If you are in care then you are entitled to an 'Ally'. You can have an ally if you are in a foster placement, a children's home or ina residential school and there are already a great number Allies matched with young people all over Bristol - and you could be next!
An 'Ally' is someone who volunteers to befriend young people in their spare time. They have no connection with Bristol City Council whatsoever and they absolutely 100% belong to you. They don't visit any other young person apart from you and the two of you will hopefully become friends for the whole of your lives.
In other local authorities they are called 'Independent Visitors' or IV's but we think 'Allies' sounds much friendlier. In Bristol all the Allies are volunteers this means that they don't get paid for their time. Allies visit children and young people because they believe it is a good thing to do and your ally will visit you because they choose to, not because they have to.
That is between you and your ally; you can do activities or simply sit and talk - Allies don't know anything about you or your past so you can tell them as little or as much as you like. Allies will encourage you to do well at school and in any outside interests you may have, like music or sports. You might want to invite your ally to meetings with you to have someone to support you. An Ally is someone you can talk to about everything safe in the knowledge that it won't be passed on (unless you or another child is being harmed) it is someone in your life who is just for you.
They might do, but this is really the job of an advocate. The two are often mixed up. Think of it like this......an ally is your friend, who will stick up for you like friends at school or college might but an Ally will want what's best for you and might disagree with you about whether something is good or bad for you. An advocate isn't your friend, they come into your life to try and help you get what you want, whether it is the best thing for you or not. It is possible to have an ally and an advocate at the same time but the two are very different roles.
Then you need to talk to your social worker and ask them to make a referral to the following two people; either Sue Burr or Olivia Ashby who can be reached on 0117 907 7270
'Life is your restaurant, and I'm your Maitre D', C'mon whisper what it is you want - you never had a friend like me'
The Genie (Aladdin)
