Advocacy and safeguarding - where do we fit in?

In this special #SafeguardingAdultsWeek #SAW2024 blog, our Chief Executive David Woolley highlights the powerful partnership that exists between Your Voice Counts and our local Safeguarding Adults Boards.

Advocacy and safeguarding - where do we fit in?

Blog by David Woolley, Chief Executive, Your Voice Counts

Organisations like ours are commissioned to provide independent advocacy to some of the most vulnerable people in society which inevitably brings us into contact, on a daily basis, with people who face the exact types of abuse, risks and neglect that Safeguarding Adults procedures are designed to tackle.

Through delivering our advocacy services, we gain insight and trust which so often are either the crucial first step in recognising a safeguarding issue, or the missing piece of the jigsaw that identifies a risk. This puts us in a privileged but incredibly responsible position, and illustrates exactly why it is so important that advocacy is incorporated into safeguarding procedures.

Your Voice Counts delivers advocacy services in Newcastle, Gateshead and South Tyneside and is represented on all three of these local Safeguarding Adults Boards by our Head of Advocacy Sharon de Jesus with me as deputy when required. We think this connection with Safeguarding Boards is important; as NICE guidelines state:

Advocates can identify signs of distress, neglect, or emerging challenges before they become severe. This allows for timely interventions, reducing the likelihood of crisis situations. [NICE NG227, 1.3.6]

Advocates are out there every day on the front lines and they’re quick to notice gaps, unmet needs or risk that might go unseen by others. By sharing these observations with Safeguarding Boards, advocates play a vital role in preventing harm.

It’s not only about prevention though – advocates bring people’s experiences, feelings, and wishes directly into safeguarding discussions, helping decision-makers see each person as an individual with a unique story, which helps to make the system more adaptable, effective and person-centred overall.

Strong, trusting connections across teams and services are key and we’re lucky to have these in our region. The North East and North Cumbria Advocacy Network is a fantastic example of this, working together to share best practice, make improvements, and challenge the sector where required, as we did in our joint response to the safeguarding review of abuse at the Whorlton Hall residential facility (you can read this here).

Advocacy is all about upholding people’s rights and treating them with dignity, which builds a foundation of trust within the community. When people know that safeguarding services are there to listen and respect them, they’re more likely to reach out and engage. Our relationships with our advocacy clients, and in turn our place on Safeguarding Boards, join up to show that we’re here for the person first, protecting not only their safety but also their right to feel secure, valued and heard.

View from the other side

"Gateshead Safeguarding Adults Board are pleased to welcome representatives from not one but two advocacy providers from Gateshead to sit on the board. Both Your Voice Counts and Connected Voice are represented, this affords board members the opportunity to gain valuable insights into the work of advocacy providers and advocates both in a statutory and non-statutory capacity.

The board is keen to learn from the experiences of people who have been through the safeguarding process. Part of that learning is around how, when there is no one else to support the person during their safeguarding journey, advocacy providers can step in ensuring the person’s views wishes and feelings are represented and considered throughout the process.

It is vitally important that we keep the person at the centre of our safeguarding processes, acknowledging them as experts in their own lives and give them every opportunity to take an active part in the safeguarding processes which will have a direct impact on their lives."

Catherine Hardman, Gateshead Safeguarding Adults Board

More information

For information about the advocacy services provided by Your Voice Counts, visit www.yvc.org.uk/advocacy.

For information about our local Safeguarding Adults Boards, please see: