Hamza is a 22-year-old male who has learning difficulties, autism and the cognitive age of a 10 year old. He has a very close relationship with his biological family but unfortunately, he lost his Mum a few years ago.
For a number of years, Hamza has lived with his foster mother and foster brother as she has been able to meet his needs and offer him a stable family environment.
Hamza goes to college, works part time and has a full busy life. For lots of different reasons unfortunately the placement with his foster Mum started to break down and his social worker, support worker and biological family felt that alternative living arrangements needed to be found. It was Hamza’s social worker who had made a referral to ICANN for advocacy support.
The social worker felt that Hamza needed an independent advocate who he could talk to and would help him voice his wishes and needs without the fear of upsetting his foster family and biological family.
It was important that Hamza could be completely open and honest because he tended to people please and he told people what he thought that they wanted to hear to the detriment to his own needs. This would leave Hamza feeling frustrated and become angry, frustrated and destructive.
Our advocate would be there to support Hamza to voice his wishes and needs without the fear of upsetting those closest to him. It also involved liaising with several professionals along with his biological family.
Why the client needs advocacy support
Hamza met with his advocate several times in places that he felt happy and comfortable, such as, his foster home, college, coffee shop and visited his biological family members. It was important for the advocate to learn all about Hamza’s hobbies and interests, what made him happy and what made him sad.
Colourful mind maps were drawn which allowed Hamza to explain to his advocate what he hoped for in life in a way that he understood. It was important that Hamza was at the centre of the decision-making process. Establishing a rapport and a trusting professional relationship was important as well as maintaining confidentiality. Our advocate would ensure that before speaking to anyone involved with Hamza his consent was obtained.
During the many meetings with the local authority, it was important that Hamza’s thoughts, wishes and needs were listened to regarding the type of accommodation that needed to be found.
When accommodation was found, our advocate would visit with Hamza to find out of it meet his requirements. Hamza would provide feedback about it. Our experienced advocate was able to ask relevant questions to not only Hamza himself but to the other professionals present to ensure that the accommodation would meet Hamza’s needs.
The process was a long one and our advocate spent about a year supporting Hamza and to ensure that all the professionals involved were acting in Hamza’s best interests. Suitable accommodation was found and the advocate ensured that it met Hamza’s needs and that he liked where he was going to live.
Once Hamza moved in our advocate made several follow up visits to ensure that he was settled and happy with how things were going. Once it was established that everything was ok, the advocate was able to close the case.
Talk through the steps of support provided and why they were completed.
Follow up phone call
“I like my advocate; she is just for me, and she is funny. She sends me texts to check in on me and if I am upset, she helps me tell people.” – Hamza
As an advocate supporting Hamza, it was important that he was listened to so that his needs. Communication between Hamza and the professionals was important. The support given to Hamza reduced his anxiety levels and he was happy knowing that someone is there for him and has no other agenda then to ensure he feels heard. Dealing with a lot of professionals can be very intimidating and often although they have the client’s best interests in mind, they can sometimes forget that just because people can’t always communicate their needs doesn’t mean that they don’t exist.
Our perspective Our aims and support to have
“Supporting Hamza to transition to supported living and take the next steps into adult life has been a real honour. Helping someone realise that they can live independently and identifying the ways in which he can thrive and has been great.” –Advocate – ICANN
Howick House, Howick Park Avenue, Penwortham, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 0LS
Tel: 01772 746 061
Email: admin@i-cann.org.uk
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