Mansi Raut recently completed an Operations internship at The Ann Craft Trust. Head of Operations Dave Lochtie asked her to share her thoughts on the themes for this year’s Safeguarding Adults Week.
It’s easy to think of safeguarding adults as a pathway, or a process. Someone notices a concern, they follow the policies and procedures, and they notify the relevant people.
But often, the process is a lot more complicated than this. In reality, very few people are upfront about asking for help.
How people really ask for help
The problem is that not everyone asks for help in the same way. Some people are good at reaching out and making their needs clear. But many may never say the word “help” at all.
Some might drop the odd hint here and there, in the hope that someone will pick up that something’s not right. Others might go somewhere quieter, where they feel they can reach out safely. They might turn to online forums, or send private messages. Or, if they feel they’ve been let down before, they might approach someone in their community for a quiet word.
Why “hard to reach” is the wrong way to think about it
Unfortunately, it’s all too common to describe the people who stay away from professional support services as “hard to reach”. This term is unhelpful, as it puts the blame on them.
Also, often these people are not “hard to reach” at all. They may have just had a poor experience the last time they tried asking for help. Maybe they felt like they weren’t being listened to, or that people didn’t believe them. Or maybe they made a complaint, only to find that nothing changed.
We should stop asking “why won’t these people come to us?” Instead, we might ask:
What have we done, or not done, that makes people feel safe enough to come to us?
If someone intentionally stays away from professional support services, it might tell us that something’s not right about the way our system works, or the way that people perceive it.
What do we mean by Every Voice. Every Choice?
Safeguarding Adults Week 2026 will take place 16 – 22 November. This year’s theme is:
Every Voice. Every Choice.
By prioritising choice, safeguarding can become more preventative, build trust, and empower individuals.
Our focus this year is on how co-production is central to safeguarding adults.
We’ll explore how a collaborative approach aligns closely with key principles of the Care Act 2014, such as empowerment and prevention.
A key theme is Making Safeguarding Personal, which prioritises the outcomes for the individuals. It’s all about giving people a voice, and making it their choice as to what happens, and what makes them feel safe.
This means understanding that there are multiple ways that people might ask for help. Not everyone will use official channels. Some might look for support online, or through their community.
This creates a few considerations for any organisation:
- Whose stories do we actually listen to when we talk about safeguarding?
- Who helps us design our safeguarding work? Is anyone excluded from these discussions?
- Where are we still talking about people, instead of talking with them?
Simple answers come from working with people
When people who have lived through harm help shape the discussion, they might ask different questions. Rather than simply asking, “how do we manage the risk”, they might also ask, “what would dignity and choice actually look like here?”
Often, these questions might lead to surprisingly simple answers: You might need to offer different ways for people to get in touch. People might prefer talking to a trusted individual, over filling in a form. And you might find that open conversations work better than checklists.
However, this collaborative approach will only work we involve people in the process from the start. It’s not enough to just ask people for feedback once a process is already in place.
An opportunity for productive conversations
Safeguarding Adults Week, with its focus on co-production and Making Safeguarding Personal, presents a great opportunity to hold these conversations. It’s a chance to connect what we are learning with what we actually do: Every day, in our own teams.
Here are some ways you can get involved:
- Register your support for the campaign and access free resources to help you support the week.
- Join webinars, podcasts and seminars exploring listening, strengths, co-production, professional curiosity, and community action. We will be announcing a full schedule of free online webinars in the coming weeks.
- Reflect with others on what Every Voice, Every Choice might mean in your organisation, your community, and your own practice.
You can also attend our annual Safeguarding Adults Conference in Nottingham on Wednesday 18 November. There are still a few early bird tickets available at a discount price, so book now!