demonstrations. Other stands included a free hearing test and a chance to meet  

• Peer support volunteers
• Central Support Advisors
• Hearing aid manufacturers 
• Deaf liaison police officers 
• Lipreading and BSL tutors 
• Assistive technology companies 

15 volunteers took part in the days, helping almost 170 visitors who rated the day with 4.30/5* 

Talks, presentations and events

Talks, presentations, and events continue to be a great way to introduce audiences to our peer support services, or update on how we are evolving.  

Events are generally information based organised by local authorities and organisations in the sector. They can also be for professionals such as NHS and independent audiologists looking to complement their patients’ experience. 

We delivered 14 talks and presentations to clubs, groups and associations to an audience of 285. 

We attended nine events and welcomed 825 visitors to our stands.