Asserting your rights and accessing justice: how the Personal Support Unit helps some of the most vulnerable

Without The Personal Support Unit, people such as Diane* would have to face the traumatic court process alone.

Diane had first met her husband abroad and they quickly married and moved to the UK. This soon turned into a nightmare: with very poor English and nowhere to turn to for help, she was at the mercy of her husband, who kept her like a slave, beating her and raping her multiple times. He eventually left her for another woman and sold their joint belongings - including a caravan - to various family members for as little as 1p. Diane was left deeply in debt, including arrears on her mortgage: with no understanding of the letters, Diane just threw away any arrears notices.  

Eventually, Diane visited the Personal Support Unit (PSU) in Chelmsford. She had received very little help and was still coming to terms with her experiences, and was clearly and understandably distressed. She asked her friend to write down her story so we could understand the history of her marriage and how we could help. Despite the language barrier and the complex nature of the case, we worked out that she wanted to divorce her husband.  

We explained what to expect from divorce proceedings and helped her complete the correct form to start the process. We also explained that she couldn’t ignore the letters from her mortgage company and provided her with details of free debt advisors. Finally, given the violence and abuse that she had suffered, we gave her details for domestic violence support organisations. 

Due to PSU support and with the knowledge that there was further help available, she left the PSU feeling much happier. Although the case was upsetting, it was excellent to see Diane leave happier than when she arrived.

Vulnerable people such as Diane are increasingly visiting the PSU for support. Reforms to legal aid after the introduction of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) in April 2013 have meant that more and more people are finding themselves excluded from free legal advice.

As such PSU client numbers have grown dramatically up and down the country. In particular, Women’s Aid has conducted research which identifies how these budget cuts mean that victims of historic domestic violence, such as Diane, are less likely to get legal aid, putting them at risk. “Survivors of domestic abuse who did not meet the requirements for legal aid described how they were faced with a choice between getting into debt in order to pay for legal representation, or taking on the daunting task of representing themselves in court.”

In 2012-2013 we helped 13,000 clients, which jumped considerably to 21,000 people in 2013-2014 after the reforms. The need for our work continues to rise. In the five years since the introduction of LASPO, the amount of help that the PSU has provided has increased fivefold; in 2017-18 we helped clients on a record 65,456 occasions.

Without the hard work and time dedicated by our network of volunteers, such support would not exist. The breadth of experience provided by our range of volunteers, be it a law student, retired magistrate, psychologist or even a dentist, enables us to provide a service which leaves 99% of clients feeling better prepared, 99% having more confidence and 95% believing they received a fairer hearing.

However, there are still many more vulnerable people who don’t receive the support they desperately need and have to go through the court process alone during one of the most stressful periods of their lives, for example, when they are facing eviction, deportation or divorce. The vulnerability of our clients is proven: 23% don’t have English as their first language, 54% are unemployed and 23% have a serious health problem. As such the PSU will continue to grow, expanding to new locations, in order to meet the ever-increasing need for our services.

If you would like to find out a bit more about the PSU in your local community, you can contact your local PSU manager through the ‘location’ page of the PSU website here.

Alternatively, you can find out more about supporting your local PSU, whether through fundraising events, volunteering or pro-bono help here.

*Names have been changed for confidentiality reasons.

Ella Watson is a corporate and community fundraising intern at The Personal Support Unit.