Let’s begin!

Once we receive a request for support, we’ll process the information into our secure database and check we have all the details we need.

We aim to process all requests within one week of the request.  There might be a delay with this during particularly busy times but we always try to get everything set up as quickly as possible.

We are not a crisis intervention service but we do receive a lot of requests for support.  Please help us prioritise our work by providing as much information as possible.

SAFETY FIRST! 

Once the information from the request has been processed, it gets passed to one of our Team Managers to review and prioritise.  They will check the details provided and decide on the most appropriate action to take next.

The request will then be passed to our initial contact team who will attempt to get in touch the person named as the contact in the request.

If you are making a referral as a professional, you will be asked to provide details of safety measures you have taken if you indicate any risks to the person who will be accessing support.  

We’ll be in touch!

Once the request is passed to our initial contact team, we’ll attempt a number of times to get hold of the person named as the contact in the request.

This could be that we attempt direct contact with the person who will be accessing support, a parent, carer or guardian or a young person accessing support, a professional supporting the client or someone else if requested.

We aim to contact everyone with 3-4 weeks of the request.  If you (or the person you are requesting support for) has not heard from us within a month, please contact us for an update.

It is important that we’re given as many safe methods as possible to increase our chances of contacting the right person. 

We will NEVER use any contact method that we haven’t been told is safe.

Let’s talk get it right! 

When we contact you, we’ll ask you to tell us what would be helpful right now.  We can’t always provide ongoing support immediately because of the number of requests we get on a daily basis, but we’ll check what we could do quickly that would help.

The more information provided in the initial request or in the support questionnaire, the quicker we can start planning the right support.

Get it now! 

Once we’ve gone through the support questionnaire (either over the phone or by reviewing the completed online form), we’ll provide any immediate support we can.  This could be information, signposting, guidance, practical support or short term advocacy that would be useful right now.

If there is a requirement for ongoing support that would take a bit longer, we’ll arrange an appointment to explore support in much more detail.  We use a an online booking system for this to make sure everyone gets the details they need after picking the best appointment from our availability.

We’ll send a link to book this and it only takes 2 minutes.

Getting to know you! 

If ongoing support would be helpful, we will want to explore the client’s circumstances and support goals.

To get to know the person accessing support better to make sure we can plan the right support, we’ll go through some questions and explore a range of things we might be able to offer support with.  We’ll focus on the outcome(s) the client wants from support (for example, building confidence to come out or taking steps to socially transition).

We always want support to be focussed on what the client wants to achieve, so that’s where we’ll start the discussion.

We can have this discussion by phone, video call or instant message.  In specific circumstances, we can also do this face-to-face.

Plan to deliver!

Once we’ve discussed what we offer, what the client wants and how we might be able to help, we’ll put together a support package and prioritise each part.  This could mean that we’ll start support quickly for some things, but support might take a bit longer for others.  This will depend on the type and topic of support and the waiting times for our support workers at the time.

We will make sure that the different parts of the support package are dealt with by the right member(s) of our team.  Different teams have different waiting times, but we’ll give you an idea of these once we know what the package of support will look like. 

Let’s work together!

Once a support worker is available to begin ongoing support, they will contact the client to arrange the first support appointment.

This is usually booked 1-2 weeks in advance and can be booked using our online appointments system.

Help us develop!

Once support goals and outcomes have been achieved, we’ll review the support provided, checking to see if there’s anything else we can help with before we end support.

This will include some questions about the service, the support worker and how the support has made a difference.

This will help us evaluate our support as well as help us report back to our funders about the importance of what we do.  As a charity, we rely on funding to be able to support people, so we really value any feedback about how we can improve and develop.  Please help us help others.