Walking for the 'new normal'?

 

ADVOCACY'S NEW NORMAL?

Next Sunday I'll be doing my virtual Kiltwalk, a solo effort at a bit of fundraising since, for obvious reasons, the fully organised version for the tartan masses isn't going to happen in this weird year that is 2020.  Once again my chosen charity is Advocard, for whom I've been a volunteer for five years.  I've written about Advocard before, so you can click on this link if you want a reminder of what the service provides.  

In my most recent post I touched on how the service has changed in the new circumstances we find ourselves in, and today I'm pondering if we haven't stumbled into an approach that might actually turn out to be an improvement - perhaps not for all cases but for a substantial part of the work we undertake.  

Whatever 2021 holds we can already see it's going to be very different from 2019.  The pandemic and resultant lockdown have seen new ways of working popping up, and people sometimes realising that these enforced changes have sometimes proved to be an improvement on what we had before.  Home working isn't for everyone, and carries plenty of risks from the effects of social isolation and consequent issues for mental health, but for some it turns out to be perfect.  And it can bring other benefits, like reducing the wasted time and pollution that daily commuting brings.  Lockdown was a reminder that taking serious steps to reduce global warming isn't always as hard as the naysayers would have us believe.  

And so it is in advocacy.  Pre-April I'd come into the office to read up about the person I was to see, spend up to an hour with the service user, occasionally going through to the back office if there was some question I needed answering.  Then I'd type up my notes, maybe write an email or letter if required.  That's if the person turned up.  It's in the nature of the people we work with that they won't always be organised enough to remember appointments, or their priorities change, or, or, or...  There were a lot of no-shows.  Not so bad for me who, only lives a 10 minute walk away, less so for volunteers who've spent an hour on the bus to be there!

We'd also go to appointments in people's houses, if they were unable to travel to us.  And then, for H&S reasons, we'd have to find 2 volunteers to go together.  Or we'd go out to accompany the person to an appointment, be it with doctor, psychiatrist, social worker, lawyer, benefits assessor, and so on - it's a long list.  And a lot of volunteer time used up.

But now?  While our professional workers still see people face to face when necessary, so far us volunteers have been coming into the office to undertake our advocacy over the phone.  I did wonder how well this would work out, but after a month I'm a convert.  It won't work for every case, but it's already proving successful in a high percentage of the contacts being made.

Instead of having to come in at random times to meet people when they were available, or to not meet them and have to go away again, I now do one afternoon a week, for (up to) three hours.  The office is quiet, just myself and the coordinator.  There might be something I've already been involved in to follow up on, but most of the past month has been spent helping to clear the backlog of people who we haven't had the resources to contact in recent months.  I get 3 or 4 people to choose from, we discuss who seems to be the highest priority, and after a bit of background reading I start phoning.  If someone isn't in I can leave a message and move on to the next.  Phone calls rarely go much beyond 30 minutes, albeit I've had nothing particularly complex to deal with so far.  If there's something I need to know then the professional is sitting in the same room so I can usually get an immediate answer, and there's less time wasted.  After the call I can immediately write up my notes, and move on to the next call.  I might get through 2, 3 or 4 people in the short time I'm there, something that would have meant 2, 3 or 4 trips to the office in the past.  Last week I ended up writing a letter of complaint about noisy neighbours, and another trying to get someone rehoused.  In each case on behalf of people stressed out by their inability to cope with recalcitrant officialdom.

It makes better use of our time.  The volunteer coordinator is far less stressed as he only has one volunteer in at a time, and isn't having to check that our visitors are supplied with tea and coffee!   Our timetables are easier to manage to for all concerned, and more people are getting the benefit of the service.  One downside is that I don't get to see any of the other volunteers, but it's interesting to here that at lest one of them feels the same about our improved productivity.

No, it isn't going to work for everyone.  Maybe we could try out some video calls too?  And there will be those whose mental state, or the complexity of their problems, mean a face to face is essential.  But if the past four weeks have been a good indicator then I find myself welcoming the 'new normal'.  And hope that if this is reflected more widely in society, people being a lot less resistant to change in future.  Not least in the recognising the possibilities that an independent Scotland will bring....

So next Sunday that's what I'm walking for, suitably bekilted, ready for whatever the weather may drop on me, and looking to complete the distance in less than 210 minutes, whatever my knees and feet might be telling me.  And if you'd feel generously inclined to sponsor me you can do so here.