SAFEGUARDING AND DOMESTIC ABUSE

We believe there is no greater priority than the safety of those who we serve. We provide a range of services in this area, including:

• Advice to LAs and others on assessing risk and working effectively when safeguarding those in our communities.

• Specialist support for victims of Domestic Abuse and Honour Based Abuse in our communities.

• Assisting parents with communication with children’s services.

As appropriate, we may attend STRAT, MARAC, CIN, Core Group & CPC meetings.

PASTORAL CARE and chaplaincy

We provide pastoral care to our communities. This includes:

• Outreach and identifying needs

• Trust building

• Mental health support

• End of life care

• Bereavement support

• Enabling access to religious and cultural expression, as desired

Our pastoral work has a heavy focus on support around mental health and wellbeing, not least due to the high suicide rates among Travellers.

ACCESSING HEALTH and social CARE

We work to ensure that our communities have access to healthcare on an equitable basis with the rest of the population. This work includes:

• Advocacy for individuals with complex illnesses and disabilities, securing access to health and social care that meets their needs and upholds their agency.

• Advice and training to health and social care services or integrated/collaborative systems to improve access to, and the effectiveness of, provision for our communities.

• Mediation where families and clinicians disagree on major treatment decisions.

suicide prevention/postvention

Our safeguarding, health and pastoral teams work together with communities, public health teams, NHS Trusts and VCSE providers to:

• Respond to suicide in our communities to ensure the right support is in place and community risk is reduced. This includes responding to suicide clusters in communities.

• Build communities and multi-agency systems that reduce incidence of suicide and improve wellbeing.

ACCESSING EDUCATION

We aim to increase educational access and engagement, with a particular focus on children of primary school age and those with Special Educational Needs. This work includes:

• Advocacy for families who have or may have a child with Special Educational Needs (SEN), ensuring their needs are assessed and met.

• Advocacy on wider educational issues such as access and exclusions.

• Working to facilitate better relationships between our communities, families and local schools.

advice, advocacy and legal REFERRALS

We offer advice and advocacy services, ensuring individuals and communities have access to the support and representation they need. We can also refer clients to a range of specialist law firms.

We have experience in supporting clients across a range of areas including housing, benefits, family issues, care proceedings, land, planning, community care, SEN, medio-legal matters, crime and probation.

Our in-house and referral services are tailored to meet the individual needs of each client to enable them to be heard fairly and have their rights respected.

PUBLIC SECTOR TRAINING

We offer bespoke training and/or advice to organisations in the public and charitable sectors across a range of subjects, including cultural awareness, outreach, communication and adapting services to meet the needs of our communities.

Clients include NHS bodies, LAs, schools and HM Probation Service.

If this is of potential interest to your organisation, please email info@margaretclitherow.org