News

Sadly, the pressures of the coronavirus pandemic, lockdown and economic difficulties, mean more people than ever need specialist support. Because our teams regularly engage with residents, they are often the first to have someone come to them or notice that one of our customers’ needs help. This is especially true during lockdown, when other routes may not be available.

What is A2Dominion’s Safeguarding team?

A2Dominion’s Safeguarding team is staffed by a small group of specially trained people who are the first point of contact for employees, such as neighbourhood officers, and others when they are concerned about one of our customers and want to offer help. They will give advice, as well as co-ordinate and case manage safeguarding concerns. By keeping a record of the issues, the Safeguarding team can recognise trends and areas where there are higher numbers of specific types of problem, then act to help.

What sort of things do they help with?

Any time that someone’s welfare is at risk it could be an issue for our Safeguarding team. Some of the issues that they help our teams support our customers with on a regular basis are:

• Mental health, including hoarding
• Domestic abuse
• Scams
• Modern slavery
• Neglect

In the current climate, sadly, suicidal thoughts/self-harm and mental health concerns rank among the highest concerns at the moment. We have also seen evidence of problems increasing for vulnerable adults while they are staying at home, through scamming, financial abuse and domestic abuse. This has been evident from the large increase in calls that domestic abuse charities, the A2Dominion Safeguarding team and A2Dominion’s domestic abuse services in Oxfordshire and West Berkshire have seen since March.

What does A2Dominion do to help?

We know we can’t offer the best support for our customers on our own, so we work hard to maintain strong working relationships with external partner agencies. They often have expertise that we don’t, and we will refer to them, so our tenants and service users get the best help possible.

We firmly believe that safeguarding is not just acting when things go wrong. It is about listening and preventing harm to the residents we support. This is what our Safeguarding team works towards, and, although the work can be difficult at times, they are very proud of the work A2Dominion, alongside our partners, does to help customers out of a very difficult or dangerous situation.

What do I do if I am concerned about an A2Dominion customer?

If you feel that you or someone you know is at risk of immediate harm, contact the relevant emergency services e.g. the police – or you can find more details on our customer website, call our contact centre on 0800 432 0077, or speak to a member of A2Dominion staff.