The people who give a voice to those struggling to be heard

But just 18 months ago, it was a completely different story for the 61-year-old from Acomb, who would have felt too anxious to leave the house on her own – let alone meet a stranger and engage in conversation.

Her life was thrown into turmoil in 2015 when a neighbour and close friend died and Sue felt her mood drop dramatically and without improvement.

Sue was prescribed antidepressants, which she took briefly but suddenly stopped, and found her mental health deteriorated dramatically.

“I came off the tablets thinking I was okay,” says Sue, “Very quickly it became obvious that I wasn’t eating, drinking or taking care of myself.”

Sue lost a noticeable amount of weight, and soon her husband and teenage son were finding her behaviour difficult to understand.

“I was doing and saying things that were completely out of character,” she said, “Some days, I was convinced that my husband and son would leave the house and not come back.”

As Sue and her family struggled to know what to do, a referral was made to York Advocacy, a service which can support vulnerable people to access specialist support.

It’s a service which could help more people in York, when a new advocacy hub is launched in the city. It will offer professional support to ensure vulnerable people, or people with a disability, or mental health issue, are listened to and taken seriously, and can access the services they need.

For Sue, their help marked a turning point in her life. A senior advocate, Jamie, visited her at home and realised her condition had declined to the extent that crisis support was needed immediately.

Jamie contacted the relevant professionals and she was admitted to hospital on the same day.

“Jamie helped to get me the support I needed at the time, which was spending a month as an inpatient at Bootham Park Hospital,” Sue said, “I was then transferred to Acomb Garth Recovery Unit, where I stayed on and off for five months.

“I found the recovery unit relaxing and a good place to be, but then when I left, I just had no idea what to do with myself.”

She desperately needed some support while she continued her recovery at home and Jamie stepped in to help.

“Jamie was absolutely brilliant,” says Sue. “She was there before my hospital admission and after I came out, she pushed to arrange a social care needs assessment for me, so I could continue my recovery. Thanks to Jamie’s support, the assessment led to me being allocated 2.5 hours of community based support per week.

“York Advocacy are very special to me. Jamie really listened and helped me to look at what I had, and find ways to move forward. The support she helped set up has enabled me to feel more independent – I now meet once a week with someone for coffee, or we go to the shops. I find I’m not relying on other people as much as I was before, and things are definitely better at home. I’m now looking forward to the future, especially when my husband retires in June. There’s much more we can enjoy together now.”

People like Sue will be helped with the launch of the city’s advocacy hub in Clifton, organisers say. Run by York Mind and Cloverleaf Advocacy, the council- commissioned service aims to help people in vulnerable situations who need to make important decisions or are facing issues they need help with.

York Mind has been delivering advocacy services since 2013, working closely with other local services and organisations, supporting around 300 people a year to access information and advice, be listened to and taken seriously, be able to speak up for themselves, access a broader range of services, understand and uphold their rights and to make a complaint about services provided by social services or the NHS.

Now, the advocacy hub will provide a single point of access for advocacy in York, and will also offer a number of options for York residents with additional needs who want to access its help directly.

Cat Adlam, service manager at York Advocacy, said: “Some of our clients are among the most vulnerable in our society, who lack the means to communicate their wishes and views and who don’t have family and friends to support them. We will provide advocacy under the Care Act 2014 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005, to ensure that professionals making decisions on behalf of these vulnerable people are doing so in their best interests and according to their human rights.

“People detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 will also have access to an advocate from York Advocacy Hub, to ensure their voice is heard in regards to their care and treatment.

“The York Advocacy Hub will be based at our offices in Devonshire Court in Clifton, accessible via two major bus routes and with meeting room facilities for clients and professionals. Our advocates will also be able to work flexibly across other sites in York, to meet the needs of clients not able to visit our premises.”

 - To find out if the advocacy hub can help you, or if you’re interested in volunteering, please call 01904 414357, visit www.yorkadvocacy.org.uk, or email office@yorkadvocacy.org.uk

- For information about York Mind and how you can get involved, please visit www.yorkmind.org.uk

* Sue’s name has been change to protect her identity.

An interview with Diane Neville-Beck, of York Advocacy

When did you start working with York Advocacy?
I started working for York Mind, within the York Advocacy service, in April 2016.

What inspired you to become an advocate?
I’m an occupational therapist by background and I have always valued person-centred working very highly. Supporting someone to have their voice heard, secure their rights, and be involved in that process as actively as possible can be hugely beneficial to someone’s wellbeing.

What have you enjoyed about working with your clients so far?
I love feeling the difference it makes to clients to have their point of view listened to and then put forward in an assertive and professional way, supporting them to get answers to their questions or have their issues recognised and addressed appropriately. Maximising someone’s ability to self-advocate is always in the back of my mind, and seeing your client’s confidence and ability to self-advocate develop is hugely rewarding.
I also really value the range of clients and issues I get to work with, challenging my communication skills and ability to find out what people’s rights are and what specific services may be out there to support them.

What would you say to other people considering a career within advocacy?
Advocacy is a challenging but rewarding work, there are chances to make a real difference to how someone feels about an issue that is impacting on them. There are also times when you support someone to get their voice heard but the response they get doesn’t give them what they wish for. This can be hard, and it is important that you are able to get support from colleagues with these challenging times.
Overall, the benefits far outweigh the difficult times and I feel it is a role that is very much valued by the clients who access the service. Making a difference to them is what it’s all about.