Sandwell Advocacy is delighted to announce that we have just surpassed our 100th referral milestone for the PAGE project.
Having begun in September 2022 and with just over 2 years of growing support, the Parents Advocacy, Guidance and Empowerment (PAGE) Project has provided invaluable assistance to parents and families with learning disabilities, within the Sandwell area.
The purpose of the PAGE project was established to help parents with a learning disability, whose children are known to Children Services, Education, and family service providers or at risk of being escalated to any of these services. PAGE continues to provide a dual advocacy approach through advocacy and in partnership with ‘Ideal For All’ who provide an independent living skills officer.
Parents have shared that having an Independent Advocate has helped them have a voice and given them empowerment to express their wishes and feelings. The valuable support given by the PAGE, ensures that their needs and those of their children are met by helping them to understand the process they are going through and allows them to feel more confident, at home and out in the community.
What Parents Say!
Kirsty Kemp, Advocacy Practitioner at Sandwell Advocacy, share’s some of their comments:
“You gave me confidence to attend meetings and in court hearings. I wouldn’t have known everything what was going on if you hadn’t explained it to me. You helped me with documents to understand them. I felt supported during the court hearings, having an Advocate made me feel more confident and supported”.
“The Independent Living Skills Officer helped me and I liked attending the groups at ‘Ideal For All’, I met some nice people and made new friends”.
“Having an ‘Independent Advocate’ and engaging with the ‘PAGE Project’ has given me more confidence attending meetings. It helped me understand the process I was going through with Sandwell Children’s Trust. You helped me when I couldn’t afford food and other stuff, referring me to food bank, and you never judged. We can now be all together, as a family”
How to refer
Referrals can be made via:
Individuals directly (self-referral)
- From their family, friends, or voluntary sector organisations (third-party)
- Or other services / agencies (Early Help Teams, Children’s social workers, solicitors etc.).
Sandwell Advocacy acts as a single point of contact for referrals.
The PAGE referral form can be downloaded from Sandwell Advocacy website. Completed forms can be emailed to Sandwell Advocacy.
Referrals can also be taken over the phone.
To find out more about the PAGE Project please visit our website.