The Advocacy Grant Scheme Wales

Transcription

1 The Advocacy Grant Scheme Wales A Report to the Welsh Government by the British Institute of Learning Disabilities April 2011 to March 2012 Report compiled by Keith Smith Advocacy Grant Scheme Report April 2011 March 2012 Page 1

2 Index Page 1. Aim and Purpose of the Grant Scheme 4 2. Meaning of Advocacy 4 3. Background information 4 4. Grant round October Criteria for grant round October Continuation grant for period April 2011 March Management of the Scheme from April 2011 March Roles and Responsibilities 7 9. Monitoring Activity Monitoring Statistics Advisory Group Monitoring Reports on Individual Organisations Funded Making a Difference Case studies from the monitoring forms Emerging Themes 2011/ Planning for the Future Workshop programme 39 Advocacy Grant Scheme Report April 2011 March 2012 Page 2

3 Page Appendix 1 Funded Groups 41 Appendix 2 Equalities statistics to March Appendix 3 The Workshop Programme 44 Advocacy Grant Scheme Report April 2011 March 2012 Page 3

4 1. Aim and Purpose of the Grant Scheme The purpose of the advocacy grant scheme is to seek to ensure that adults with a learning disability across Wales have reasonable access to an appropriate range of advocacy services. The beneficiaries of the grant funding are voluntary sector groups or other not-for-profit organisations. The grant scheme was introduced as a pump priming grant designed to build on existing investment in such advocacy services and address service gaps. 2. Meaning of Advocacy In the context of this report, advocacy is a process which enables others to gain power, authority and influence and in general terms means to speak up for someone or to support them to speak up for themselves. It refers specifically to people with a learning disability. In general there are two ways that this happens: One to one Advocacy: Having an advocate to speak up on one s behalf (this can be referred to as citizen or volunteer advocacy, crisis advocacy, issues based advocacy or professional advocacy). Self Advocacy: Developing the confidence and skills to speak up for oneself, either as a member of a group or as an individual. The majority of groups adopt the People First model where those with developed communication skills meet regularly identify issues that are important to them and to decide what action to take to address them. Advocacy support for those who access it offers a way to enable each person to have a voice of their own to ensure that they are not excluded because they do not express their views in ways that others understand. Effective advocacy should lead to empowerment and increased strength of individuals, which involves developing confidence in their own capacities and skills especially in relation to choice and decision making. 3. Background information In February 2008, the Welsh Assembly Government decided that there would be a 3 year successor grant scheme to that which had been in existence since Following a six month rollover grant for the period April to September 2008, a new grant scheme started on October 1st 2009 and continued until the end of March Grant round October 2008 March 2011 BILD were successful in being awarded the tender to continue to administer the new grant scheme. Funds available to be distributed were as follows: October 2008 to March ,304 April 2009 to March ,000 April 2010 to March ,000 Advocacy Grant Scheme Report April 2011 March 2012 Page 4

5 5. Criteria for grant round October 2008 March 2011 Each advocacy organisation could apply for one grant up to a total of 30,000 per year. For this application round there were two additional criteria to the previously applied criteria of advocacy for young people and adults with a learning disability in Wales. The additional criteria were: Advocacy for those on the Autistic Spectrum, including those with Asperger Syndrome who may or may not have an associated learning disability Funding for Advocacy for those in NHS continuing care arrangements would be limited to a maximum of 18 months. To be eligible for a grant, groups needed to meet all of the following criteria: They must be an independent organisation that does not provide any kind of community care services for people with a learning disability or people on the autistic spectrum, or be part of a larger organisation that provides community care services. They must provide advocacy for people with a learning disability or people on the autistic spectrum (including Asperger Syndrome), or plan to provide advocacy. This may be offering one-to-one advocacy support or facilitating self-advocacy groups They must be able to show that they meet the British Institute of Learning Disabilities (BILD) advocacy standards. They must be able to provide evidence that they have matched funding from other sources to cover the full costs of their project. Except for NHS continuing care advocacy, the Welsh Assembly Government s maximum grant rates were 90% of the costs in the first year, 80% in the second and 70% in the third year and the amount of grant contribution would also be subject to a maximum of 30,000 per project in any one year. The grant rate for NHS continuing care advocacy would be 80% for the whole 18 month period subject to a maximum grant amount of 36,000 over the 18 month period. For 2008/2009 groups could only apply for a maximum of 15,000 (half cost for a full year) 6. Continuation grant for period April 2011 March 2014 In September 2010, the Welsh Assembly Government confirmed that the advocacy grant scheme would be continued for a new 3 year period from April 2011 to the end of March 2014 but that it will then end. To ensure that this is undertaken as an effective and managed exit strategy, Ministers agreed that: Advocacy Grant Scheme Report April 2011 March 2012 Page 5

6 No new grant application round would be held. The 19 organisations in receipt of funding at the end of March 2011 would continue to be funded over the next 3 years in a closed and managed grant scheme. The organisations will continue to be funded subject to agreeing suitable objectives/outcomes/performance indicators for each year and their ongoing satisfactory performance. The maximum grant level of 30,000 in any year is to be maintained. Tapered maximum grant rates should continue with the maximum grant to be 70% in (as for ); 60% in and 50% in The agreed grant funding total was determined as: , , , Management of the Scheme from April 2011 March 2014 BILD held the responsibility of managing the Grant Scheme until March This provided continuity since the organisation managed the previous schemes since their inception in In order to enable a tendering process for the new scheme to take place, BILD was asked to continue their management of the scheme for the period April 2011 to the end of October The new tender process resulted in BILD being awarded the contract and the responsibility for continuing to arrange, implement, administer and evaluate the advocacy grant scheme for the nineteen funded organisations and groups. This was confirmed as being for the period 1 st November 2011 to March 31 st The main tasks include: Liaison with and reporting to the Welsh Government Ensuring the payment of the grants to the organisations on a quarterly basis in line with the monitoring process. Working with the organisations receiving grants to ensure that they achieve their targets and outcomes during the grant period. Working with the organisations to ensure their sustainability after the end of March 2014 when the funding will cease. Identifying and disseminating the best practice achieved by the organisations. Carrying out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the grant scheme to be completed by December Advocacy Grant Scheme Report April 2011 March 2012 Page 6

7 8. Roles and Responsibilities The extension of the funding has enabled a strengthening of the BILD team to ensure the delivery of the management, implementation, evaluation and administration of the advocacy grant scheme. The team includes: a) Keith Smith Development Manager Consultancy and Advice His key roles include: Overall responsibility for the delivery of the contract specification and the aims and objectives in the agreed timeframe Ensuring that the processes and systems are in place to enable the operation of the grant scheme in a timely and efficient manner Day to day management of the scheme and coordination of the monitoring processes Ensuring the agreed outputs including work programmes to ensure sustainability, dissemination of good practice, evaluation and review reports are delivered on time Working with the advisory group Providing support and supervision to the monitoring officers and team members Providing the interface with the Welsh Government. b) Anna Deverill-Smith and Jules Wyatt Monitoring Officers Their key roles include: Carrying out the monitoring visits to the funded organisations Evaluating the performance of each organisation against their targeted outcomes and objectives Providing mentoring and support Providing guidance in relation to future sustainability Producing monitoring supports for each visit and ensuring any issues or concerns are passed onto Keith Smith. c) Gail Pardoe Administrator Her key role includes: Providing the administrative support to the scheme including responsibility for correspondence and s Assisting in the production of reports and reviews Acting as contact point for the day to day support for the funded groups. Advocacy Grant Scheme Report April 2011 March 2012 Page 7

8 d) Melissa Smith/David Hammond Finance Manager The key roles include: Providing financial oversight of the advocacy grant scheme Ensuring the distribution of the grant scheme funds on time Providing the Welsh Government with regular updates of financial information Having oversight of the quarterly financial reports from each funded group and alerting Keith Smith to any issues or concerns. e) Peter Salisbury Communications Manager His key roles include: Ensuring that details of the Welsh Government Advocacy Grant Programme on the new BILD website are kept up to date and become a key vehicle for sharing best practice Raising the profile of the scheme with regular good news stories Ensuring that details of the advocacy grant scheme are available via Facebook and Twitter 9. Monitoring Activity All of the funded organisations were issued with and signed a continuation contract for the period April 2011 to March In liaison with their BILD monitoring officers, each organisation reviewed, updated and amended the targets and outcomes linked to their original application during the period April to October In addition, the monitoring process has been updated and strengthened. Each organisation is expected to provide more regular financial information to show how the grant and matched funding is being spent. We have developed a specific template that identifies this information and is expected to be received at BILD on the 10th June, 10th September, 10th December and 10th March each financial year. Receiving this information triggers the quarterly payment in the next month. In addition, the monitoring form was revised during this financial year and now places a greater emphasis on best practice and strategies for sustainability. The funded organisations complete a monitoring form twice during each year and this is then returned to BILD by the 30th September and 31st March. The groups also received visits from their monitoring officers who were able to provide ongoing support and also meet many of the beneficiaries of the advocacy support and service. During 2011/12 Keith Smith was able to transfer the responsibility for monitoring groups to Jules Wyatt. This means that Anna Deverill Smith will continue to be responsible for organisations in the South and West whilst Jules will monitor groups in Central and North Wales. Advocacy Grant Scheme Report April 2011 March 2012 Page 8

9 10. Monitoring Statistics As part of the monitoring forms, groups and organisations were asked to provide information about the individuals accessing their supports and services. This provides information about ethnic background, disability and gender and can be found as Appendix 2 (Equalities and Statistics). 11. Advisory Group The aim of the advisory group is to provide advice and support to enable the grant scheme to achieve its purpose and to meet the aims, objectives and requirements of the Welsh Government. The membership during 2011/12 has been:- Anna Deverill-Smith Monitoring Officer/BILD Consultant Louise Hughes Independent Advisor Michael Ratcliffe Taking Part, Shropshire Diana Morgan Taking Part, Shropshire Keith Smith Chief Executive, BILD The membership consists of BILD staff involved in delivering and monitoring the Welsh Government Grant Programme and individuals with a wide experience of advocacy and the Welsh Social and Health Care context. It is anticipated that representatives from All Wales People First and Learning Disability Wales will join the Advisory Group in 2012/13. During 2011/12, the Advisory Group met on the 21st June. Advocacy Grant Scheme Report April 2011 March 2012 Page 9

10 12. Monitoring reports on individual organisations funded ABCD Cymru-Cardiff The specialist advocacy service for BME learning disabled young people has seen significant progress and development. The Advocacy worker has worked very hard to deliver the service the Project had planned. The Advocate is currently working with 97 young people and looking at ways to increase that by attending school parents evenings and school open days and informing school heads, teachers, SENCO s and parent/carers about the services that they provide. The Advocate has provided information to young people on benefits advice, education, health, employment and training, and play and leisure. Every new case is followed up by a home visit, giving the Advocate an insight into the needs of the young person and how they can best advocate for them. He also provides one to one advocacy support, assessing the issues and needs of the young people and then addressing them. One to one advocacy is provided for all young people as this gives them greater choice and empowerment and helps them to self advocate on matters that are relevant to them. Some of the advocacy issues dealt with have been annual school statement reviews, helping to arrange employment interviews, supporting young people to take part in decision making, education, training and employment and issues relating to Health and Social care. Due to the initial intervention and support of the Advocate, many of the young people are already more confident to access facilities and organisations themselves. Many have sought out jobs and training opportunities or are now planning to do so. The Project has seen some significant benefits for the young people and their family carers. They now have more confidence to approach the project on matters where they felt uncomfortable before due to cultural issues. They are more aware of their rights to benefits, what they are entitled to and how to gain access to them. There is an increased involvement of the young person and their parent/carers in issues like transition and they are beginning to understand how important it is to plan ahead for these changes. Recently The Care Council for Wales wanted to consult with BME disabled children and young people about the development of their Strategic Equality Plan; the project facilitated this meeting and 29 people attended. Their views and needs were fed into the Welsh Government s Consultation on short breaks. This event helped the young people to have the opportunity to self-advocate on matters that mean so much to them. The Project continues to work with young people who fall into the category of NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training).Working in partnership with agencies who specialise in support for employment (e.g. South Glamorgan Enterprise Centre) they have supported young people to attend appointments with Want to Work advisers who have provided practical support to help the young people with CVs, job interviews and accessing the Want to Work programmes. Advocacy Grant Scheme Report April 2011 March 2012 Page 10

11 The success of this approach has meant that employment opportunities were found for two young people just three weeks after attending their first meeting. An additional two young people are participating in a Want to Work programme and arrangements have been made for the Want to Work advisors to meet a group of young people and their parent/carers in an informal setting. The young people s group is well established, and the Advocate holds regular events and drop-ins. Peer advocacy is now offered to the young people who meet regularly- they share ideas and identify ways to help support each other when taking part in activities. On a regular basis, between four and twelve young people meet at ABCD Cymru s office or at a meeting room in the central library. Meeting as a group in this way has helped forge new friendships and is enabling the young people to plan and make arrangements to meet their new friends at week-ends. To assist with this, they are working closely with other organisations in the area that can provide practical support and new experiences and opportunities. ABCD Cymru offer diversity training to agencies and their staff that focuses on how to communicate and engage with BME disabled communities. This includes sharing strategies and good practice and organisations that have benefitted include Fairbridge Cymru, Princes Trust, Hafal, and Gofal. In addition, further training has been offered to local schools. This helps other organisations understand the complexities of determining how to provide services and supports that are culturally appropriate for people with learning disabilities. From a rather rocky start, this project is now both achieving and going beyond its initial aims and outcomes. It is the first advocacy work that the group has undertaken, and they have been on a steep learning curve. However, they are now seeing very clear benefits and positive outcomes for the young people they are supporting, their families and carers and the wider community. Advocacy Matters Wales Cardiff Advocacy Matters Wales has a professional team of casework advocates who work with adults with Asperger syndrome on a one to one short term basis. They help each person to speak up and express their views regarding the issues that are important to them. They do their best to make sure that the person s views are listened to, respected and responded to by other people regarding each issue. The Advocate is always on the person s side and provides active support for their position. They work in the person s best interest, being truthful and honest with them regarding their situation. They support each individual to understand the information, review their choices in a realistic manner and make their own decisions. During this year AMW have met their target of providing advocacy for 26 adults with Asperger syndrome and have supported these individuals to address 53 different issues. Advocacy Grant Scheme Report April 2011 March 2012 Page 11

12 These have included: Helping people who have suffered abuse in the local community Helping people access benefits and resolve debt problems Supporting people to gain a formal diagnosis of their condition Providing help to some people to communicate their diagnosis effectively with their GP Supporting people to look at their employment, training and educational needs Helping people engage with Social Services through assessment and support provision Helping people resolve accommodation issues, such as property maintenance and neighbour nuisance Providing support to parents with Asperger syndrome who have children in care. A total of 36 issues were resolved in a positive way during this period. 8 of the 36 resolved issues resulted in the person being directly supported by the advocate to engage with another service(s). Two clients with Asperger syndrome became involved in the service user group and are actively involved in promoting the service through presentations developed with a professional theatre company. The project continues to signpost adults with Asperger Syndrome and others involved in their lives to available local services, and provide information about local social groups. The group has also been working closely with Adult Autism Advice, a new community monitoring and support project funded by the Welsh Government in the South East Wales region. One of the service aims is to profile the needs of adults with Asperger syndrome for future service development. The result of this profiling is fed back into local steering groups and the Welsh Government. Various local professionals are now more aware of Asperger Syndrome. AMW has regular contact with the National Autistic Society and the project is included in its national directory of advocacy services. A Voice for You (formerly Montgomeryshire CA) This continues to be a well managed citizen advocacy organisation with an excellent record for recruiting, retaining and supporting volunteers. They are supporting over eighty partnerships and the two volunteer recruitment drives in 2011/12 have resulted in an additional 22 volunteers. The seventeen people who came forward for the recent training was a record and has enabled eleven new partnerships to be established with the prospect of several more in 2012/13. The success in recruiting continues to be linked to consistent awareness raising across Powys. Presentations have been made to numerous community groups including Rotary, Merched y Wawr (Welsh Language Women s Institute) and the Quakers. This has raised the profile of the organisation and an increasing interest in Advocacy Grant Scheme Report April 2011 March 2012 Page 12

13 citizen advocacy. In addition, contact has been made with all of the local councillors. To assist in providing information, a DVD is being produced for promotion and training purposes. The organisation has successfully established the Severn Valley Social Club in Newtown which meets on the first Wednesday evening of every month. Over thirty people with learning disabilities attend on a regular basis and enjoy the opportunity to take part in various activities and socialise with friends in an environment where they are respected. The club also enables the organisation s staff to get to know individuals, advocacy partners and parents/carers better. A Voice for You proactively shares information about best practice and any developments through their contacts and newsletters. Specific issues over the past year have been the future changes to benefits, the move towards the use of direct payments and care providers restructuring. The latter has resulted in staff changes in residential homes and a lack of continuity of support. This has meant that a number of the advocacy partners have found that staff that they have known and trusted for a long time are no longer supporting them. As a result of these changes, the induction training is being redesigned to ensure that volunteers are aware of the issues likely to face prospective partners in the future. BCA Independent Advocacy Brecon This remains a well established and progressive advocacy organisation that has used their advocacy grant funding to provide high support advocacy using a team of sessional advocates. Thirty one individuals are being supported through crisis with all of them receiving one to one support through regular visits. All of the individuals supported by BCA advocates who had care plan meetings over the twelve month period received advocacy support to prepare for the meetings and to express their own wishes as far as possible. The team of advocates have developed considerable skills, knowledge and experience and their allocation is linked to the skills required to support individuals depending on the issues involved. Over the past year, the issues addressed have included entitlement to benefits, housing/tenancy issues, money/debt management, the impact of support on human rights relating to family life, choice/decision making and privacy, and POVA proceedings. Providing support for parents with a learning disability has continued to increase and is emotionally demanding. Parents involved in childcare proceedings have received advocacy support to prepare for case conferences and court hearings through preparation sessions where they are given information and the chance to explore the issues and determine their responses. Working in this way has enabled parents to feel confident and able to express their views and wishes to the professionals involved. The Creating Together Art project continues to offer opportunities for expression through art. In summer 2011, an exhibition of the art work produced was held in the middle of Brecon and earned considerable interest and appreciation. Advocacy Grant Scheme Report April 2011 March 2012 Page 13

14 The team of advocates work creatively and consistently to ensure that individual wishes and preferences are brought to the attention of professionals and carers at meetings and that they are taken into consideration when planning and delivering support and services. Participants at self advocacy meetings who do not communicate verbally are supported through signing and the use of visual media. This is a well organised organisation that takes a proactive approach to reviewing their future strategic direction, ways of working and policies and procedures. They regularly consult the members of Powys People First for their views regarding access to advocacy and other services. Members of the self advocacy organisation contribute to the annual BCA planning day and are invited to attend the quarterly BCA board meetings. Caerphilly People First Caerphilly People First is a very well established self-advocacy group that provides a range of advocacy and activities to its members throughout the area. They have continued to develop the role of office volunteers alongside their ongoing training and awareness raising over the year. They play a very active role in the third sector and statutory body meetings, attending regular events and conferences where they promote and explain the importance of advocacy. They deliver and facilitate a variety of training to a range of people and organisations. Some examples of this are: Understanding Advocacy provided to the Welsh Government, Caerphilly CBC Reviewing Team, Police, Nurses, Leisure Workers, Prison Staff (training took place in Cardiff and Bridgend Prisons). Advocacy Training with young people at Trinity Fields School. Training provided for people with learning disabilities including Baby Training with computer dolls, First Aid courses, Hate crime and Train the Trainer (10 young people trained to facilitate training courses themselves). They also tutor student nurses at the University of Glamorgan. The group continues to hold its monthly county meetings which are well attended by members and they have had a range of guest speakers. As a result, they feel that the members who attend have gained a wider understanding of the subjects presented. During these meetings, members have the opportunity to raise issues that are important to them. These issues are then taken up by Caerphilly People First who raise them with the relevant parties and attempt to change things for the better for all people with a learning disability in Caerphilly. During this year the group has seen the merger of Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent Social Services and the facilitator has become a member of the stakeholder group to Advocacy Grant Scheme Report April 2011 March 2012 Page 14

15 ensure that the voice of people with learning disabilities is heard. This has meant working in an increasingly closer partnership with Blaenau Gwent People First. In addition, they have also been involved in the meetings of Pan Gwent PF which includes all of the self-advocacy groups who operate in the area covered by the Aneurin Bevan Health Board. The group has regular contact and works closely with all of the day centres, community based centres and work based projects throughout the borough. They continue to carry out Quality Assurance meetings at many of these establishments. They have continued their partnership work with the LINKS project which works with people with autism and behaviour that challenges services. This has included supporting the placement of one volunteer with autism to work in the office which has been very successful. The person has become more assertive, more confident and is carrying out tasks he has never done before. Through their Engagement Gateway Project they have been able to offer office based volunteer placements to another 5 individuals. Over the past few years, Caerphilly People First has established a very good working relationship with the local Police. This includes attending meetings of the Gwent Police Training Consultation group, being members of The Independent Advisory Group, and providing police constable placements. They now have close links with their local Police Community Support Officer who understands the difficulties people with learning disabilities have when dealing with the police. In addition, the Caerphilly People First offices have become a hate crime reporting centre and anyone who has been a victim of hate crime can now report it and receive appropriate advice and support. In addition to all of the self advocacy work, their facilitators also take up individual advocacy issues on behalf of its members. Cardiff People First Community Voices and Newport People First Community Voices is a unique advocacy project for Black Ethnic Minority people with a learning disability. Members have really grown in confidence and are now able to determine what they wish to do. The following is a summary of the initiatives and activities that the group has been engaged with over the last year. Members were involved in the Hardest Hit Campaign and expressed their thoughts in a banner making workshop. They displayed the banner on the march and as a result were interviewed by local media. The group has continued to raise their profile, first with the DVD Hidden Lives, and then through networking key representatives across the BME community including Welsh Government Members. Through their involvement in external meetings and events, the group s profile has been raised and they are being contacted increasingly by various community Advocacy Grant Scheme Report April 2011 March 2012 Page 15

16 organisations who want to know more about the group. The result of this is that members are becoming well known within their community. For the second year running, members have attended events and taken advantage of opportunities to develop their ability to talk about their group and have their say on issues which affect them. For the members, involvement in these events has enabled them to develop their confidence to mix with other groups. Community Voices members have been involved in the Cardiff People First Ely Hospital Project. This project has brought a new focus to the group and has enabled them to expand the scope of what they can do and apply the skills they have learned. Over 1800 people visited the exhibition that shared the research findings and the results of the interviews with individuals who lived and worked at the Hospital. The Welsh Government Member, Mark Drakeford commented However, Ely Hospital is remembered, there is no doubt that this has been one of the most interesting exhibitions to be held in Cardiff and my warmest congratulations go to everyone involved in the project. Newport People First BME Group was also involved with the Ely Project. The BME group was supported by Newport People First s Funtastic Forum Facilitator and they held a series of workshops involving the members in part of the research and in producing shadow theatre digital stories. The outcome was that the members took stories about Ely Hospital and transformed them into a DVD showing a series of shadow theatre films, making a striking contribution to the project. They also ran a Rights Workshop for members at the Ely Hospital event. The Funtastic Forum Facilitator also supported Cardiff BME members to join Newport People First for the Black History Month Finale. Members took an active part in Black History Month and were directly contacted by external representatives including BME Communities First. Members have had the opportunity to speak to a wide range of organisations and their representatives including organisations promoting healthy living and support during bereavement. Members have spoken about what living in Cardiff means to them and the organisations and BME support networks that are important to them.through this work the group has gained credibility in their community. The BME group in Newport have also been attending a range of events and meetings where they promote and raise issues that affect people with a learning disability from BME communities. These have included: Health Dignity in Hospital Aneurin Bevan Health Board Patient Panel National Parks Champions Their work with the National Parks has developed from members talking together about visiting the countryside as many had not had an opportunity to do this.the Advocacy Grant Scheme Report April 2011 March 2012 Page 16

17 group has now made several trips to the National Parks and they have taken part in a beach cleaning event. This is a really important aspect of the organisation s work and is giving its members new and positive experiences. The Community Voices group are currently involved in planning their next project. They anticipate revisiting the Cultural Heritage Project with a view to obtaining 3 year funding for the group that will include working with Newport People First. Carmarthenshire People First This organisation continues to provide a range of advocacy opportunities for adults with a learning disability in Carmarthenshire. With 72 active members, the monthly member s group, and fortnightly men s and women s groups continue to identify and address issues and challenges. In addition, the newly recruited advocacy worker continues to enable one to one support for members. There is now a pool of 15 trainers with learning disabilities and their focus is largely upon two issues, namely equality and disability awareness, and safeguarding and keeping people safe. The equality training is provided for local authority and health staff, the police and a range of other organisations. The organisation has been honoured for its ongoing work by the Hywel Dda Health Board who awarded them the best contributor from the voluntary sector award. This was for the ongoing work in training Health Board front line staff about the issues that confront individuals with a learning disability when they need to go to hospital The trainers have been working with people who use day centres to raise awareness of how to keep themselves safe. This provides the powerful experience of people with learning disabilities training their peers. Carmarthenshire People First is looking to register as a Training Centre and to deliver accredited training in the future. Seven members are employed as paid staff members and a further 7 individuals have benefitted from work placements. The work with the local authority continues to develop and includes carrying out audits on services and support. Additional funding has been secured for a new family advocate who will be working with parents with learning disabilities on an individual basis, establishing and supporting parent groups, developing training opportunities and working locally, regionally and nationally. The organisation continues to work in partnership with People First groups in Cardigan, Powys and Pembroke as the HERIO campaign group to raise awareness of common issues, building on their initial campaign about the needs of parents with learning disabilities. Other highlights of the year included a visit from the Welsh Government Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, Rhodri Glyn Thomas; 7 members were invited to take part in a 3 day residential research event in Newport that was called Looking into Advocacy Grant Scheme Report April 2011 March 2012 Page 17

18 Abuse ; members gave a presentation on Mate Crime to the Hate Crime Officer s support seminar for Dyfed Powys Police; and 2 members provided the highlight of the Carmarthenshire Adult Safeguarding Board s conference in June 2011 with a presentation about how a friend was subjected to exploitation, intimidation and harassment by his neighbours. Ceredigion People First This organisation is funded to facilitate self advocacy groups across Ceredigion and they support regular meetings for members, providing information, advice and training. They campaign to achieve equality and to improve services and support for people with learning difficulties. The monthly members meetings are the focus for discussions and planning. The topics explored have included the changes to benefits, bereavement, better support for people with autism, supported housing and hate crime. A review of the meetings identified that people said that they felt more confident about speaking up, that people had enjoyed being involved in decision making and campaigning, and that people felt that they were being listened to. In April 2011, a hustings event was run that provided an opportunity for members to question those standing in the Assembly and local elections. This meant that the candidates were made aware of the concerns and priorities of members and a video of the event is on YouTube. Members have continued to campaign effectively and their Annual General meeting focused on looking at the future and the impact of the current budget cuts on services and supports. Members took part in the Hardest Hit rally in Cardiff and Jonathon Richards was one of the main speakers at the rally of more than 1,000 people. Ongoing work has provided members with information and support about the current and planned changes in benefits. The organisation is working in partnership with other People First groups in Carmarthenshire, Powys, and Pembrokeshire to form the HERIO initiative for joint campaigning on shared issues. The initial focus has been upon the right to friendships and relationships. Ceredigion People First s Annual General Meeting enables members to decide which issues the organisation will focus on over the next 12 months.in 2012/13 members will be looking at support; hate crime; transport; and the impact of benefit cuts. A new publicity subgroup has been formed to raise the profile of the organisation and this has started to produce a better news letter to share what is happening and information to an increasingly wider audience. In addition, the new website offers more opportunities for sharing views and information. The organisation has had a focus on work during the year and this included a visit to Wrexham to look at the small businesses and social enterprises developed there. A short DVD was made of the visit to share the information. A WORK training day was held which included various organisations to provide information about work, social enterprises, benefits, work placements, preparing CVs and volunteering. Advocacy Grant Scheme Report April 2011 March 2012 Page 18

19 It continues to prove difficult for the organisation to work in a number of the day services to empower those who attend. It appears that the rights based approach is not fully understood or appreciated by some day service staff and partnership working has not proved productive in a number of settings. The peer advocacy training course has now trained 16 people and their contribution is making great changes in the lives of people being supported and for the peer advocates themselves. The organisation has been looking at how it will continue in the future. A new business plan has been developed for which focuses on increasing membership; further developing the peer advocacy project; and developing additional work with people with more profound or complex needs. Eich Dewis Chi Your Choice The grant funding enables a full time advocate to provide mainly one to one advocacy for people with learning disabilities in the county. This focuses on issues such as care planning, housing, family breakdown, service provision and access to quality services, making complaints,employment, financial abuse, bullying and hate crime. The project also continues to work with individuals with autistic spectrum disorders and especially in ensuring their access to assessments of their condition. The organisation works closely with the self help group in the MIND centre. The advocacy provided has enabled clients to have control of their support, reviews and care plans. A partnership with a supported housing group has led to Eich Dewis Chi hosting and facilitating their quarterly client forum. The aim of the group is to have an opportunity to voice comments and concerns about where they live openly. This means that they can be involved in contributing to decisions about policy, staff changes and support. Since October 2011, the organisation has established a weekly drop in for people with a learning disability in Aberystwyth. This addresses the real need of many people living on their own or in supported living to have a place to meet with friends and to network and socialise. In addition, experts have provided information and advice on housing, employment and safety issues. The organisation is seeking funding to develop further drop ins in the county. There are three additional volunteers, including two with a learning disability and they help at the drop in. A part time member of staff is providing additional advocacy time as well as working to establish a parent group and being available for advice at the drop in. The organisation has ensured that staff have support to achieve the new advocacy qualification and the Independent Mental Health Advocate requirements. The advocate continues to spend considerable time representing people with learning disabilities in a variety of meetings and forums across the county. This raises the profile of issues concerning learning disabilities and raises awareness of the organisation. Advocacy Grant Scheme Report April 2011 March 2012 Page 19

20 In terms of working to sustain the organisation after March 2014, the Board has worked on producing a new business plan that focuses on their future development and delivery. Pembrokeshire People First The core work of the organisation continues to be its casework advocacy but the change to People First since February 2011 has meant that it has become even more user focussed. This has led to an increased emphasis on group work, training options and the development of a campaigning voice for people with learning disabilities throughout Pembrokeshire. A new campaign sub group has been established to work on the priorities identified by the members. The current focus is upon benefit cuts; independent living; transport; and hate crime. Commitment to be involved has come from two Welsh Government Members and two MPs, the County Council s Access officer and Equality officer alongside the members. The use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter is raising the profile of the campaigns and drawing together people s stories and experiences. Over 50 members took part in Mencap s campaign about Hate Crime, signing the petition themselves and taking it out on the streets of Haverfordwest for the public to sign. In terms of one to one advocacy, people have been supported through a wide range of problems including accommodation, transition, child care issues, day service provision, financial abuse, capacity to take decisions, and the quality of the support offered by front line staff. The existing 5 peer advocates have had refresher training and two are supporting their advocacy partners with accessing social opportunities. A further 7 peer advocates are being trained with the existing peer advocates being involved in the design and delivery of the course. In terms of training, Learning Disability Awareness has been delivered to frontline housing staff and Dyfed Powys Police. Protection for Vulnerable Adults training is being developed with the aim of members training and raising awareness of peers with learning disability. This is being developed in partnership with Carmarthenshire People First who have trained an initial seven members who will now be undertaking the Train the Trainers training. The Men s, Women s, Parent s and Member s groups continue to be successful. The Men s and Women s group have been working on a project that has focused on Human Rights. They are working with a visual artist who is helping the production of a booklet about our rights. The organisation continues to work in partnership with other local People First organisations and All Wales People First. They have worked with Carmarthenshire People First and Dyfed Powys Police to develop the Pegasus Project which provides vulnerable people with a password which alerts the police to their special needs. The scheme will be launched in Pembrokeshire in April Advocacy Grant Scheme Report April 2011 March 2012 Page 20

21 Partnership working with Collaborative Communities is providing support for Pembrokeshire People First to develop a new business plan and to identify future ways of sourcing additional income including establishing a social firm as a trading arm. The move to new offices took place at the beginning of January 2012 and this has provided additional space to hold meetings, deliver training, store resources and provide better office facilities. It is already beginning to act as a drop in centre for members. Person to Person Bridgend and Caerphilly This group provides Citizen Advocacy for people with a learning disability. A new Coordinator has been appointed for Bridgend and has completed a review of all of the partnerships in the area. The coordinator for Bridgend currently provides support to 7 partnerships. There has been a decrease in the number of partnerships in Bridgend as some had come to an end whereas others had become long term friendships that no longer required support. However, since the appointment of the new coordinator there has been an increase in the recruitment of potential advocate and partnerships. The coordinator in Caerphilly supports 36 partnerships. Both Co-ordinators provide regular support to their partnerships through formal and informal approaches including telephone calls, s, and face-to-face supervision. The advocates deal with a wide range of issues with their partners. They include: Accommodation/Housing Health Benefits Day services/day time activities Travel/holidays Although the time each issue takes to resolve varies, the real focus of Citizen Advocacy partnerships rests in the relationship with the partners, and the added benefits that having a Citizen Advocate brings. The project produces six monthly newsletters which are sent out in Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter. As a direct result of the project for parents with learning disabilities being funded from the Advocacy Grant Scheme, Person to Person have secured 3 year funding from the Big Lottery to provide continuing advocacy for parents with learning disabilities. This has led to the recruitment of two Parent Advocates to work with parents with learning disabilities in Caerphilly and Bridgend. They have created promotional material for both the Citizen Advocacy and Parent Advocacy services in professional and accessible versions and are in the process of Advocacy Grant Scheme Report April 2011 March 2012 Page 21

22 updating and expanding their website to include the Parent Advocacy work and a Welsh translation option. Rhondda Cynon Taf People First The Count me in Project provides one to one and group advocacy support for adults with high support needs. The project has continued to respond to the individuals who have been receiving ongoing contact and support. One issue raised by a number of individuals was the lack of training and learning opportunities for them in comparison to their peers without complex needs. As a result of this issue being raised, the project facilitator looked at the possibility of assisting individuals with higher and more complex need to gain nationally recognised qualifications to Open College Network level. Six people were interested in participating in the accredited training. The facilitator has worked to overcome the challenges involved in this initiative. It took a great deal of time to make the information required for the qualification accessible for each individual. In addition, there were a number of difficulties caused by the centre which provided day services to the small group of individuals. This included the attitude of staff, the lack of understanding of individual need, cancelled room bookings and a failure to support the learning prepared for individuals. As a result of this, one member of the group had to withdraw. Another challenge that the facilitator encountered was to how to adapt the learning for each individual. This meant that the learning plans had to be extremely flexible and adjusted to each specific learner. However, this became much less of an issue as they learnt more about each individual over time. As a result of the input from the facilitator, three individuals have had their work assessed and they received their certificates at a presentation event on the 30th March 2012 at the University of Glamorgan. In addition, the work of other members of the group has been identified for accreditation which will be moderated in early April The individuals involved in this work have now set a precedent for people who have higher or more complex needs to be included in accredited training. They now feel equal to their peers and they have developed greater confidence about attending any further courses that may have previously been out of their reach. What was seen at the presentation on the 30th March 2012 was just how proud individuals were to gain their accreditation certificates from an official body and not just for attending. One of the best outcomes for the facilitator has been seeing the raised confidence of the people who took part. The work undertaken by the project s facilitator should be acknowledged as integral to ensuring the success of the learning experience. In particular, his use of IT and associated technologies to assist communication and to provide the evidence of each individual learner s work has contributed to the success of the people he supported. Advocacy Grant Scheme Report April 2011 March 2012 Page 22