Residents United Forum (RUF) is delivering a partnership pilot project with a specialist disability advocacy charity called Real.

Real's paid caseworkers are providing 1-2-1 personal advocacy support for some of RUF's members who are facing traumatic situations.

We are delighted to report that after running the pilot for only a few months, the experience for some disabled people in Newham is already being transformed.

• With the help of the Real advoacte, one young person received the wheel chair they have been waiting for over 6 months.
• With the help of the Real advocate, the Council finally accepted that a family needed to be housed together after 2 years of telling the family they needed to be split up if they were to be allowed to bid for housing.
• RUF trustee Sarifa Patel has secured the help of a GP in successfully challenging the reduction in care hours for one young person with a severe life limiting condition.

We look forward to bringing you more news about our pilot project with Real over the coming months.

If you would like to become a member of RUF, you can join via our membership form here: Become a member of RUF

We are very grateful to the Grocers charity which has awarded RUF a grant of £2,000. This grant will enable us to extend our parternship with Real from Tower Hamlets and offer more Disabled People in Newham access to 1-2-1 specialist advocacy support through to May 2027.

See our previous blog post about the grant we have been awarded by Genting Casino to read more about the pilot we are running in partnership with Real.

Genting Casino Good Causes fund has awarded RUF a grant of £4,540 to partner with Tower Hamlets based charity Real to provide specialist 1-2-1 advocacy sessions for Disabled people in Newham.

This is an amazing opportunity to provide Disabled people in Newham with specialist 1-2-1 support by a registered and accredited Deaf and Disabled People's Organisation. 

The grant is enabling RUF and Real to pilot this new way of offering support to Disabled People in Newham.  

The first 12 Disabled people to have access to 1-2-1 advocacy have been selected from the four Newham support groups listed on our website here.

Real have already identified from supporting the first people in the pilot that Disabled People in Newham find it harder to access some key services such as GPs, SEND support (especially at transition age) and menthal health services.

Early signs are that receiving specialist support like this is enabling to take steps towards improving their financial wellbeing and towards more stable housing situation.

You can find out more about Real by visiting their website here.