About CCIWBS
CCIWBS (Camden City Islington & Westminster Bereavement Service) is a charity and a member of BACP British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists
It was founded in 1969 for the purpose of supporting adults who are suffering from a bereavement by offering grief counselling
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Staff & Counsellors
Over 50 counsellors work with our clients. All give their time at no cost.
Costs of running CCIWBS are managed with care. The charity pays for a full time equivalent of 3 staff.
The paid roles include:
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Clinical management of counselling
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Developing the charity’s work, including raising funds
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Administration of counselling
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Some 600 clients receive counselling through the year and this requires attentive administration.
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Trustees
CCIWBS has a management board of Trustees who are responsible for running the charity. We have appointed a Director, Vybra Morris, and delegate day-to-day management responsibility to her.
CCIWBS has a strong team of Trustees, who bring a wide range of relevant expertise to the group. Two trustees have served for over 20 years; three for under five years and the remainder for something in between.
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We meet as Trustees at least six times each year. None of us receive remuneration from CCIWBS. Trustees’ responsibilities are set out in law.
IN LOVING MEMORY OF HELEN PALIN
It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Helen Palin, who died peacefully in the early hours of the morning on 9 May 2023.
Helen joined the charity in 1990 and served at the heart of our service for more than 30 years. She was deeply committed to our service and fulfilled many roles as counsellor, assessor, office worker, trustee, advocate and hands-on fundraiser.
Our chair Laura Noel paid tribute to Helen as a friend and colleague for many years. “Helen has been the backbone of Camden Bereavement Service for many years and she will be sorely missed by us all."
LAURA NOEL
Laura worked as a manager in the NHS in Acute and Mental Health Hospitals; Primary Care and in Commissioning for nearly three decades. She was CEO of a Family Practitioner Committee and a Health Authority in North East London for thirteen years. She subsequently worked as an independent Executive Coach for ten years and as a Counsellor for the Bereavement service which she joined in 2006. Laura became a Trustee for CCIWBS in 2008 and is currently Chair of the Board. Laura has lived in Gospel Oak, Camden for 37 years.
COLIN DINGWALL
Colin has been a trustee since 2008 and Vice Chair since 2011. He is a civil servant and has led large, complex transformation programs and cross-Government portfolios from a range of departments, including Cabinet Office, Ministry of Justice, Department of Environment, and for three and a half years, across the NHS.
BERNARD HEYMANN
Bernard is a Chartered Accountant and has been involved with the CCIWBS since 1998 when the Service was incorporated as a registered charity. He was appointed as the first Treasurer and served until 2011. He has worked with a variety of small and large companies and organisations in the United Kingdom and Europe. His view of grieving is that it should never be disregarded and counselling help should be available to all who need it.
FELICIA OLNEY
Felicia worked as a social worker in local authorities and child guidance before training to be an individual psychotherapist with the British Association of Psychotherapists and a couple psychotherapist at Tavistock Relationships where she was on the staff for many years. She had a particular interest in consulting to individuals groups and institutions and in running courses on staff supervision.
She has been a trustee since 2014.
CHARLES ROPER
Charles joined as a trustee in early 2022. He is an HR Director at the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. He has been in the civil service for 20 years and worked across a number of government departments including Cabinet Office, DWP, Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities and National Highways.
MARK WHITE
Mark was a counsellor at the service for 5 years and joined as a Trustee in 2020. Mark is an existential psychotherapist working in private practice in North London. He has worked in the areas of alcohol addiction, family and fertility (for the Donor Conception Network) as well as bereavement. Mark also has a grounding in providing affordable homes in the third-sector, for those on lower incomes.
VICTORIA WOOLFSON
Victoria is a CCIWBS Counsellor and was appointed Treasurer in 2011, having joined the service as a Trustee the same year. She is a Chartered Accountant and her career in the private sector saw her working for large organisations in business strategy; change management and business analysis for computer system design.
Director
VYBRA MORRIS
Psychol BA Hons, MSc, Dip Integ,
Supervisor CEO since 2015
Volunteer Trustees
We welcome applications from people with community or professional expertise who wish to support the work of CCIWBS.
For further information or to arrange an informal discussion about becoming a trustee, send a short e-mail summarising your skills along with a CV to Laura Noel, Chair of Trustees.
Funding
CCIWBS has two contracts with NHS authorities, Camden and Islington Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). These NHS authorities fund a number of counselling sessions with CCIWBS. They are for people who are registered with a GP in Camden or Islington.
Counselling support for people who are not eligible under those CCGs is provided by the charity’s own funds. These funds are donated by charitable organisations and private individuals together with the charity’s own fund raising activities.
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Michael and Helen Palin have supported the charity for 30 years and continue to do so.
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The Jill Franklin Trust provided generous support to the charity for over 20 years.
We are grateful to Norman Franklin and to his family for their long-term support.
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Legal & Regulation
Statutory accounts are produced each year, and these are subject to a formal Independent examination by Andy Nash Accounting & Consultancy, part of the ICAEW practice assurance scheme.
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We file records with both Companies House and the Charities Commission. All filings are up to date. They can be easily viewed online via the Companies House website or the Charities Commission website.
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Annual Report
Accounts filed with Companies House are available here
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Accounts filed with the Charities Commission are available here
We are excited to announce that Nafsiyat, Islington Mind, and CCIWBS have been provisionally awarded £79,068 in government funding for the a new 'Building Resilience: Men's Suicide Prevention Project'.
This crucial initiative will start in April 2024 and is dedicated to supporting men aged 45-64, particularly focusing on those who are asylum seekers, refugees, or at risk of suicide.
The project will provide:
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Nafsiyat will facilitate 50 Group Therapy Sessions in both Arabic and English.
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Islington Mind will conduct 60 Group Activity Sessions in Art, Sport and Music.
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CCIWBS will provide 12 One-to-One Therapy Sessions for those at-risk of suicide or those bereaved by it.
We want to extend our thanks to the government for their support in this critical work. The award is not just funding; it's a lifeline for many who often suffer in silence.