This week, Housing Plus Group are joining a nationwide campaign to help raise awareness of adult safeguarding and keep our communities safe.
The annual awareness week takes place between 20 November – 24 November and is hosted by Ann Craft Trust, a leading UK support organisation for safeguarding adults and young people at risk.
This year, the theme for the awareness week is ‘Safeguarding Yourself and Others’. The campaign aims to raise awareness of important safeguarding issues and how you can prioritise the welfare and wellbeing of yourself and others.
The safety of our customers is our priority. We want to make sure that our customers know how to get help and advice if they’re worried about a possible safeguarding concern in their neighbourhood.
What is safeguarding?
Safeguarding means enabling people to live well and safely. Safety and wellbeing may be compromised where a person is subject to abuse or neglect or if they are unable to cope with their personal circumstances.
Abuse and neglect can take a lot of different forms:
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Domestic abuse
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Sexual abuse
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Physical abuse
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Psychological abuse
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Financial abuse
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Discriminatory abuse
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Neglect
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Human trafficking
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Modern slavery
Where can abuse and neglect take place?
Abuse and neglect can occur anywhere; in the home or a public place, while the person is in hospital, a care home or attending a day centre.
What we are doing to help keep our customers safe:
At Housing Plus Group, we are focused on customers, communities and homes, so the safety of our customers and their families is a key priority for all of us.
Our safeguarding policy and procedure help us to ensure that we play our part in keeping every child and adult we come in to contact with, regardless of their age, disability or anything else, protected from harm.
In 2018, our safeguarding committee was formed to ensure that every safeguarding referral we receive is reviewed and actioned in line with this policy and procedure.
The members of the committee meet each month to reflect on case studies and ensure any learning about what we have done well, or not so well, is actioned and that these recommendations for improvement are presented to the HPG safeguarding steering group for approval.
Since its formation, the committee has also launched its Speak Up campaign to encourage anyone who comes into contact with our customers to report any safeguarding concerns as soon as possible.
We also provide mandatory safeguarding training for all staff, to make sure that we are confident that we can recognise and respond to signs of abuse or neglect.
How do I report a safeguarding concern?
It’s often difficult to identify abuse or neglect but if you have any concerns, always Speak Up. You can report a safeguarding concern to your local council:
Tel: 0345 604 2719
Tel: 0345 678 9021
Tel: 01952 385385
If you believe that there is a risk of immediate danger, please call the police on 999 in an emergency.