Caithness & Sutherland
It's been a busy and varied year providing advocacy across Caithness & Sutherland and a big 'thank you' is due to my willing band of volunteers. A lot of the referrals need urgent support and so far we have never failed to provide this, mainly due to the flexibility of the volunteers. A fair amount of the casework is ongoing, complicated, and often stressful, and it is important that the volunteers feel that they can get in touch with me if things get too much for them. We deal with all sorts of issues but the main bulk of work over the last year has been with clients who are suffering mental health problems. To date we have two Mental Health Tribunals in our area.
Over the year we have developed strong links with other agencies that help promote our services and i am finding that people are now a lot clearer on exactly what our role is. Both the volunteers and i have attended various training courses held across the Highlands, which helps us to understand better the challenges our clients have to face. We have our regular 'volunteer get togethers' which are popular and worthwhile, and while we usually have a speaker, we also find it useful just to talk through issues we have been dealing with.
The awareness raising will continue - my only concern being that we can keep up with the demand for our services. Looking back over the year it's being hectic, challenging, at times frustrating but also very rewarding. My thanks go to Sheilis, Advocacy Highland manager and Fiona in the Inverness office, the other co-ordinators, and last but not least my excellent volunteers.