About advocacy
Advocacy is about sticking up for people who are at risk of being excluded, ignored or mistreated. It's about helping people to find out about options, make choices and tell other people what they want to happen. It's about making sure that people are fully involved in decisions that affect their lives – and that other people listen to them and take their views into account.
Advocates listen to people and find out what they want and need. They help people to think about different options – and what might happen. They support them to speak up for themselves – or if they are not able or willing to do that, to speak up for them. They help people to make changes in their lives. Sometimes they might help them to join in things in their community.
Advocates are completely on the side of the person they are advocating for. They help them to put across their views. They don't give advice. They don't try to persuade people, or tell them what they should do.
Lots of people advocate for people in their lives – carers, family members, workers. But our advocates are completely independent – there is no conflict of interest. This means they are free to help the person to point forward their viewpoint, and to challenge when necessary.
What are the different kinds of advocacy?
Partners in Advocacy provides three different kinds of advocacy.
Short-term advocates help people to sort out particular issues or problems. Short-term advocacy can last from a couple of sessions to several months – it depends on how complicated the problem is, or how long it takes to get things sorted.
Citizen advocates are people from the community who are matched on a one-to-one longer-term basis with an advocacy partner. They take time to get to know the person – who may have limited verbal communication – finding out their likes, dislikes, hopes and dreams. They do the same kinds of things as short-term advocates but may also help to widen their social networks. They become a significant ally in the person's life.
Self-advocacy groups meet regularly to explore issues, develop the confidence to speak up for themselves, support one another and take action. They are supported by self-advocacy assistants.
Click here for more information about what kinds of advocacy we provide in each area.
Click here for how you can become an advocate.
Follow the link to the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance for more information about advocacy www.siaa.org.uk.