Social Services referred Vicky to us for help as they had her children removed from her care following a police incident. The children were being looked after by other family members. Vicky had a previous history of substance abuse. She was currently experiencing mental health issues.
A psychological assessment which had been carried out showed that Vicky had a low IQ along with some learning difficulties. The report recommended that Vicky had support of an independent advocate. Our advocate would help Vicky to understand the process and attend meetings with her to ensure that she was treated fairly. As Vicky’s children were being looked after by her parents, Vicky had lost her support network. This was due to Social Services limiting her access to her children. In addition, Vicky was in an abusive relationship and didn’t work due to the young age of her children. Vicky was in receipt of housing benefit and child benefit.
Our independent advocate was able to build a rapport with Vicky and gained her trust. The advocate was able to get the background of why Vicky found herself in this situation.
Social Services did not always explain themselves clearly to Vicky and she did not really understand what was going on. Our advocate made sure that Vicky understood what was being said and what it meant.
With our advocate’s support, Vicky referred herself to drug and alcohol services and saw her GP and was prescribed anti-depressants. Vicky also enrolled on a college course to improve her maths and English.
Our experienced advocate liaised with Vicky’s solicitor to look at what changes could be made in court to allow her to participate in the proceedings. It was decided that the language used in court would be simplified so that Vicky could understand everything and that she would be allowed regular breaks. The solicitor was pleased that our experienced advocate had built a good relationship with Vicky. This enabled our independent advocate to discuss the important matters with Vicky at the solicitor’s request.
During the time that our advocate supported Vicky there were many meetings and court hearings. At each step of the way, our advocate prepared Vicky by helping her to write a list of questions for her social worker, debriefing after meetings with social services, helping to write a statement for court, being there at the PAMS assessments and preparing for and attending the final court hearing with her final statement.
Sadly, Vicky did not get the outcome that she wanted. Vicky said that she felt less alone with her advocate by her side who she felt “had her back.”
The support that our advocate gave meant that Vicky felt that she was listened to and that she kept focused and didn’t get side tracked. Without our support, Vicky could be volatile and found the whole process overwhelming.
ICANN Advocate, “It is essential an independent advocate is there to support vulnerable people. Often, in child protection cases, the parents do not have their own social worker and they struggle communicating with their children’s social worker. An advocate empowers the client by giving them the information in a way that they understand and ensuring that correct procedures and protocols are followed. I was Vicky’s advocate for over a year.”
“One thing that did concern me was Vicky’s mental health and the fact that her children were her protective factor. Vicky was now on her own, her children were with her parents and she not able to see them and ended her abusive relationship. As a result, there were concerns about Vicky self-harming, having suicidal thoughts and relapsing into drug and alcohol misuse. That is why it was important to ensure that she was engaged with services who could provide specialist support and monitor her.”
Vicky – “Thank you for your help. You made things easier for me by explaining things in I way that I could understand. You were there supporting me when I found it difficult, and I was overwhelmed with everything.”
Howick House, Howick Park Avenue, Penwortham, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 0LS
Tel: 01772 746 061
Email: admin@i-cann.org.uk
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