Someone to speak on my behalf
Advocacy means speaking up for rights. Action for Advocacy describes Advocacy as 'taking action to help people say what they want, secure their rights, represent their interests and obtain services they need. Advocates and Advocacy schemes work in partnership with the people they support and take their side. Advocacy promotes social inclusion, equality and inclusion.'Independent Advocacy can be defined as doing what is needed to support an individual to express views, communicate choices and receive services or participate as a result.
Principles of Advocacy
Most Advocacy Services work to general principles of advocacy. These are generally accepted to be:
- Clarity of Purpose - clearly stated aims and objectives
- Independence - The scheme will be structurally independent from statutory organisations, and preferably serviced provider agencies.
- Putting People First - wishes and interests of people they advocate for direct advocate's work.
- Empowerment - The scheme will support self advocacy and empowerment through its work.
- Equal Opportunity - Recognising need to be proactive in tackling all forms of inequality, discrimination and social exclusion.
- Accountability - systems for effective monitoring and evaluation.
- Accessibility - Advocacy will be free of charge to eligible people.
- Supporting Advocates - Schemes will ensure advocates are prepared, trained and supported.
- Confidentiality - written policy on confidentiality.
- Complaints - written policy describing how to make complaints.
What Advocacy is not:
Advocacy is about helping someone to have a voice; it is not-
- An information, advice and/ or signposting service
- A support service
- A befriending service
- A complaints service
- A legal aid service
- A brokerage service
- A counselling service
- A mediation service.
- A benefits advice service
Types of advocacy
There are many different types of advocacy- probably as many as there are advocates.
- Self Advocacy - This is usually defined as an individual speaking or acting on their own behalf as a member of a group or as an individual.
- Citizen Advocacy - This defined as someone, often a volunteer, helping an individual to speak up for themselves, sometimes through developing a longer term relationship with them.
- Peer Advocacy - This is defined as individuals helping other people to speak up for themselves.
- Independent advocacy - This is usually provided by a paid advocate (often with a professional background) supporting the individual in relation to specific issues.
- Collective Advocacy - where a group of people, sometimes from very different backgrounds, campaign on behalf of themselves or others to try to change things.
- Group Advocacy - where a group of people, usually from a similar background, work together to deal with issues that affect them. This may be by speaking together as a single voice, or by speaking to and learning from each other so that each individual gets stronger.
Herefordshire People's Advocacy Network provides an advocacy service for vulnerable people including one to once advocacy for people with learning disabilities, peer and self advocacy for people with learning disabilities and group advocacy for elderly residents in care homes. For more help or information, you can contact them:
Advocacy House
103-104 East Street
Hereford
Herefordshire
HR1 2LW
Tel: 01432 263 757
If you have, or if you care for someone with mental health problems, then please contact:
Act Advocacy
9 Barroll Street
Hereford
HR1 2lY
Tel: 01432 357 523