Monday – Gemma supported a young man at a PIP Assessment. This involved helping him to express his views and helping him understand some of the information being discussed, when being assessed by the independent healthcare professional.

Tuesday – Gordon, Linda and Ronnie met to select the final 11 photos for the ‘A year in the life of Ceartas by Brian Carroll’ photo exhibition featuring at the AGM next month.

Susie & Cheryl went to Ashfield House on a visit and to discuss Care Inspectorate questionnaires.

Chris went on a visit to Gartnavel Hospital to meet two new self-referrals and to discuss how advocacy can support them in their circumstances.

Wednesday – Our Changes group met to continue their work with Equality Engagement team of East Dunbartonshire Council. in the ongoing development of ‘working with me’ guides for all EDC staff.

Thursday – Ronnie went to the One Digital meet-up at the SCVO offices in Glasgow, the key topics being discussed included ‘choosing the correct social media for your organisation’ and ‘the benefits of using Linkedin as a method.

Roy visited the Silver Surfers to discuss steps to increase the sustainability of the group in light of the growing number of Surfers grabbing a board.

Friday- Alex met with a woman is relation to her upcoming ESA assessment to discuss what to expect and what support she would like her to provide. ESA stands for

‘employment and support allowance, the benefit which has replaced incapacity benefit. ESA is a much harder benefit to claim than incapacity benefit, primarily because the medical test – the work capability assessment – is very much harsher.’

And photograph 2 of the #GiveMeAVoice campaign went live and features as the lead image on the Digest above. This week we were dispelling the myth that Ceartas is reliant on other organisations and services that also work with our clients. See our Facebook post for more info.