In the last fifteen years or so SEWREC has also seen a change in emphasis, from an almost exclusive focus on casework and complainant aid, to a wider focus:
1) A broader range of advocacy and casework: including work with older people, Gypsy, Traveller & Roma people, disabled people, migrants, asylum seekers & refugees (MARS), people who have survived sexual exploitation and abuse and those who have experienced hate crime;
2) Education and training, with a significant emphasis upon basic skills and personal development;
3) Community development, including youth work and work through sport, heritage and the arts.
SEWREC’s trustees believe that this mix of programmes more effectively challenges the causes of discrimination, supports people from disadvantaged backgrounds, and helps to 'level the playing field'. This is important because they want to see real change for individuals and for our communities as a whole.
Intrinsic to this wider philosophy is the notion that our most vulnerable and marginalised community members often lack control over their own lives (or significant areas of their lives), and that they should have access to the support that they need to be able to set their own goals, begin to work towards them and make choices for themselves.