Advocacy is
free,
confidential, and
independent of service
providers.
Advocacy is not new!
Advocacy is helping a person
to be heard. Most people can act as advocates and use advocacy daily,
for example parents listen to the needs and wishes of their children;
managers respond to the views of their staff; friends stand by each
other and offer support. This is often referred to as “informal”
advocacy and is a part of everyday life.
Sometimes more formal
methods of advocacy are required and this is often referred to as
Independent advocacy. Advocacy of this type is a tool that can be
used in a variety of ways when an advocate speaks for and with people
who are not being heard, helping them to express their own views and
make their own decisions.
Why independent advocacy is needed
Take a few minutes to put
yourself in someone else’s shoes and think about the following
things:
What would it be
like for you if you were unable to speak and tell others about all
the things that are important to you?
How would you
feel if everything you did, or every action you took, was directed
by someone else and you were always left out on the margins of
society?
What would it be
like if you had no control over your own life because others took
it away from you, no one listened to you or took any notice of you,
and decisions were made about you without you having any say in the
matter?
Advocacy aims to ensure that
minority groups in society, who are frequently disadvantaged, have a
means to know about, and gain, the life opportunities that are equal
to the majority population.
It
is a means of promoting and defending groups or individuals that
may be vulnerable because of age, physical or mental illness,
disability or frailty.
Advocates and advocacy schemes work in partnership with the people
they support and take their side.
Advocacy
is provided on a one to one basis to help protect a person's rights
and interests.
Advocacy
informs people of their rights and gives them a stronger voice so
that their wishes and needs are known.
Advocacy
is about empowering these people to protect and act in their own
interests and welfare.
How an Advocate can help you
Advocates
can help you to:
•
Make
Every Day Or Major life Decisions
•
Have
Choice Over Services
•
Have
Control Over Services
•
Speak
For Yourself
•
Put
Your View It Across In The Way You Wish
Advocates
Provide Assistance By Helping You To:
•
Plan
What To Say
•
Find
Information
•
Solve
Practical Problems
•
Translate Jargon
•
Attend
Meetings
•
Talk
To Professionals
•
Make
A Complaint
•
Write
Letters
•
Make
Phone Calls
If you or someone you know would benefit from advocacy then please contact us to find out more or you can make a direct referral