Disablility First - ‘Enabling Haringey’ to be become accessible for everyone
Haringey Disability First Consortium (HDFC) has four main partners
- Haringey Race & Equality Council
- Haringey Citizens Advice Bureau
- Age Concern Haringey
- Haringey Women's Forum
We work with all disabled people and use the ‘social model of disability'. To understand who is defined as ‘disabled’ and to ‘meet’ our staff please see our leaflet
For more information about how the consortium was formed and the ‘social model of disability’ please look at our Frequently Asked Questions (HDFC_FAQ.pdf )
Our Representation Worker is called Mhairi McGhee.
You say her name, ‘Vari'.
She works part time.
Mhairi’s contact details are:
Telephone - 0208 885 4705
Email - mhairi@hwfonline.org.uk
Post - Haringey Disability First Consortium,
c/o HWF,
1 Bruce Grove,
Haringey.
N17 6RA.
Mhairi runs HDFCs forum ‘Enabling Haringey' and produces our newsletter. Have a look at our first edition (March 2010) and second edition (December 2010).
HDFC's work is directed by the forum which meets every two months.
What is discussed at these meetings and who is invited to attend is decided by forum members. To find out more and to be added to our mailing list please complete and return this form
In our first year our members told us that good Transport and Housing/Access were important for disabled people’s wellbeing. HDFC therefore, set-up sub-groups to focus on these issues.
We run a Stroke User Panel linking service users with clinicians, commissioners, councillors and local and national charities - working together to make Haringey accessible for everyone.
Our members want to know what services they can use and to share information about good and bad services.
Our volunteers therefore developed a Mystery Shopper form that reviews ‘respect’, ‘responsiveness’ and ‘understanding’. Click to see the form that they developed.
If you would like to ask us to review a service or are interested in becoming a Mystery Shopper please get in touch.
We also collect details of services available to Haringey's disabled residents. If you would like to be added to our database of services please complete and return this form.
HDFC also runs an advice and casework service for disabled people from Haringey Race and Equality Council.
We can help you get the benefits you are entitled to and help if you feel you've been treated unfairly.
Please contact Derma to refer yourself or a client on:
Telephone - 0208 889 6871
Email - info@haringeyrec.org.uk
Post - Haringey Disability First Consortium casework,
c/o HREC,
14 Turnpike Lane,
Haringey.
N8 0PT
In Person in our accessible office - map
or this Referral form can be completed and returned to Derma.
If you would like to find out more or would like this information in another format please get in touch.
We try to write in a way that is easy to understand, following Haringey Council's guidance, ‘How to do this differently', but we can always get better so please let us know what you think.
Disability Work
Haringey Disability First Consortium (HDFC) four main partners,
- Haringey Race & Equality Council
- Haringey Citizens Advice Bureau
- Age Concern Haringey
- Haringey Women’s Forum
Providing advice and information – facilitating representation
We aim to improve the way people experience, benefit and are represented on disability issues in Haringey. The Consortium will establish appropriate networks to develop full participation from all sections of the local disabled community to improve local service delivery and the planning of future services and policies.
• Promotion and awareness of disability issues, rights and responsibilities to the public, statutory stakeholders, and the private sector
• Provide a casework service for those who have complaints relevant to the Disability Discrimination Act & Disability Equality Duty
• Establish and support a Disability Forum for both individuals and organisations, with an interest in disability issues
• Work in partnership with the local authority and other key stakeholders to ensure best practice in its role as an employer and service provider on disability issues
• Publish a disability newsletter, twice a year
• To inform and raise awareness of disability issues within the wider community
• To provide a strategic representation service on behalf of clients and/or their advocates
• To compile a database of local agencies who provide a specialist advice and service on disability issues, for use in signposting and networking
• To take a pro-active role in promoting effective partnerships with the statutory sector and other relevant bodies, for example the Equalities and Human Rights Commission
• To develop a means to deliver disability service improvements locally
• To encourage good practice and disability awareness in our advisory capacity
• To improve access and the distribution of information to people with disabilities
• To promote positive images of disabled people and challenge discriminating attitudes
Representation
A representative Forum will meet at least three times per year and central coordinating support will be provided to its members.
Advice will be offered to disabled people about services. During Forum meetings and other events there will be opportunities to meet, share experiences and develop closer links with other disabled people and service providers.
Disabled people, as we know do not live without context and the benefits of connecting their families, friends and carers through the events and training sessions will add to the overall benefit by making sure people are informed about options and services available.
It is expected that the key stakeholders, for example Haringey Teaching Primary Care Trust, will benefit from the project which will in turn lead to service improvements for local disabled people.
It is expected that the Forum members will also make recommendations to the HDFC. Speakers will be invited to give representations at Forums and seminars and users/members will be encouraged to raise issues.
The Consortium will have 2 representatives from each partner organisation, one of which will be a representative of disabled people. The remaining places will be reserved for co-options from user groups/clients, representing disabled people. It is envisaged that there will be at least 60% Disabled representatives.
Advice Provision
Haringey REC and Haringey CAB both operate within the Community Legal Service Quality Mark framework and will extend their services to include two part-time dedicated caseworkers to deliver the service. It is anticipated that the Business Plan will include a marketing and publicity strategy to advertise the service widely and to distribute leaflets and information to local agencies and community organisations.
Haringey REC’s offices will operate a drop-in service (two days per week) and an appointment service (two days per week). Included in this we will also operate a telephone, email, text and correspondence service during the week. All clients will be interviewed and assessed and their complaint investigated in compliance to the CLS standards of service. Case file reviews will be undertaken on a monthly basis and six monthly reports and casework trends/analysis will be made to the HDF Consortium. At the end of the first year an impact analysis review will be undertaken to provide a basis for informing key policy decision makers of potential gaps in service and to make recommendations for service improvement. Lessons learnt will be shared with other agencies via the Forum and local networks.
The CAB will carry out diagnostic interviews to assess the advice needs of each client. From this will follow casework where necessary including applications for appropriate benefits. Quality assured advice on debt, employment, immigration and housing etc is also available. The seamless service also allows for referral to specialists, internally on welfare benefits, immigration and debt, and externally in other categories.
Women Talking - Our Befriending service
Women Talking is a befriending service, providing support to women who have experienced violence or abuse in relationships. Our befrienders are all women from the local area, who have chosen to volunteer because they want to support other women to move forward in their lives. They do not get paid for befriending and they are friendly, reliable, good listeners, non-judgmental and supportive.
What is befriending?
Befriending is different from relationships you will have with your friends because it is supervised by Haringey Women’s Forum. Befrienders aren’t there to offer their opinions, advice or talk about their problems as your friends might do. They are there to focus on your needs or problems and to support you through happy and also difficult times. They aim to encourage you to become more independent so that when you and your befriender decide that the befriending should end, you feel more confident and you have built up community links so you are not on your own. We train volunteer befrienders specifically to offer support to you and we are always here to make sure that everything is going ok for you.
You and your befriender can meet once a week for two hours and do things that you would like to do. Some weeks this might be talking over coffee getting to know each other, whilst other weeks you might decide to do something active together, such as an exercise class or a walk in the park. Your befriender can help you set some goals, which you can work towards whilst involved in the project. These could include:
- Joining a local group or activity
- Doing a course
- Getting involved in volunteering
What is important is that this is relevant to your life and is guided by you. Any goals you set
with your befriender are decided by you and can be as small or as big as you want them to be.
By building a relationship with a befriender, taking part in the project and working towards your
goals you can benefit from;
- Feeling less isolated
- Feeling more confident
- Having healthier relationships in the future
If you would like to find out more about having a befriender and to get involved in the project
then please get in contact with Clare.
Case study
Sarah (not her real name) joined the befriending project after being assaulted by a boyfriend. Sarah wanted to talk to someone about this who wasn’t personally involved in her life as she didn’t feel that she could talk to her family about it. Sarah saw her befriender regularly and slowly they started to build a relationship. She liked that her befriender wasn’t being paid to meet with her and that she was doing it because she wanted to. Sarah also felt that her and her befriender were well matched by Haringey Women’s Forum because they had quite similar personalities. Sarah’s befriender helped her to research local activities and they went out and did things together and had fun! Having a befriender helped with Sarah’s self-confidence and by the time the befriending relationship came to an end, Sarah said that she felt more confident when meeting new people for the first time. Above all, Sarah said that her befriender had listened to her without judging her which was very important to her.
Help with housing
The Housing service aims to provide support to women who are:
Over 18 and experiencing, or at risk of, domestic violence and live in or want to resettle into Haringey.
Please Note: Our eligibility criteria must be fulfilled to ensure you are entitled to support at the Forum.
Support is provided for a limited time, with the aim of enabling the Service User to develop their confidence and self reliance until they are able to live independently without sustained support.
The following are examples of Housing Support that can be provided through the Support Workers:
· Understanding the rights and obligations of the Tenancy Agreement
· Advice, advocacy and liaison
· Help in sustaining a tenancy and household management
· Assistance with personal safety and security
· Help in tenancy set up e.g. gas connection
· Developing domestic skills, life skills, social and economical skills and behavioral skills
· Claiming welfare benefits
· Emotional support, counselling and advice
· Supervision and assistance with well being, health and medication
· Managing debts, bills and finances and budgeting
· Peer support and befriending
· Help with accessing and using services in the community
· Accessing employment and education
· Help with making a Complaint
· Help with seeking more suitable alternative accommodation
· Help and assistance with shopping
· Liaison and advocacy on cultural and ethnic issues
· Culture specific counselling and support
· Security support regarding domestic violence and harassment
How We Operate:
To receive support from our housing team, you need to fit the eligibility criteria. We take referrals either from individual women or through other agencies.
We will complete an Initial Contact Form with you and then conduct a Need’s and Risk Assessment with you. Afterwards, we will agree on a support plan and set ourselves an action plan with targets to achieve.
We will meet at least once every two weeks with you and will supply you with a summary which will show details of what you need to do before the next agreed meeting and what we will be doing on your behalf.
Please remember to let us know if you can't make a meeting.