Resources

Advocacy is a process of supporting and enabling people to:

• Express their views, thoughts and concerns.
• Access information, advice and guidance.
• Explore choices and options for services and care.

We have collected the following information about advocacy in Essex.

Self-advocacy is the act of speaking up for yourself and your interests.

We hope to set up a page dedicated to self-advocacy.

Essex Carers Network understand that having fulfilling  opportunities and being active is very important to having a good life. Employment isn’t suitable for all but having a good life and being active during the day and in the evenings should be. We hope here you will find information to support your loved one find the most appropriate activities for them.

“When a person can understand the options that are available to them,  they can be more involved in decisions that will affect their everyday life. This, in turn, means that they are more likely to get the most appropriate support for their needs which leads to improved outcomes.” – Inclusive Communication Essex.

Easy read is a way of making written information easier to understand, by using plain English with no jargon, shorter sentences and supporting images. Its aim is to help people to understand information more easily.

This page provides information in easy read from many different organisations and links to websites that have a library of easy read guides. If you are looking for a particular easy read document and you can’t find it here please email info@essexcarersnetwork.co.uk or call 01255 554029 and we will endeavour to find it for you.

We share some easy read guides on this page but more importantly we share details of organisations who produce different guides and keep them up to date.

Education Health & Care Plans (EHCPs) can remain in place until a person is 25yrs old. We have information on places for learning 16 to 25 and beyond and where to go for support.

Many people with a learning disability are in employment or would like to work. Whether that’s full time or just a few hours, the confidence and sense of achievement from having a job can be immeasurable. This page offers information and organisations to support your loved one into work or volunteering.

We want to help families find support to continue their caring role for as long as they wish and are able to. Here you will find information to help, such as groups and grants designed to support unpaid carers.

Please see our main page for our Space to Gather groups, activity groups and events coming up.

Finances can be very complicated for our families. In our finance section you will find information about benefits, carers benefits, wills and trusts, support for learners, cost of living, advocacy and more.

This page includes information about health, National Health Service (NHS), Integrated Care Boards (ICBs,) Intergrated Care Systems  (ICSs), Primary Care GP & other services, Annual Health Checks, Hospitals, Essex Learning Disability Partnership, Continuing Healthcare which could include a personal health budget and more.

Whether it is on the internet or being out and about, we as families worry for the safety of our loved ones with a learning disability. This page shares information to help you to be informed and have the conversations to help keep your family safe.

As our loved ones become adults you will hear the term mental capacity used a lot; whether they have the ability  to understand and make decisions about their life. It can also mean the ability to communicate those decisions. Mental capacity can vary depending on the type and timing of the decision. Information about the legal rights and protections for people who may lack mental capacity can be found in the Mental Capacity Act 2005

This page shares information about mental capacity and organisations and information around support in this area.

We hear people talking about being person centred but what does this mean? It’s making sure that the individual is at the heart of everything whether planning where they will live or how they will spend their day, to what they will eat for tea.

We feel person centred planning and working is key and we want to make sure our families have good information to know what to expect when people say they work in this way.

This page sets out to support families to begin thinking about and planning for the future. Our families who have attended workshops on this subject have shared how beneficial it has been and the support gained from attending along with other families to start planning.
There are many opportunities to plan and make sure the person we care for is involved in that planning as much as possible. The Essex Carers Network have been pleased to work with Christine Towers from Togethers Matters and author of the Thinking Ahead Guide on many aspects of her guide we love the resources within it and see it as as a superb tool for our families who are ready to make plans for the future.

Adult Social Care is the provision of care and support provided by Essex County Council. Information  includes support packages, Personal Budgets, Direct Payments, Assessments and more. For those who may be eligible for Continuing Health Care including Person Health Budgets  further information can be found in our Health section.

Finding the right place to live is important to everyone and for someone with a learning disability we need to support them get it right too. Here you will find information and links to organisations who support families through this life choice.