These questions are personally answered by Wedge, and checked by the other members of the LifeSIGNS Voluntary Organisation’s Management Committee.

1.Why has LifeSIGNS split in to two?
The simple answer is that members of the Management Committee could no longer work together, and LifeSIGNS was moving into areas of business that made some people uncomfortable. LifeSIGNS has always valued its ethics of providing free information, and this was being put into jeopardy.
Trustees of the LifeSIGNS Charity were no longer working under agreed processes, and had been ignoring operational processes and the Quality Manual and Project Planning procedures. In other words, some Trustees were acting independently from the rest of the Management Committee without the knowledge of other Directors.
The Trustees had created a difficult environment, where harassment and email abuse were common, and complaints of bullying not dealt with.

2.Why did you have to resign, why couldn’t you work things out?
The atmosphere and environment had been difficult for over a year, during which time we all ‘tried to work things out’ but when, in late summer 2007, the Trustees started acting outside of agreed processes, it appeared that all was lost. Working under the Trustees was miserable and painful on a daily basis. Considering we are unpaid volunteers, why would we put ourselves through such anguish? Especially as the Trustees in question were so new to LifeSIGNS anyway!

3.Who owns the LifeSIGNS name?
Well, let me tell you that I invented the name ‘LifeSIGNS’, its use of capitals, and the acronym that makes up the word (Self-Injury Guidance & Network Support). I named our organisation in May 2002.

4.What are the LifeSIGNS charity doing now?
I have no contact with the LifeSIGNS charity – they are as distant to me as any other charity / business.

5.Will the LifeSIGNS Voluntary Organisation register as a charity one day?
We have learned a lot by being a charity; we learned more about laws and regulations, about fundraising, tax, budgets and organisational structure, so yes, perhaps one day in the future the LifeSIGNS Voluntary Organisation will register itself as a charity. Remember though, LifeSIGNS started as a Voluntary Organisation in May 2002, and only decided to register as a charity in 2006. Maintaining the excellent services we provide by way of information, training and support are more important to us at this stage than obtaining charitable status.

6.Who owns the LifeSIGNS web site?
I own the website. A website is made up of several elements; the domain name (web address) the design, the structure and then the content. Of these four elements, I own the domain, design and structure out-right. The LifeSIGNS Voluntary Organisation will only publish content that I, or we, have the right to (i.e. that we own the copyright on). I built the LifeSIGNS website with my own hands, using a variety of programs; I host the website and I pay for the hosting.

7.Has anyone else resigned?
Yes, resignations from the charity were flying at one point! The LifeSIGNS Voluntary Organisation is run by a small, but growing committee. We are an association of like minded people, bonded by the common cause of raising awareness of self-injury, just as we have done for five and half years.

8.How will the split affect the message board, who owns the message board?
I own the Message Board completely. It has always been on my personal server, and I have paid for its upkeep. I also installed the (free) Message Board software and customised the Board for our needs. With Alison’s expert assistance, we have run the board for a few years now and will continue to do so.

9.Will we still be able to buy wristbands etc?
Not at present. The LifeSIGNS Voluntary Organisation has no budget – absolutely nothing in the bank, and therefore we’re not able to offer such things as awareness wristbands yet. But we know people want them, so in time we’ll look into it.

10.I have a donation for LifeSIGNS, do I send it to the charity or the Voluntary Organisation?
You are free to donate your time, expertise or money as you see fit! The LifeSIGNS Voluntary Organisation would very much like people to get involved and write articles, review our web pages and help us raise money for real-life projects. Contact Wedge@lifesigns.org.uk for details of where to send donations or with article submissions or ideas.

11.Who is running the Voluntary Organisation?
We are a small Management Committee, an association of like-minded people who work together to raise awareness about self-injury, just as we have done since 2002. We need more members to become part of the Management Committee. Currently, there are four of us, Alison, Jules, myself and a fourth person who I shall not name until I’m certain of her work / life commitments.

12.Who is running the charity?
The named Trustees will manage their charity with whomever they wish to. I am not involved with the charity; I cannot and should not comment. You can view the named Trustees at the bottom of this page: http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/registeredcharities/showcharity.asp?remchar=&chyno=1114661 (Although I, Wedge, am listed, the information is out of date and I’m sure the Chair of the charity will remove me at her convenience.)

13.Are any of the directors staying with both?
No, Management Committees need to be focused, dedicated and committed.

14.I’m supporting the charity, can I be a member of the Voluntary Organisation?
LifeSIGNS is non-directional – we don’t tell people what to feel or what to do! It would be preposterous if LifeSIGNS told people they couldn’t shop at Tesco, and it would be equally bizarre if LifeSIGNS thought it could dictate the way you surf the web or give your support. Personally, I hope people will seek the support and information that works for them, that helps them address their self-injury and the difficult emotions that surround SI.

15.I’m supporting the charity, can I work for the Voluntary Organisation?
Everyone is free to offer articles, comments, and other forms of support; we would welcome written work or article submissions (to Wedge@lifesigns.org.uk). It might be a strange situation if someone expected to be a Message Board Moderator for our Voluntary Organisation AND the charity – working so closely for two different Management Committees would be a conflict of interests – but this isn’t a situation that is likely to arise too often is it?

16.We want training, can the Voluntary Organisation provide it?
Yes, I have been delivering self-injury awareness training to doctors, nurses, counsellors, students, welfare officers and practitioners within the NHS for many years. I have developed the training package over time, and I trained all LifeSIGNS trainers before they became official trainers. Therefore, we are in an excellent position to resume training in the new year.

17.What’s the difference between the charity and the Voluntary Organisation?
It depends; if you mean ‘what’s the difference between a charity and a voluntary organisation then a charity is registered with the Charity Commission in England and a Voluntary Organisation is not registered. Remember that LifeSIGNS has been around since 2002, and it only became registered in 2006. The only thing to change was that as a charity we didn’t pay tax on donations and things we bought! The Charity Commission never once contacted us, and they do not ‘regulate’ charities that earn so little money as we do. They do provide excellent information for running an organisation, and an excellent consultative service.
As for the difference between the LifeSIGNS Voluntary Organisation and the LifeSIGNS Charity, I really don’t know what the LifeSIGNS Charity ‘does’ – I suspect you don’t either, as it will take them time to provide any services I imagine.

18.I need leaflets/posters to download for SIAD, can the Voluntary Organisation provide them?
Yes, we’ll be providing a good deal of information and downloadable files in time for Self-Injury Awareness Day, 1st March.

19.I am a member of LifeSIGNS, how will the split affect me personally?
I don’t know, it depends how involved you are. The LifeSIGNS Voluntary Organisation will be providing a Message Board, Newsletter, and a great website packed with info. Please let us know if we don’t provide everything you expect.

20.Will there still be a newsletter?
Yes. We would very much appreciate your articles, comments, queries and letters for publishing; please email letters@lifesigns.org.uk

21.Does the Voluntary Organisation have a mission statement?
Yes, to be stated when the website is launched mid-December: www.lifesigns.org.uk

22.I am a researcher, can the Voluntary Organisation support research requests?
Yes, but our focus is on providing information to people affected by self-injury, and the healthcare sector. Please email your request to info@lifesigns.org.uk and please be aware that we are under-staffed and must focus on our internal processes and our external publications. While the research may be your priority, please understand that our priorities are different.

23.I send regular text donations – where will they go now?
Text donations go to the LifeSIGNS charity, please contact the LifeSIGNS charity regarding the status of that service. Or text Give signs off to 89080.

24.As the Voluntary Organisation is the original LifeSIGNS we all know and love, why is the charity part continuing at all? Should it not at least change its name?
I might agree that a name change would make sense, but as the LifeSIGNS Charity has registered the name ‘LIFESIGNS’ then they would have to go through a paper-work process to change it. I don’t imagine they fancy doing this. I am open to suggestions about whether we should change our name, but considering that I coined the name personally in 2002, I’m keen to keep it. Anyway, we have a new modern logo!

25.Is LifeSIGNS going to implement an anti-bullying policy to protect people from future bullying?
We are going to have a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to harassment, bullying and abuse. We’ve tolerated hateful things within the Management Committee because we’ve always thought ‘oh well, I’m sure it’s just a passing mood’ but from now on, such matters will not be tolerated or brushed under the carpet.

26.Will the Voluntary Organisation respond to media requests?
Yes, LifeSIGNS has been working with the media for many years; in fact our first appearance on TV was just as we launched in 2002! Media requests should be made to info@lifesigns.org.uk

27.Is it OK to keep in contact with people who only want to be a member of one of the groups?
Again, LifeSIGNS is non-directional, we do not tell people how they should feel or how they should behave. Friendships are important, and should not be allowed to be damaged just because of an organisational split by a charity!

28.Who do I quote when referring to information from the original website?
The ‘original’ site was launched in 2002 and was almost completely white you may remember. We’ve moved on since then, and so there is no ‘original site’ to quote from. The LifeSIGNS Voluntary Organisation’s website will be up and running again soon, slightly smaller as we check and re-check our information, but it will grow over 2008.

29. What has happened to all the donations?
All donations to the LifeSIGNS charity have remained with the charity – they have a good balance in the bank. Some of it was raised by selling Books and Wristbands, and a good deal of it earned by myself by delivering training to other organisations around the country, and by speaking at NHS conferences. The LifeSIGNS Voluntary Organisation currently has zero budget; we’re starting from scratch, just like we did back in 2002.

30. How do I donate to the LifeSIGNS Voluntary Organisation?
We will launch some financial services later in 2008; our focus right now will be to provide excellent, free information to people affected by self-injury. We’ll keep you posted!

31.Are the Facebook and MySpace LifeSIGNS run by the Voluntary Organisation or the Charity?
The Voluntary Organisation runs LifeSIGNS on both Facebook http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2232831638 and MySpace http://www.myspace.com/mylifesigns