Speaking up for East Lancashire

Imagine. You're 89 years old. You're in hospital and you want to go back to your own home. You're hard of hearing, weary and frail. You're worried about what's going to happen. You've no family and you're completely overwhelmed. And people keep talking at you, about what's best, about what you need, about what you should do. But no one is listening to what you want.

Who can help you explain your point of view to Health or Social Services? Who can make sure that these people know how you feel, where you want to be and when. Who can make sure your voice is heard?

East Lancashire Advocacy Services, that's who.

An Accrington-based charity, East Lancashire Advocacy Service (ELAS) provides a voice for anyone who, for whatever reason, needs support in making sure that their wishes are considered in matters that affect them.

Manager Elizabeth Williams explains: "That may be people with disabilities, learning difficulties, mental health issues or who are vulnerable members of the community through age or infirmity. It may be someone who is simply going through a bad time and needs help sorting out a specific concern.

"The advocacy service isn't here to sort people's problems out, it's here to empower them, to make sure that what they want to say is said," she adds.

And judging by the way the service has expanded, more and more people in East Lancashire are being heard thanks to ELAS.  In the year to March 2005, 298 of them in fact – who benefited from an average 19 hours of advocacy each.

"We're completely 'needs-led'," explains Elizabeth. "We haven't expanded because we wanted to become a bigger organisation, we've expanded because, quite simply, there has been a need for our service."

What began as a one-advocate plus volunteers service ten years ago now covers the whole of East Lancashire with a board of 12 trustees, 10 employed staff and up to 30 volunteers.

Elizabeth herself originally joined on a temporary, 6-month contract – nine and a half years ago – because she became an advocate without even realising it.

"I had a sister with learning difficulties and physical disability; my father had disabilities and my mother had cancer. Through the natural order of things I found myself providing advocacy for the whole family.

"When a chance to get professionally involved came up, I decided to go for it,” she says. And Elizabeth is so obviously passionate about her work that it is clear she hasn't regretted that decision for a single minute.

Under her excellent leadership (a category, incidentally, in which the charity won a 'Be Inspired' Business Link award), ELAS became the first advocacy service in the county to gain Investors In People accreditation.

"That's how we first got involved with Business Link," explains Elizabeth. "And since then, we've made maximum use of Business Link services which have proved to be absolutely brilliant for us – in more ways than one.

"It's given us access to plenty of free or greatly subsidised training. It's given us our own business adviser who not only helped us enormously in that capacity but also joined our board of trustees to contribute directly to the organisation.

"And it's led to further opportunities – like the Lancashire Leaders programme which I'm finding incredibly beneficial for my own development as a manager."

As an indication of just how highly regarded ELAS is in its field, Elizabeth and the team are holding their second major conference with national speakers, delegates from across the country and practical workshops.

"The last one was very well received and we're confident that this year's event will exceed even that," says Elizabeth.

The conference entitled 'Advocacy – Getting the Message Across' will be held at Accrington Town Hall on 30 September. For more information about the conference or wider advocacy issues, East Lancashire Advocacy Services can be contacted on 01254 301030.

For more details about Business Link services, call 0845 600 9 006.

photo shows:  l-r Lindsay Burton (Work Placement), Pat Gudgeon (Admin Assistant) and Elizabeth Williams