Overview
Who does the work and what do we do?
Most of our advocacy is provided by the staff team with some help in the groups from volunteers and support workers. All our staff have ongoing supervision and support, are DBS and reference checked and have regular training in important areas like Safeguarding. The Trustees have the responsibility for making sure the organisation is run properly and we comply with all the regulations for Charities and as employers.
Working with individuals
Most of our advocacy is with individuals, this is sometimes called 121 advocacy. We work with people in a variety of settings including their own homes, hospital, schools and colleges, residential care, and community settings like cafes or local groups. We work with people who can tell us what they want directly, sometimes known as instructed advocacy, as well as people who are non verbal or have communication difficulties using non instructed advocacy approaches. We always check with you and the people that know you well about how best to communicate with you.
Working with groups
Self Advocacy is speaking up for yourself and the ultimate goal for all of us! However we recognise that this hard for some people, and Speakeasy has a long tradition of self advocacy groups for people with a learning disability and autism where group members can support each other and learn self advocacy skills together. We currently have two groups in Basingstoke, and one our Trustees supports a group for young people with Autism in the local community as well. Group members tell us they learn new skills from their peers and improve wellbeing through friendships.
Are there any questions you need answered now?
Read our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to get the answers you need right now.
Who can you work with?
Please check the Help and Support pages to see if we can work with you. We aim to provide advocacy support to as many vulnerable children young people and adults as possible throughout Hampshire. Unfortunately this can’t always happen as we are dependent on funding from grants and contracts which are usually limited to a fixed time period, a specific location or group of people. So we keep our website updated so that everyone can see the current situation. From April 2024 our focus is on people in Basingstoke and Hart & Rushmoor with a learning disability, autism, other neuro diverse conditions or communication difficulties.
Do I need to pay?
We don’t charge individuals for our advocacy service, but we have to find the cost from grants, contracts and individual service commissions. We may ask a Local Authority or NHS Trust/Integrated Care Service to pay for the advocacy if they have a legal duty to provide the service – for example under the Care Act, Children and Families or DOLS legislation. People can only join Friday Network if the place is funded as part of their HCC or NHS commissioned care.
What happens if you can’t help me?
If we do not have funding to work with you, we aim to signpost you to at least one local organisation who can offer support. We can sometimes keep a waiting list of people who need advocacy if we think we may get some funding in the near future.
How can I join your groups?
You need to contact us and we will discuss if the groups will meet your needs. You do not need to live in Basingstoke to attend the groups. People can only join Friday Network if the place is funded as part of their HCC or NHS commissioned care.
Do you provide the commissioned advocacy service?
From April 2020 the commissioned advocacy service in Hampshire is provided by VoiceAbility. This includes all statutory advocacy for adults and children – IMCA and DOLS IMCA, Care Act, IMHA, Children’s – as well as some non statutory advocacy for mental health and learning disability or autism. Please let us know if you have any problems accessing their service and we will try and support your referral.
