Kathy's story
Kathy has a learning disability and needs support from others to manage her money. She lived independently with the help of paid carers, but struggled to understand how much things cost. She trusted what her carers told her, handing over whatever amount they said they needed for shopping - and not questioning them when they told her there was no change.
How the problem came to light
Kathy ran out of money and began borrowing from her neighbours. When complaints reached the warden of her housing scheme, a safeguarding referral was made to the local authority. It became clear that Kathy had been giving her carers far more than her shopping cost – and that significant amounts of money had gone missing over time.
How advocacy helped
Kathy’s social worker referred her to an advocate to help her understand what had happened and decide what she wanted to do about it. Working together, they came up with a plan. Kathy decided she wanted someone official from Birmingham City Council to take care of her money, and an appointeeship was arranged. Her advocate used play money to help her understand, in concrete terms, how much had gone missing and what it could have bought. Together they also worked out a plan to repay the neighbours Kathy had borrowed from, and her advocate communicated her wishes to the appointee to make sure it happened.
Kathy today
Kathy is much happier. She understands more about her money and feels reassured that her appointee will make sure it can’t happen again.
“Thank you to my advocate – she made it easier for me to understand about my money.”
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