Today, we are excited to launch our Annual Report 2024, which can be read here.
The report outlines our key achievements, projects and activities, as well as the impact we’ve had across 2024.
Reflecting on the stand-out moments of the year, Sarah Mann, Chief Executive Officer at Friends, Families and Travellers said:
“This year has seen significant milestones in our mission to promote the rights and improve the lives of Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities across the UK. Continuing to provide advocacy and casework support at a local and national level, this year, our incredible Service Delivery team helped Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people with over 4,300 issues ranging from access to justice, to accommodation resolution, to tackling digital exclusion.
In fact, we helped distribute over 90,000 GB worth of data, and supporting more people to access online services. At a national level, we are aggrieved that people living on roadside camps and itinerant Boaters were excluded from energy support grants, but we’re also extremely heartened to know that our political campaigning led to over 10,000 Gypsy and Traveller households accessing more than £3.5 million in support. Over the past few years, we’ve been battling anti-Traveller legislation in the courts, and I’m extremely proud to lead a team that persuaded the Supreme Court to declare anti-Traveller wide injunctions as having a “negative impact on the ability to pursue a nomadic way of life”.
Not only that, but the notorious Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 was dealt a devastating blow by Wendy Smith, a Romany Gypsy, as well as FFT and our legal team, in partnership with human rights giants Liberty, when a High Court judge ruled that the Act’s extension of the power to ban Gypsies and Travellers from an area from 3 to 12 months was in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Our amazing youth work continues to go from strength to strength, breaking down barriers and inspiring the next generation of Gypsy and Traveller activists, with away days to the Houses of Parliament to see how laws are created, as well as mock trials where the young people acted out all the different roles in a court!
I have been deeply moved by the openness and generosity shown by Gypsy and Traveller families up and down the country, with donations pouring in as part of our Season’s Giftings campaign. Through your support, we’re extremely proud to have been able to provide over 50 families across Sussex food, toys and gas bottles to spread a little bit of Christmas cheer– our Favourite Moment of the year!
I’d like to extend a huge thanks to our wonderful staff team, Trustees, and volunteers for their hard work and unparalleled passion and commitment, day in day out.
Together with you, our supporters, we hope to continue our positive impact on the lives of Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller people, families and communities. In fact, I hope that one day our services will not be needed at all.
Happy reading!”
[ENDS]
About Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT)
Friends, Families and Travellers is a leading national charity that works to end racism and discrimination against Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people and to protect the right to pursue a nomadic way of life.
Media Contact
Communications Team
Email: [email protected]
Additional Resources
Annual Report 2023. Friends, Families and Traveller. November 2024. View report.
