Helping Rita

What was Rita’s situation before working with Advocacy Focus?  

Rita* self-referred to Advocacy Focus because she was struggling with her mental health. She had been through serious trauma in the past. She is a mum of two children, and one of them may be on the autism spectrum and has extra needs. Rita had also recently left a relationship where she experienced domestic abuse and control.

Rita tried to get help for both her mental health and her child’s needs. She spoke to health visitors, family services, and social prescribers, but felt she wasn’t getting the support she needed. She then went to the local council for help, but this led to her child being placed on a Child Protection Plan.

Feeling stressed and upset, Rita asked the Community Focus Team for support. She told her Community Advocate that she felt like she was being punished by the local council just for asking for help. She wanted someone to explain her rights and to be with her in important meetings, to make sure she was being listened to.

What did the Community Advocate do to help Rita?

The Community Advocate spent time with Rita, helping her prepare for meetings and speak up about her concerns. Rita explained that she felt her children were put on a protection plan mainly because of her mental health struggles. But the involvement of the council actually made her mental health worse.

In meetings, Rita asked her Advocate to explain that she was unhappy with how her case was being handled. She wanted professionals to understand how their actions were making her feel worse, and that any progress she made was down to her own efforts, not theirs. Rita also asked her Advocate to make clear that unannounced home visits were not appropriate, and that important conversations should not take place in front of her children. She said end-of-week visits left her feeling unsafe and intimidated without support.

What was the outcome? 

At the final core meeting, professionals admitted the process had been harmful to Rita. They agreed to change how they worked with her. Rita would be given support after social worker visits, and other professionals would attend visits too, so she didn’t feel so intimidated.

The professionals said they could see how much the process had hurt Rita and her children. They agreed to close her child protection case, as they saw no serious concerns at that time.

Rita was very happy with the outcome and hoped the professionals had learned from her case. She wished that in the future, they would act with more kindness and understanding towards other families.

Why was advocacy support so effective? 

Before the case closed, Rita’s Community Advocate made sure she had extra help from local social prescribers and access to Advocacy Focus’ self-help toolkits. Rita said she now felt stronger and more able to speak up for herself. For the first time, she felt “fully accepted and listened to as myself.”

*Names changed to protect the identity of the people we support.