ADVOCACY

Part One: What is Advocacy?

  1. The Advocacy Charter (see Part Four) defines advocacy as “taking action to help people say what they want, secure theirrights, 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 social justice.”
  1. Advocacy aims to bring about an improvement in a person’s situation, either through helping that person to achieve a desired outcome or though gaining increased knowledge, confidence in their abilities and/or the skills and self-assurance to speak up for themselves.
  1. It is an empowering process. Some people are not clear about their rights, or have difficulty fully understanding or accessing these rights. The purpose of advocacy is to empower people and enable them to:
  • clarify and express their views and concerns
  • access information and services
  • defend and promote their rights and responsibilities
  • explore choices and options
  • negotiate and resolve issues.
  1. An advocate is objective, sensitive to the needs of the service user, and independent. The advocate’s role is to represent the views and wishes of the service user accurately and effectively; as such, the advocate does not need to agree with the service user, only to respect the service user’s views and express them exactly. The advocate’s first loyalty is always to the service user. The relationship between advocate and service user will therefore last for as long as necessary, depending on the circumstances which have arisen.

Part Two: Advocacy Services In South Gloucestershire

  1. A range of services have been commissioned which focus on the support of an advocate for social care and housing issues. Residents of South Gloucestershire, or people for which the authority has a responsibility, can self-refer to any of these services (aside from Your Say and the DOLS service) if they feel they are appropriate.
  1. Direct referrals can also be made by staff who feel that support from an advocate would be beneficial to a service user/potential service user. These services are free at point of contact.

Advocacy Services @ The Care Forum

  • Complaints Procedure Advocacy (CPA) – support to people who wish to make a complaint about services provided by the Community Care & Housing Department.

Tel: 0117 958 9305

Website:

Email:

Address:Complaints Procedure Advocacy The Care Forum, The Vassal Centre, Gill Avenue, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 2QQ

Fax: 0117 965 0200

Minicom: 0117 965 0800

  • Mental Health Advocacy – support for people who use mental health services in South Gloucestershire.

Tel: 0117 958 9331

Website:

Email:

Address:Mental Health Advocacy, The Care Forum, The Vassal Centre, Gill Avenue, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 2QQ

Fax: 0117 965 0200

  • Independent Mental Health Advocates (IMHA) - An IMHA is a specific type of mental health advocate provided to qualifying patients under the 2007 Mental Health Act. The eligibility criteria are:
  1. Any patient who is detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act.
  2. Any patient subject to a Guardianship Order under the Mental Health Act.
  3. Any patient on Supervised Community Treatment (SCT).
  4. Any patient who is discussing with their doctor the possibility of psychosurgery (any surgical operation on the brain tissue).
  5. Any patient under 18 years old who is discussing with their doctor the possibility of ECT or psychosurgery
  6. Any patient who is conditionally discharged and subject to restrictions.

Tel: 0117 965 4444

Website:

Email:

Address:Mental Health Advocacy, The Care Forum, The Vassal Centre, Gill Avenue, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 2QQ

Fax: 0117 965 0200

  • Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy Service – for people who are facing decisions about long-term accommodation and/or serious medical treatment; and who lack capacity to make such decisions; and have no appropriate family or friends to consult.

Tel: 0117 965 4444

Website:

Email:

Address:Mental Health Advocacy, The Care Forum, The Vassal Centre, Gill Avenue, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 2QQ

Fax: 0117 965 0200

  • Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy Service. DOLS were introduced by the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and came into effect in April 2009. They provide a legal framework and right to appeal for vulnerable people to ensure they are not deprived of their liberty unless it is in their best interests. They do not apply to anyone who is subject to the Mental Health Act except in rare circumstances. DOLS only apply within care homes and hospitals, to people who are 18 and over and who
  • lack capacity to agree to care or treatment, and
  • are suffering from a disorder of the mind, and
  • whose carers believe it is in their best interests to deprive them of their liberty to protect them from harm.

Tel: 0117 965 4444

Website:

Email:

Address:Mental Health Advocacy, The Care Forum, The Vassal Centre, Gill Avenue, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 2QQ

Fax: 0117 965 0200

Please note that referrals for this service must come via the supervisory body. Contact for more information.

CountyCommunity Projects

  • CCP works in partnership with Age UK Gloucestershire and Age Concern South Gloucestershire to provide advocacy services for:
  • older people;
  • adults with physical and sensory impairments; and
  • carers of vulnerable adults.

Helpline: 0800 644 6448

Website:

Email: There is a form on the website for referrals. For more information contact

Address:CountyCommunity Projects, 15 Royal Crescent, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 3DA

Tel:01242 228999

Fax:01242 776060

People First – Side by Side Peer Advocacy

  • Side by Side is a peer advocacy project for people with learning difficulties.

Tel: 0117 941 5842

Website:

Email: There is a form on the website for referrals

Address:Bristol & South Gloucestershire People First, Unit 19, Easton Business Centre, Felix Road, Easton, Bristol BS5 0HE

Your Say

Services can also be spot-purchased from Your Say, an organisation which works with people with learning difficulties of all ages. Their citizen advocacy approach has been used when People First’s peer advocacy and self advocacy services have not been appropriate.As services from Your Say are spot-purchased, please contact the Contracts team in the first instance.

Terrence Higgins Trust

  • THT is commissioned to provide advocacy services for people living with HIV.

Tel: 0117 955 1000

Website:

Email:

Address:8-10 West Street, Old Market, Bristol, BS2 0BH

Part Three: Types Of Advocacy

  1. The most common types of advocacy are:
  • Self-Advocacy

The process of individuals speaking out for themselves and expressing their views, and in doing so gaining or regaining control over their lives; it often involves people working as a group and many self-advocates go on to become peer and/or citizen advocates.

  • Peer Advocacy

An advocate has shared or common experiences with the person or group that he/she is supporting; an example would be where one resident in a residential home advocates for other residents who cannot express themselves so well.

  • Crisis Advocacy

For short-term or issue-based situations (for example, making a complaint or providing support following a bereavement); once the issue has been dealt with the advocate is no longer required and withdraws.

  • Citizen Advocacy

A partnership between two people, the advocacy partner and the unpaid citizen advocate, usually developed over a longer timeframe; with an emphasis on and challenging social exclusion, Citizen Advocacy is especially useful in breaking down the barriers to a full and satisfying life.

  • Collective Advocacy

Where a group of people with similar experiences meet formally to put forward shared views and get their collective voice heard; it can build personal skills and confidence, reduces feelings of isolation and supports individuals in representing issues of common concern. It can represent a wide range of views, thus watering down specific issues, but on the other hand a collective voice tends to be stronger.

  • Professional Advocacy

The use of people with specific expert knowledge of the legal, health or welfare system; this service is most likely to be provided by highly-trained and experienced paid professionals.

  1. The level of support provided by an advocate and the amount of time an advocate is required can vary enormously, depending on the type of advocacy required and the issues which have precipitated the need for support. At one end, an advocate may simply be required to help with what may be one-off tasks – helping someone access information or writing a letter on their behalf. More on-going support would involve, for example, attending interviews or meetings. Where an extremely high degree of support is required, the relationship between advocate and service user may take some time to develop before the issue itself can be tackled.

Part Four – Background: The Advocacy Charter 2002

"Advocacy is 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 social justice"

Over 75 organisations contributed to the development of The Advocacy Charter in autumn 2002. The Charter was put together as a tool to help advocacy providers focus on key issues, and was subsequently approved by the Association of Directors of Social Services.

The aim of the Charter was to define a set of core principles for advocacy to:

  • inform advocacy practice
  • raise public awareness of the value of advocacy
  • negotiate with funding and commissioning bodies
  • act as a quality assurance mechanism.

Its ten core principles are:

Clarity of purpose

The advocacy scheme will have clearly stated aims and objectives and be able to demonstrate how it meets the principles contained in this Charter. Advocacy schemes will ensure that people they advocate for, service providers and funding agencies have information on the scope and limitations of the schemes' role.

Independence

The advocacy scheme will be structurally independent from statutory organisations and preferably from all service provider agencies. The advocacy scheme will be as free from conflict of interest as possible both in design and operation, and actively seek to reduce conflicting interests.

Putting people first

The advocacy scheme will ensure that the wishes and interests of the people they advocate for direct advocates’ work. Advocates should be non-judgmental and respectful of peoples' needs, views and experiences. Advocates will ensure that information concerning the people they advocate for is shared with these individuals.

Empowerment

The advocacy scheme will support self-advocacy and empowerment through its work. People who use the scheme should have a say in the level of involvement and style of advocacy support they want. Schemes will ensure that people who want to, can influence and be involved in the running and management of the scheme.

Equal opportunity

The advocacy scheme will have a written equal opportunities policy that recognises the need to be pro-active in tackling all forms of inequality, discrimination and social exclusion. The scheme will have in place systems for the fair and equitable allocation of advocates’ time.

Accountability

The advocacy scheme will have in place systems for the effective monitoring and evaluation of its work. All those who use the scheme will have a named advocate and a means of contacting them.

Accessibility

Advocacy will be provided free of charge to eligible people. The advocacy scheme will aim to ensure that its premises, policies, procedures and publicity materials promote access for the whole community.

Supporting advocates

The advocacy scheme will ensure advocates are prepared, trained and supported in their role and provided with opportunities to develop their skills and experience.

Confidentiality

The advocacy scheme will have a written policy on confidentiality, stating that information known about a person using the scheme is confidential to the scheme and any circumstances under which confidentiality might be breached.

Complaints

The advocacy scheme will have a written policy describing how to make complaints or give feedback about the scheme or about individual advocates. Where necessary, the scheme will enable people who use its services to access external independent support to make or pursue a complaint.

For more information see the Action For Advocacy website:

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