An additional £100,000 funding has been announced by Gwenda Thomas, Deputy Minister for Children and Social Services, to meet the growing demand on the children and young people’s advocacy and advice service 'meic'.
Since the helpline went 24/7 in January 2011, 8,734 children and young people have contacted ‘meic’. The service has faced challenges as the number of calls to the helpline have increased and the issues become more complex.
To ensure the demands for the service continue to be met, an extra £100,000 has been allocated until 2013. This demonstrates an ongoing commitment to advocacy, to support and enhance the service for children and young people across Wales.
Advocacy is a process which helps a child or young person to speak up for themselves, it can also include explaining, empowering, representing and navigating complex systems and procedures.
It’s not only about complaints and advice. While advocacy may sometimes include both, it is more about listening and ensuring the wishes and feelings of children and young people are heard by others regardless of whether the advocate agrees or not. By listening to children and young people they can be safeguarded better.
The Deputy Minister said:
Links: MEIC Cymru website http://www.meiccymru.org/“I am aware of the huge difference ‘meic’ makes to the lives of children and young people. Children and young people time and time again tell us about the value that they place on advocacy support and how it can change their lives for the better."I believe that providing advocacy and advice to children and young people can better safeguard them and prevent problems and issues from escalating further.“Children and young people should expect to be protected from harm, to have education and things to do outside school, to be listened to when they are not happy, to have an opinion and be involved in decisions that affect them. It is our place to ensure that this happens.“We have always held firm our belief that children’s rights are essential to improving outcomes for children and young people. To support this we have introduced a law that means that we have to consider children’s rights in all we do as Welsh Government.“I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the hard work of everyone involved with the 'meic' helpline.”
source: Welsh Government Website http://wales.gov.uk/newsroom/healthandsocialcare/2012/120924meic/?lang=en
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