Registrar

Registration number: 11340969

(WECAN) West Essex Community Action Network Limited

Contents

(WECAN) West Essex Community Action Network Limited

Company Information

(WECAN) West Essex Community Action Network Limited

Directors' Report for the Year Ended 31 March 2026

The directors present their report for the year ended 31 March 2026.

About Us
West Essex Community Action Network (WECAN) is a partnership initiative developed and managed by leading voluntary sector organisations serving West Essex. Two founding organisations, Rainbow Services (Harlow) and Voluntary Action Epping Forest, were joined by Mind in West Essex (MIWE) as a member of the consortium at the end of 2025. MIWE are based in Uttlesford and additionally, as their name suggests, have a West Essex remit. Their strong track record of delivery coupled with an ethos that is shared by all partners brings added strength and potential to WECAN.

Our well-established relationship with our local communities, as well as with local public sector and statutory organisations, provides us with a sound platform upon which to build and strengthen the capacity and reputation of the whole of the voluntary and community sector across West Essex.

Support for Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE's)
WECAN aims to put VCSE's across the locality in a better position to compete for larger pieces of work to provide better outcomes for service users, adding to the capacity and resilience of the sector locally, and maintaining a diverse and thriving sector. To this end, we are alive to opportunities to collaborate with other organisations, including the possibility of becoming a member of the consortium.

Support for Commissioners
WECAN creates a way for more local VCSE's to play a part in the delivery of larger contracts of work, whilst maintaining the economies of scale that commissioners need. WECAN takes high level ideas and successfully delivers them on a local level.
 

(WECAN) West Essex Community Action Network Limited

Directors' Report for the Year Ended 31 March 2026

Review of the year

Hospital Discharge Project

The Hospital Discharge Project (led by Rainbow Services) is funded by the Herts and West Essex ICB and provides support for patients being discharged from Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow and Whipps Cross Hospital. The aims are to help people who face challenges returning home following a stay in hospital. For example, this might be because they have no-one to provide or organise their care, or their home environment is unsuitable. The WECAN team helps to eradicate these problems or smooth their transition back home, offering practical help combined with welfare calls to ensure the process works effectively.

In addition to the help for patients, the project accelerates the discharge process, in some instances resulting in much needed beds becoming free earlier.

This case study ably illustrates how the project helps our clients maintain their independence whilst ensuring that they are appropriately supported following discharge from hospital.

‘H’, aged 94, was referred to our service after repeated falls and increasing difficulty staying safe at home. Despite significant physical challenges, he was determined to remain independent. He lived alone, received no benefits, and had no family involvement, relying instead on a supportive neighbour who acted as his next of kin. The WECAN team prioritised reducing H’s risk of harm by arranging a falls alarm so he could access emergency help quickly if he fell again. We also installed a key safe to enable carers to enter promptly and provide support without H needing to reach the door.

As H has a hearing impairment and found telephone communication difficult, we coordinated updates through his neighbour, who explained arrangements face-to-face. To maintain oversight and reassurance, we introduced regular welfare calls and discussed home shopping options to help him obtain essentials while staying at home. By combining practical interventions with compassionate communication and ongoing support, we have been able to enhance H’s safety, and ensure he continues to live with dignity in his own home.

During the year, the team received 1,806 referrals and supported 1,253 hospital discharges, saving both hospital bed days and readmissions, by providing services to help the person return home and by connecting them to wider community support to help prevent readmission.

(WECAN) West Essex Community Action Network Limited

Directors' Report for the Year Ended 31 March 2026

Digital Inclusion Project

Digital Share was a project (led by Voluntary Action Epping Forest) that was funded at various times during the year by West Essex ICB, Harlow and Uttlesford District Council, and a private donor.

The aim of Digital Share was to help people to be better connected using digital technology. Twenty-two percent of the UK population did not have the necessary skills to use technology for everyday life. Our mission was to bridge that gap, to help support some of those people who were digitally excluded to be digitally included, particularly those within our Health Inequalities cohort living with mental health issues or from a minority group.

We achieved this by providing donated, refurbished digital devices and data donated by others to get people online, holding skills-based sessions to develop confidence in using digital devices, and providing technical advice and knowledge on specific devices that residents might already have owned, but had not been able to fully use.

Over the past year, our Digital Inclusion project supported residents in Harlow and Uttlesford, addressing particular challenges shaped by their demographics. In urban Harlow, for instance, digital exclusion often hindered job access, with unemployment and online barriers creating significant struggles. In rural Uttlesford, some older residents face isolation and difficulty navigating digital services, impacting their connectivity and independence.

Across both districts, digital exclusion limited access to essential services and social engagement. Our efforts highlighted the critical role of digital inclusion in reducing social disadvantage and fostering community well-being, especially for those most affected by isolation and economic challenges.

This is an example of how the DI project made a direct positive impact on one member of our community.

RW spent his whole working life in the building trade. After a back injury left him unable to continue manual work, he had to claim Universal Credit for the first time. The Jobcentre referred him to our Digital Inclusion project when he struggled with the online journal. RW had never used a computer, did not have a CV, and found the digital requirements overwhelming. He said he felt highly stressed and anxious about money, adding that he “hates claiming benefits” and wanted to return to work.

We offered one-to-one support using a calm, step-by-step approach. We introduced RW to basic computer and smartphone skills, helped him create his first CV, and showed him how to upload it to job sites and register with recruitment agencies. We also explored transferable skills and alternative roles suited to his health.

This personalised support has enabled RW to manage his journal independently and apply for jobs online with confidence.

(WECAN) West Essex Community Action Network Limited

Directors' Report for the Year Ended 31 March 2026

Find Your Active

Led by Rainbow Services and funded by Active Essex, Find Your Active helps people across West Essex become more physically active. Support ranges from gentle walking to marathon training, combining awareness-raising with direct referral-based support.

Our Project Officer, Mirka, has extensive knowledge of the clubs, groups, and services available across West Essex. She works closely with people referred to the service to identify and overcome the barriers that prevent them from becoming more active.

These barriers may include:
• limited awareness of local opportunities
• financial constraints
• transport difficulties
• a lack of confidence or the need for friendly encouragement

A key aspect of the project is to raise awareness and share information through social media. Mirka has built a strong online presence that helps connect local people with relevant activities and support. Over the course of the year Find Your Active’s Facebook page had more than 450,000 views and attracted 1,777 followers, for example.

Alongside this promotional work, Mirka engages directly with activity organisers, social prescribers, and other partners, while also signposting people to suitable activities. This work is highly valued by both and organisers alike.

Here is just some of the feedback we have received:

” Your work is relentless, forever positive, almost tireless. You have helped inspire me and my beloved autistic son countless times. Thank you for always being a voice of truth and positivity and helping us connect with so many helpful organisations. Long may you continue helping those that have run out of ideas. Keep shining”

I just wanted to say a heartfelt thank you for your invaluable contribution to the Dad’s Health and Play Day. Your input was absolutely pivotal in shaping the event, helping us bring together a wide range of local partners and resources that truly reflected the needs and interests of the community. Thanks to your insight and collaboration, we were able to create a welcoming and meaningful space for dads to connect, engage, and access support in a way that felt relevant and inclusive. It could not have happened without you!”

“Mirka helped me greatly when I moved to the area for personal reasons and I knew no one and didn’t know the area at all. She put me in touch with an exercise dance class and even came with me to the first class. Thank you Mirka”.

(WECAN) West Essex Community Action Network Limited

Directors' Report for the Year Ended 31 March 2026

Bereavement Support

WECAN was funded by Assura to deliver a 1-2-1 bereavement support in the community service (led by Voluntary Action Epping Forest) for referred persons, registered with GP practices in Harlow, Epping and Loughton, Buckhurst Hill and Chigwell. This project ran between June 2024 and the end of April 2025.

The service took a person-centred approach, meeting referred and self-referred persons in the community for up to six appointment sessions.

The WECAN coach applied active listening and coaching techniques, together with grief workbooks and perception wheels to help the client better understand and manage their grief; and identify coping strategies and behavioural changes that they would like to focus on. This approach is welcomed by GPs, highlighting the co-produced, client-focused service approach of the bereavement support programme.

A total of 133 people were supported by the programme and the impact was both significant and quantifiable via the use of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM). Personal feedback provided qualitative further evidence of positive impact.

One patient who achieved a combined COPM performance and satisfaction change of +42 commented:

“I have had regular phone calls and visits with Ayesha since November, and after being stuck in dysfunction for the last 5 years after my Mum died suddenly and not coping with life at ALL. She has worked miracles with me.”

(WECAN) West Essex Community Action Network Limited

Directors' Report for the Year Ended 31 March 2026

Directors of the company

The directors who held office during the year were as follows:

S Crone

J S Foile

C S Greenhill

G M Hyams (appointed 10 February 2026)

S P Summerfield

A M Wilson (appointed 22 February 2026)

Small companies provision statement

Approved and authorised by the Board on 5 June 2026 and signed on its behalf by:
 

(WECAN) West Essex Community Action Network Limited

(Registration number: 11340969)
Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2026

Directors' responsibilities:

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the micro entities regime and delivered in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime. As permitted by section 444 (5A) of the Companies Act 2006, the directors have not delivered to the registrar a copy of the Profit and Loss Account.

Approved and authorised by the Board on 5 June 2026 and signed on its behalf by:
 

.........................................

J S Foile
Director

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C S Greenhill
Director

(WECAN) West Essex Community Action Network Limited

Notes to the Unaudited Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2026

The company is a company limited by guarantee, incorporated in England & Wales, and consequently does not have share capital. Each of the members is liable to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 towards the assets of the company in the event of liquidation.

The address of its registered office is:
The Rainbow Centre
2 Wych Elm
Harlow
Essex
CM20 1QP

The average number of persons employed by the company (including directors) during the year, was 7 (2025 - 8).