One Big Family Privacy Notice

Privacy Notice

One Big Family – Helping the Homeless

Sections

What information do we collect about you?
Information about criminal convictions
How will we use the information about you?
How do we keep your information safe?
Retention periods
Your rights
Cookies
Other websites
Changes to our privacy policy
How to contact us

About this Notice

One Big Family – Helping the Homeless (OBF) takes protecting the privacy of all those who volunteer with and use our services very seriously. This privacy notice tells you about how we collect personal information about you when you engage with us, and what the information may be used for. It also outlines how we protect your information as well as your rights.

What information do we collect about you?

Personal information

We may collect personal information from you when you engage with OBF. For volunteers and trustees this may include: names, contact details (including your postal address, telephone numbers and email address), date of birth, next of kin details, photographs, video recordings, information about qualifications and training, as well as other information you share with us. In order to best support service users, we may also collect information such as: copies of correspondence with or about you, and eligibility to receive benefits.

Sensitive personal information

OBF sometimes also collects sensitive, personal data about individuals. Sensitive information includes information about areas such as an individual’s health or criminal record. We normally only ask for sensitive personal information on volunteer emergency contact forms and some service user referral forms (for example, referrals for the emergency homeless winter refuge), and will only record this data where we have your explicit consent.

Personal and sensitive information may be collected via: paper forms you complete, telephone conversations or face-to-face interactions, digital forms completed via our website, or communication via social media. Website usage information is collected using cookies. At times, we may also come into possession of such information through other means. For example, you may include some sensitive personal information in an email which you send to OBF. Organisations you have been involved with outside of OBF may also give us information about you too. This information will only be shared with your consent and agreement, unless the information is shared to keep you or someone else safe from possible harm, or there is a legitimate basis to do so. We have data sharing agreements in place with some other agencies and organisations involved in working with people who are homeless and vulnerable. Only the information that is necessary will be shared as part of such agreements, and processing will be for specific purposes only. All parties involved in data sharing agreements, are required to have appropriate policies, measures and processes in place to safeguard and secure data protection.

Information about criminal convictions

We will only seek information about criminal convictions if it is appropriate given the nature of the activity being undertaken and where we are legally able to do so, usually because you have given explicit consent. For example, asking about individuals’ criminal convictions for arson may be appropriate if this is a requirement for building insurance.

How will we use the information about you?

The main reason we collect and use personal information is so that we can carry out our day to day activities as a charity and to make sure our work is effective and as safe as possible. Here are some of the reasons we may use information:

To provide volunteers with information about activities, meetings, training and events, including fundraising and awareness raising events
To coordinate our activities and events
To provide advice, support or other services that you have requested or been referred to
To administer services OBF is providing to you
To process volunteer applications
To process personal details required for the administration of training courses and expenses, and coordinating criminal record disclosures
To process donations
For our internal administrative purposes and to keep a record of your relationship with us
To gather feedback and information to improve OBF’s services and user experiences
To comply with laws and regulations, and requests from statutory agencies

How do we keep your information safe?

OBF has processes in place to ensure that information you give us is kept safe and secure, whether it is on paper or computer. We will use and keep information to support our work, and delete it when it is no longer necessary or legitimate for us to keep it.

We do not share your information with anyone outside of OBF or other organisations without asking you first, except in the following situations:

We believe there is a risk of harm and need to share information to protect someone’s safety and well-being
We are required to share information with the police (such as to support a serious criminal investigation) or because OBF is directed to hand over information through a court order

If we need to use any of your information as above, only the relevant information required would be shared. If we wanted to use your information for a different reason than why we originally collected it, we would discuss this with you, informing you of why and how it will be used. For example, if we wanted to use your information in research work in a way that might identify you, we would always ask you first and explain the basis for doing so.

Retention periods

Personal information is only held by OBF for as long as we need it, to be able to use it for the purposes given in this notice. In general, personal information is deleted and destroyed from our records within 12 months of your last active involvement with us. Information may be retained for longer periods if there is a legal requirement for us to do so. Anonymised data may be kept for longer periods if there is a legitimate reason (for example, to show trends in use of our activities).

Your rights

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR 2018) give you important rights and control about how we use your information. These rights include the right:

To request a copy of information we hold about you
To request we correct or remove information you think is inaccurate
To change your mind at any point about permission you have given us to use and keep your information
To request we delete information we hold about you
To request to stop future contact from us
The right to complain if you think we have broken the GDPR

If you wish to do any of the above, please contact us (contact details at the end of this notice).

You can also seek guidance and advice, or make a complaint, to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Their helpline number is: 0303 123 1113. Further information is available on their website: www.ico.org.uk

The OBF website may use cookies. These are small files that are placed on your computer’s hard drive to store information. They do not have access to or use any information that identifies you personally, but can help in collecting general statistics about website visitor use and activity. You can change the settings on your internet browser so they do not to accept cookies. For further information, including about how to remove cookies from your internet browser, see www.aboutcookies.org

Other websites

The OBF website contains links to other websites. This privacy policy only applies to OBF’s website. If you link to other websites, please read their own privacy policies.

Changes to our privacy policy

We keep our privacy policy under regular review and we will place any updates on this page. We strongly advise you to read this document from time to time to ensure you remain happy with any changes that might be made. Although we have tried to make this notice as comprehensive as possible, it does not include an exhaustive list of every aspect our processes. Therefore, if you have any questions or wish for further information, please contact us. This privacy notice was last updated on the 24th of May 2018.

How to contact us

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about our privacy policy or information we hold about you.

By email: info@helpingthehomeless.org.uk

By post: One Big Family - Helping the Homeless, 22 Waghorn Street, Chatham, Kent, ME4 5LT

Consent to collection and use of personal information

By using the OBF website you acknowledge that you have read the terms of this privacy notice and that you consent to the collection and use of your personal information as described in this privacy policy.

Legal notice

OBF is registered with the Information Commissioners Office as a data controller for the purposes of the GDPR.