What is advocacy?
A simple definition of advocacy is helping and supporting someone else to speak up for what they want. It is the process of pleading the cause or acting on behalf of another person to secure services that they require, or rights to which they are entitled. Key concepts in advocacy are equality, inclusion, empowerment and rights.
Sense and advocacy
Sense is campaigning for greater access to advocacy provision for deafblind people. It is doing this through membership of the Advocacy Alliance.
What is the Advocacy Alliance?
The Advocacy Alliance is a coalition between national charities, and the advocacy and user involvement sectors. It was formerly known as the Independent Advocacy Campaign.
The aim of the Alliance is to improve access to advocacy for people who are not heard without the help of someone else, essentially, people with significant communication difficulties. It does this through research, campaigning and the promotion of good practice in advocacy. Key achievements to date include:
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Research into the lack of advocacy provision for people with physical, sensory, communication and profound and multiple impairments.
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The launch of the ‘Advocating for Equality’ report at the House of Commons to outline the research findings.
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The introduction of an early day motion supported by 56 MPs supporting the report and its recommendations.
- The presentation of research findings to the All Party Parliamentary Disability Group
Click here to download a copy of the Advocating for Equality publication (PDF).
For more information about the Advocacy Alliance, click here to go to their website.
Organisation that can help you with Advocacy:
Action for Advocacy
Action for Advocacy (A4A) is as a resource and support agency for independent advocacy schemes and has a list of useful publications on advocacy issues.
BILD
BILD has information on its citizen advocacy programme.
The Information & Resources Service at BILD is available to anyone who has an interest in learning disabilities. If you work with people with learning disabilities or are studying to work in the field; if you are involved in research or just want to find out more, there may be something here to interest you.
Advocacy Resource Exchange (formerly Citizen Advocacy Information & Training)
Advocacy Resource Exchange is a charity which offers support for advocates, and staff of advocacy projects. It also offers training and publications. Visit their website for details.
What help can Sense offer?
If you are interested in advocacy, there are information and training packs available from Sense :
Do The Rights Thing! £10
Angie Lee-foster and David Moorehead, Sense 1996
Advocacy enables people to make choices, to become involved whenever possible in decisions that affect their lives and to become member's of their local communities. This learning pack, containing an advocacy Reader and Work book, grew out of a three year project exploring one-to-one advocacy for deafblind and multiply disabled people. The guides service providers, family members and friends of deafblind people in how to help them discover and exercise their preference and rights.
Communication And Advocacy £15
Voluntary services team, Sense 2002
This pack was produced as part of Sense's training course Communication and Advocacy. The pack consists of a trainers pack, OHP slides and participants handouts. It is primarily aimed at advocacy agencies and individuals who are advocating for people with little formal communication.
The information packs above are available on loan from the Sense library.
