Self-Advocacy Resources

Mental Health and Wellbeing

This section is about your mental health and wellbeing. It may be of interest to you if you are experiencing poor mental health due to your circumstances; you might be in hospital or living in the community; you might be under the care of community mental health team or you might be worried about your mental health and don't know where or how to access supports.

What can Ceartas do to help you?

Ceartas are here to help you make sense of the services available to you and help you access these. If you are in a hospital you may wish to speak to us about this and get some information on your legal rights and we can help you access a solicitor if required. If you have any meetings or tribunals to go to we can make sure your views are shared and taken account of as your care and treatment is discussed. If you are at home and are experiencing difficulties explaining your needs to your GP, Psychiatrist or nurse, we can be there with you when you meet with them and help you feel understood.

What can you do to help yourself?

Try making a list of the issues you are having difficulty explaining to others and show this to a professional when you next meet up with them. It is always ok to ask questions about your health and wellbeing and ask for things to be explained better to you or in a way you can understand.

Who else can help you?

Your GP can speak to you about how to access mental health services in the community and there are other voluntary organisations that offer short term counselling and support.

In a care setting or in hospital

This section is for people who are in hospital or another care setting such as a care home or supported living. It might be of interest to you if you are being discharged from hospital and worried about what support you might need or be entitled to; you might be being discharged to a care home and not sure why this is happening. Or you might be living in a care setting and have a review coming up or are unhappy about your care.

What can Ceartas do to help you?

Ceartas can meet with you and discuss your views, what support you need and how you might access this. We will make sure you have a voice in any meetings or informal discussions and help you to understand decisions that affect you. We can speak to your family and any professional that is involved in your care and share with them your thoughts and wishes. We can help you think about what questions you want to ask and what next steps you can take to put you at the heart of any future decision.

What can you do to help yourself?

Make sure people around you know your views and wishes, don't be afraid to ask questions and for things to be explained clearly to you. Put plans in place like Power of Attorney and speak to people in your life and about your future wishes for any care and treatment you might need.

Who else can help you?

We also have an information service that would be happy to share with you relevant information if you feel you take things forward by yourself. If you are in a care setting the manager can speak to you about any concerns you may have.

Family

This section is about your family situation. It might be of interest to you if you are worried about meetings you are having with social work to do with your children; your children might be involved in Children's Hearings or be under Child Protection and you are worried about how you are involved in any decisions being made.

What can Ceartas do to help you?

Ceartas will help you to prepare for any meetings you may have coming up and attend with you where appropriate. We will help you access a solicitor and make sense of any legislation that your child or family may be experiencing. We can help you think about what you would like to ask questions about and how to challenge decisions that you disagree with.

What can you do to help yourself?

Your viewpoint is very important when any decisions are being made about your child so try to take part as much as you can, attend meetings and speak to the professionals who are involved. Do not be afraid to ask questions and seek legal advice if there is something you disagree with or doesn't feel right to you.

Who else can help you?

There are agencies in East Dunbartonshire that can help guide you if you have experienced domestic abuse and Scotland wide agencies that offer advice of legal rights for children and advocacy.

Someone I care for

This section is about being a carer. It might be of interest to you if you are caring for someone with a long term condition. Perhaps you are unsure about how to access supports and services for the person you care for or unsure about Power of Attorney or Guardianship.

What can Ceartas do to help you?

Ceartas represent individuals who have a long term condition but this can also mean we work with carers and families. We are able to help individuals get involved in discussing their views, meeting with family and carers and working together to get the best outcome for people. We often work with people if there is a Guardianship application being applied for and have a wealth of experience with Power of Attorney that we speak to you about. We can attend meetings and speak to other professionals involved.

What can you do to help yourself?

If you are caring for someone and are worried about their care or accessing their rights then Ceartas can help and making a referral to us is a great way of ensuring you have all the information you need.

Who else can help you?

East Dunbartonshire Dementia Network supports people living with dementia and memory loss throughout the area; Carers Link are the carers support organisation in this area and Citizens Advice Bureau can also offer a wealth of information and advice on a wide range of topics.

Emergency No.'s & Contacts

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