Advocating for Advocacy

Transcription

1 Advocating for Advocacy An event to celebrate, and raise awareness of, Independent Advocacy in Lothian 10 th of December 2013 Event Report

2 Summary Advocating for Advocacy was an afternoon long event that took place on the 10 th of December in Creative Scotland s Waverley Gate event space as part of Advocacy Awareness Week. Its main aim was to raise awareness of Independent Advocacy in Lothian. It aimed to highlight new work, ongoing projects, and ask attendees what they felt the focus should be for the Lothian Independent Advocacy Steering Group s future work. The event was attended by 53 people from a wide range of backgrounds and was well received - attendees gave it an average score of 7.6 on a scale that ran from 0 to 9 where 0 was of no value and 9 was very worthwhile. Only one person gave the event less than evaluation forms were returned. The main reasons people gave for attending Advocating for Advocacy were: To learn more about Independent Advocacy To promote Independent Advocacy Because they had an interest in Independent Advocacy The venue and opportunities for networking met with approval. Most people felt they had enough information before the event (80%), however there was a problem with one person in an organisation signing up for multiple places but not passing information s on to their colleagues. This can be improved in the future with clearer instructions during sign up. Future Directions The standout area that people felt required future focus was Independent Advocacy provision for Children and Young people this could be further subdivided in to Young people who were or had been looked after and Young people in schools. There was also a trend for people to want diagnosis and demographic specific advocacy services. Other key areas people felt needed improvement were how advocacy is delivered and availability of support for people who want to start user led groups. 2

3 Contents Summary...2 On the day...4 Chairs...4 Lothian Independent Advocacy Steering Group Update...4 Table Top Chats...4 Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival Video...5 Feedback...5 Absent WithOut Leave: Invisible When Here Jo McFarlane...5 Feedback- What needs to happen?...5 Children and Young People...6 Young people who were or had been looked after...6 Young people in education...6 Independent Advocacy for specific groups...6 Focus on eating disorders...6 Addictions advocacy...6 Additional Diagnosis Specific...6 Veterans...7 Prison Advocacy...7 Asylum Seekers/ Refugee advocacy...7 Other specific groups...7 How advocacy is delivered/availability...7 Peer Group Support...7 Information/Awareness...7 Resources for workers...8 Funding...8 Oversight...8 Attendee Evaluation...8 Was the venue suitable?...8 Did you have enough information before the event?...8 Were there adequate networking opportunities?...8 Did you feel you were able to say what you wanted to say today?...9 Why did you come?...9 Overall how would you rate the day?...9 Other comments...10 Conclusion...10 Appendix 1 - Programme...11 Appendix 2 Linda Irvine LIASG Presentation...12 Appendix 3 All comments What needs to happen?...14 Appendix 4 All results Evaluation

4 On the day The programme for the event is shown in Appendix 1. Chairs Advocating for Advocacy was chaired by Chris Mackie, Director of Independent Advocacy provider AdvoCard, and Jane Crawford, Coordinator of Independent Advocacy provider CAPS. Both began by introducing themselves and their own background in Independent Advocacy; how they became involved and why they are passionate about Independent Advocacy. Chris and Jane are both members of the Lothian Independent Advocacy Providers Group. Independent Advocacy film The introductions were followed by a short film about Independent Advocacy made by Independent Advocacy providers AdvoCard and Partners in Advocacy for Edinburgh City Council. Lothian Independent Advocacy Steering Group Update Linda Irvine, Strategic Programme manager for Mental Health and Wellbeing and Chair of the Lothian Independent Advocacy Steering Group, gave a brief update on work that the Independent Advocacy Steering group have been involved in during 2013 (Appendix 2). This included introducing advocacy in different settings (prisons), for different conditions (stroke), and increasing capacity for some current providers in response to the impact of welfare reform is also the first year we have had an Advocacy Awareness Week in Lothian and a new leaflet with details of all independent advocacy providers across Lothian. The Lothian Independent Advocacy Steering Group (LIASG) includes representatives from NHS Lothian, East Lothian, West Lothian, Midlothian and Edinburgh Councils and representatives from organisations that provide Independent Advocacy in Lothian. Table Top Chats A short break was then followed by Table Top Chats. Instead of PowerPoint presentations to highlight work happening across Lothian, different projects were represented at Table Top Chats. Each project had a labelled table with people involved in that project. Over a 40 minute period attendees could move around the tables (and projects) they were interested in, ask questions and find out more. People could choose to visit all the tables or spend all their time at one. We felt this was more interactive and engaging than PowerPoint presentations. Projects represented included: Increased Advocacy for Welfare Reform Independent Advocacy in Prisons Voice of Advocacy Oor Mad History UNITed Eating Disorder Support group Work on Distress Tolerance in West Lothian Advocacy for people who have had a stroke 4

5 Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival Video After the Table Top Chats a short film on the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film festival art exhibition Out of Sight/Out of Mind was shown. With interviews from a number of people involved in the exhibition it highlighted how art can be powerful medium for advocacy. Feedback There was then a feedback session. After hearing about new and ongoing work across Lothian attendees were asked to discuss at their tables and note down areas that they felt should be the focus of future work or What needs to happen?. These comments have been brought together and organised in themes in the Feedback - What needs to happen? section below. Absent WithOut Leave: Invisible When Here Poetry Recital from Jo McFarlane Jo McFarlane closed Advocating for Advocacy with a recitation of some of her wonderful poetry. Many of the poems Jo recited were taken from her anthology Absent WithOut Leave: Invisible When Here Poems in Celebration of Advocacy. Jo s poetry touched on her own experiences, the power of people working together towards a common cause, respect and the difference that Independent Advocacy can make. We would like to thank Jo for closing the event on such a high note! Feedback- What needs to happen? There were many opinions on What needs to happen? but there were also obvious common themes. The comments people wrote down during the event have been grouped together by theme and are represented in the word cloud below. The larger the theme in the word cloud the more often it was mentioned. Example comments are given below each theme full comments can be found in Appendix 3. Figure 1 'What needs to happen?' word cloud 5

6 Children and Young People 17 comments The most commented on priority for future work was Children and Young people. Gap years lots of issues huge area More to hear young people s voices that young people feel comfortable in Children and families in Edinburgh nothing available at the moment Within the category of children and young people were two subcategories: The need for Independent Advocacy for young people who were or are looked after Independent Advocacy for young people in education Young people who were or had been looked after 4 comments Advocacy for looked after and accommodated young people leaving care Care leavers Looked after children. Young people in education 5 comments Children excluded from school School based advocacy service Advocate available for school students Independent Advocacy for specific groups The call for specific advocacy services for groups of people was another key theme. This can be subdivided into: A call for increased Independent Advocacy provision for people with specific diagnoses: Focus on eating disorders - 3 comments A mainstream collective advocacy project focussing on eating disorders Eating disorders peer support group for young people by young people Addictions advocacy 2 comments More advocacy for alcohol problem services/substance misuse Addictions advocacy/recovery from addictions advocacy Additional Diagnosis Specific 5 comments Advocacy which specifically looks at acquired brain injuries e.g. accident, alcohol etc Neurological diseases specific advocacy Is there a need for autism advocacy? Obesity advocacy 6

7 And a call for more advocacy for specific groups: Veterans - 2 comments Advocacy for veterans Veterans Prison Advocacy - 2 comments Collective advocacy in prisons Advocacy for carers of people in prisons Asylum Seekers/ Refugee advocacy - 2 comments Specific services for asylum seekers Advocacy for refugees/asylum seekers Other specific groups 8 comments More accessible advocacy for minorities LGBT advocacy Advocacy to BME communities Working with different languages Family advocacy Advocacy for survivors of domestic abuse Homelessness Carers How advocacy is delivered/availability 7 comments These comments focussed on how Independent Advocacy was delivered although some comments may have applied to wider services. Criteria less if someone doesn t fit criteria for service introduce more flexibility More needs led Holistic Advocacy Peer Group Support 5 comments The next most popular topic was improved support for peer led groups. People felt that there should be resources available for people who wanted to set up their own peer support/campaigning groups. More on peer support i.e. where to start; structure of groups etc Resource for people with lived experience to set up their own support group More means for local campaigning groups (e.g. dedicated meeting spaces to meet/work on campaigns and consultations) Information/Awareness 5 comments There were 5 comments looking for better/better distribution of information More general information about advocacy at a wider societal level workplaces etc Going into schools to talk about advocacy More information in doctor s surgeries/ community 7

8 Resources for workers 4 comments More technology for workers to keep up with different ways of engaging with collective advocacy (esp. social media, online forum ) More training for volunteers advocate to help develop their skills at all levels Funding 3 comments Funding for peer support Generous funding to existing advocacy services so that they ca reach more people Oversight 2 comments Regulation/oversight/complaints procedure Its standards accountable to the autism plan working group who are informed now on how social cares standards have been Attendee Evaluation 33 evaluation forms were returned. Was the venue suitable? Yes: 100% No: 0% Comments included: Acoustics were good Good location - easy to find Parking a nightmare Did you have enough information before the event? Yes: 80% No: 20% There seems to have been a problem where one person in an organisation would sign up multiple people to attend but did not include their addresses or pass on the pre-event information. Comments included: Received schedule at table - may not be organisers fault - an may have been sent to my organisation! Ad/info should have said wasn't a drop-in event and that it included lunch (I had a number of confused queries) also the timetable more in advance would have been helpful Sent to manager Were there adequate networking opportunities? Yes: 97% No: 3% 8

9 Some people felt that they were unable to get a space at a Table Top Chat that they were particularly interested in due to its popularity/ people choosing to spend their entire 40 minutes at one table. Comments included: Sometimes no places to join different tables Not able to get to all tables as people didn't move on Openness of the tables could be sensitive Did you feel you were able to say what you wanted to say today? Yes: 97% No: 3% Comments included: Q&A session at the end would have been useful Why did you come? (Full comments in Appendix 4) To learn more about advocacy 9 comments Interest in advocacy 4 comments To promote/celebrate advocacy - 7 comments Professional interest 6 comments Overall how would you rate the day? Scale of 0 9 where 0 = Of no value and 9 = Very worthwhile : Average score = 7.6 Overall how would you rate the day? % Respondents Rating Figure 2 Distribution of scores for the event from 0-9 (Although the scale ran from 0-9 one person felt the event deserved a 10) 9

10 Other comments Full comments can be seen in Appendix 4. All bar one were positive with the main themes being people finding the event informative and saying thank you. Informative 8 comments Thank you 6 comments One person felt that the event had not led to any commitments of change. No commitments 1 comment Can't see what has been committed to. What will change in any of the services we already have? Conclusion In conclusion this event was well received, fulfilled its goal of raising the profile of Independent Advocacy in Lothian and offered up some interesting food for thought on future areas of focus for the Lothian Independent Advocacy Steering Group. The event was attended by people with a wide range of backgrounds, people who use or have used Independent Advocacy services, people who work in the voluntary sector and people who work in statutory services. This report will be discussed at the next Lothian Independent Advocacy Providers Group meeting on the 3 rd of February 2014 and at the next Lothian Independent Advocacy Steering Group on the 17 th of February. The input of everyone who came to this event and so kindly contributed will inform the decisions made about new and future projects to support Independent Advocacy in Lothian. 10

11 Appendix 1 - Programme Lothian Independent Advocacy Awareness Week Advocating for Advocacy Stakeholder Event 10 th Dec 1pm - 4pm, Creative Scotland Chairs: Chris Mackie from AdvoCard and Jane Crawford from CAPS 1.00 Lunch and Registration 1.30 Welcome to All The chairs will introduce the day 1.50 Video: Independent Advocacy Services in Edinburgh A video made by AdvoCard and Partners in Advocacy for City of Edinburgh Council Break : What s been happening? Quick Update on the last year from the Lothian Independent Advocacy Steering Group 2.20 Table top chats. People from a range of advocacy organisations will be available to talk about lots of exciting Independent Advocacy projects happening in Lothian. You can move around the tables, ask questions and find out more about anything you re interested in. Topics will include: 3.00 Break Increased Advocacy for Welfare Reform Independent Advocacy in Prisons Voice of Advocacy Oor Mad History UNITed Eating Disorder Support group Work on Distress Tolerance in West Lothian Advocacy for people who ve had a stroke 3.10 SMHAFF Summerhall Film A short film highlighting some of the people, work and organisations involved in the fantastic Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival exhibition at Summerhall this year : What else needs to happen? 3.45 Absent WithOut Leave Poetry from Jo McFarlane 4.00 Thanks and Close 11

12 Appendix 2 Linda Irvine LIASG Presentation 12

13 13

14 Appendix 3 All comments What needs to happen? Children and Young People -17 comments Children s advocacy Young people s advocacy Advocacy for all children and young people Gap years lots of issues huge area More to hear young people s voices that young people feel comfortable in Children and families in Edinburgh nothing available at the moment Young people s advocacy year olds Advocacy for all children and young people Children and young people in education 5 comments Children excluded from school School based advocacy service Advocate available for school students More promotion and information of advocacy in universities and colleges Advocacy for school pupils/ young people Children and young people who are, or were, looked after 4 comments Kids in care advocacy Advocacy for looked after and accommodated young people leaving care Care leavers Looked after children. How advocacy is delivered 7 comments Criteria less if someone doesn t fit criteria for service introduce more flexibility More needs led More involvement of advocates in adult protection Holistic Advocacy WRAP Advocacy development Done in a way that is not stigmatised/ not a barrier How to involve other services collaborative working Additional Groups 8 comments LGBT advocacy More accessible advocacy for minorities Advocacy to BME communities Working with different languages Family advocacy Advocacy fro survivors of domestic abuse Homelessness Carers 14

15 Veterans -2 comments Advocacy for veterans Veterans Prisons 2 comments Collective advocacy in prisons Advocacy for carers of people in prisons Asylum Seekers/ Refugees -2 comments Specific services for asylum seekers Advocacy for refugees/asylum seekers Addictions- 2 comments More advocacy for alcohol problem services/substance misuse Addictions advocacy/recovery from addictions advocacy Diagnosis specific 5 comments Neurological diseases specific advocacy Is there a need for autism advocacy? Obesity advocacy Advocacy which specifically looks at acquired brain injuries e.g. accident, alcohol etc More hospital based advocacy Advocacy service for people with dementia that follows them through their journey Focus on eating disorders - 3 A mainstream collective advocacy project focussing on eating disorders Eating disorders peer support group for young people by young people A mainstream eating disorders collective advocacy project Peer group support - 5 comments Peer group development for volunteers More on peer support i.e. where to start; structure of groups etc Resource for people with lived experience to set up their own support group Peer advocacy workers More means for local campaigning groups (e.g. dedicated meeting spaces to meet/work on campaigns and consultations Resources for workers - 4 More technology for workers to keep up with different ways of engaging with collective advocacy (esp. social media, online forum ) More training for volunteers advocate to help develop their skills at all levels Need for more stories frontline workers stories to improve knowledge More awareness of safeguards (advance statements/named person) in the community and keep them up to date 15

16 Funding 3 comments Funding for peer support Generous funding to existing advocacy services so that they ca reach more people Information - 5 More general information about advocacy at a wider societal level workplaces etc Training/awareness raising on benefits of Independent Advocacy Going into schools to talk about advocacy More information in doctor s surgeries/ community GP s - Better knowledge (Are targeted as students through voices of advocacy but ) Oversight - 2 Regulation/oversight/complaints procedure Its standards accountable to the autism plan working group who are informed now on how social cares standards have been Other/Inclusion - 3 All whose vulnerabilities include sensitivity to exclusion? When they are being intimidated with exclusion from a group to stop them standing up to infringements. The duty for them to be given a fixed guarantee before they seek help, that it can not result in the exclusion happening. I have experienced one of the big advocacy providers say no to this and as a result some bullying in a group was not stopped and a group advocacy project folded preventably. Advocacy for aardvarks/aardwolves Advocacy for all! 16

17 Appendix 4 All results Evaluation Comments on the venue acoustics were good Good location - easy to find Parking a nightmare Very comfortable - easy to find - lovely lunch spacious and easy to see speakers Comments on information before the event Only just found out - more promotion Ad/info should have said wasn't a drop-in event and that it included lunch (I had a number of confused queries) also the timetable more in advance would have been helpful Think that is because you had not a clear picture of it going anywhere Received schedule at table - may not be organisers fault - an may have been sent to my organisation! went to manager Didn't know lunch was being provided though Were there adequate networking opportunities? Deffo Not able to get to all tables as people didn't move on openness of the tables could be sensitive Sometimes no places to join different tables plenty, well organised and facilitated Maybe more time to get around tables Networking has been important so it was good - but never enough time Did you feel able to say what you wanted to say today? Only on paper so paper was good Q&A session at the end would have been useful Why did you come? To learn more about advocacy 9 comments To learn and meet people in advocacy To learn To find out more re:advocacy for children and families affected by disabilities to get an understanding of advocacy Relatively new to Lothian NHS and wanted to learn how advocacy services here can benefit my clients to hear about different advocacy projects To find out about advocacy in Edinburgh and Lothian To network with colleagues and update on what's happening in advocacy To hear more about peer support and to learn more about how advocacy services have grown and what they now provide as a service 17

18 To promote and celebrate advocacy 7 comments To celebrate advocacy To support Kirsten and talk about mad people's history and collective advocacy To help promote advocacy, support caps and learn more Because advocacy is really important and needs more awareness and funding and support from everyone I am in an advocacy organisation and used the event to explain what the project is about I was providing part of the table top discussions as part of the prison advocacy provision I am involved with CAPS and collective advocacy Professional interest 6 comments Professional interest - I work in advocacy I'm a social worker who refers to advocacy advocacy worker I work at a mental health service and am considering becoming a volunteer advocate advocacy worker I commission advocacy services Interest in advocacy 4 comments Very interested as an artist in SMHAFF (Oor Mad Hist) planning group and exhibition. interest in advocacy Independent and collective interest in advocacy and how to develop this way of working To know and share and refer Other 6 comments Masochism can't be excluded Advocacy eating disorders for a user project To develop a service user group for people in treatment/recovery from substance misuse problems Because I was invited To become a peer support worker - it's valuable Other comments (end of evaluation form) Thank you Thank you! Thanks! Thank you Very enjoyable. Thank you Thank you. Very interesting experience Thank you Informative 18

19 Very interesting. I had no previous knowledge. Now feel very informed. Stimulating/fascinating/interesting Fantastic, interesting, excellent timekeeping well organised and interesting Enjoyed the event - films very interesting Good. Knowledgeable Very informative afternoon - precise/clear. Well-done! Great to see so many partners at a training event It's good to realise the spread of the advocacy that exists and discuss why there is need for more Other Thoroughly well thought through event Fantastic Venue and food were great! No commitment Can't see what has been committed to. What will change in any of the services we already have? 19