Problems

Advocacy 
 

Advocacy is having the support of another person to help you get your thoughts and feelings across to others. It can be very frustrating if you feel you are not being listened to by others or your feelings are not being heard or dismissed.

Advocates can be particularly helpful to people who may have mental health difficulties, learning difficulties, physical disabilities, if they struggle to get their views across. Advocates can, for example, help people in dealing with professionals, local Councils, Housing Officers, etc.
 

How your local council can help - source: NHS

Your local council has to provide an advocate if you do not have family or friends to help and you have difficulty:

• understanding and remembering information
• communicating your views
• understanding the pros and cons of different options

A paid carer cannot act as an advocate for you.

Age UK East London provides advocates for older people 
020 898 17124
https://www.ageuk.org.uk/eastlondon/
Age UK East London provides trained advocates to support older people in expressing choices about matters affecting their everyday lives 
Find your local branch on link below
https://www.ageuk.org.uk/services/in-your-area/

Coram Voice
0808 800 5792
https://coramvoice.org.uk/
Coram Voice offers advocacy to youg people in care 

Disability Law Service
0207 791 9800
https://dls.org.uk/
Disability Law Service is a unique charity that has been providing free legal advice and representation for disabled people since 1975. They provide a vital service to some 4,000 people each year, many of whom are in distress as a result of discrimination or improper care. The DLS also provides legal representation in a limited number of community care law and employment law cases, for clients who are in receipt of legal aid.

Inclusion London
https://www.inclusionlondon.org.uk/directory/services/advice-and-advocacy/
Advice and advocacy services throughout the London area

Mencap
https://www.mencap.org.uk/
https://www.mencap.org.uk/advice-and-support/services-you-can-count/advocacy
Mencap offers a range of personal and unique services for people with learning disabilities, their families and carers 

MIND
MIND information relating to mental health advocacy, the different types of advocacy and how to find an advocate
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/guides-to-support-and-services/advocacy/types-of-advocacy/

MIND local branches
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/local-minds/
Your local MIND may offer advocacy services. They may be able to offer you information and support in finding out about your rights and entitlements.

MIND Infoline 
0300 102 1234 Support Line 
0300 123 3393 Info line
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/helplines/
Mind  will be able to give you details of your local advocacy groups and advocacy organisations 

National Autistic Society
https://www.autism.org.uk/directory
The National Autistic Society (NAS) have an Autism Services Directory where you can search for local advocacy services.

OPAAL UK
https://opaal.org.uk/
OPAAL is a national infrastructure organisation and they work to establish standards and quality frameworks which can be adopted by new and existing service providers to deliver improved independent advocacy for all older people, particularly those most vulnerable. They are also working very hard to influence the provision of independent advocacy for older people. Whilst they do not provide advocacy services to those requesting assistance directly, they can provide a number of free resources to enable individuals and supporters to work through some of the pressing issues older people face in our society, in a FREE simple and easily accessible manner. And they are delighted to signpost individuals to organisations that can provide advocacy services, should that be required. 

POhWER
0300 456 2370
https://www.pohwer.net/
POhWER helps  people who, because of disability, illness, social exclusion and other challenges, find it difficult to express their views or get the support they need. Their mission is to empower people to have a voice and make a real difference to their lives. They do this by speaking for them when they can't and supporting them to speak for themselves when they can. They are a charity and the advocacy, information and advice services they provide are free, independent and confidential. As an independent organisation they are separate from the government, local councils and the NHS and they always put the wishes and needs of the people they work with first.

Sante Refugee Mental Health Access Project
020 7482 2903 - The Project covers the London region
https://www.santeproject.org.uk/
Their vision is for refugees and asylum seekers to have the freedom and opportunity to lead independent lives in a community.
Their mission is to support refugees and asylum seekers in the London region, particularly those with mental health issues, to gain equal access to health and other essential services.

Shelter
https://england.shelter.org.uk/
Shleter offers advocacy for people experiencing housing problems 

Statutory advocacy
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/guides-to-support-and-services/advocacy/legal-rights-to-advocacy/
In some circumstances, you may be legally entitled to an advocate. These are Independent Mental Health Advocates (IMHAs), Independent Mental Capacity Adovcates (IMCAs) and advocates supporting people under the Care Act 2014. Further information on this from MIND on above link

The Advocacy People
0330 440 9000
https://www.theadvocacypeople.org.uk/

As an independent charity, all of the services they provide are free and confidential. We all know how hard it can be when we don’t feel listened to, when what’s important to us isn’t taken seriously by others, or we just don’t have the words to say what we really feel or want. It can be even more difficult when decisions are being made about our health and social welfare. The Advocacy People can help. They will take time to understand your situation, explore the options and help you decide what you want to do and how you want to do it. They can give you as much or as little support as you want to put your views across. They won’t judge you, tell you what to do or take over things when you can do them yourself: it’s your life and you deserve to be heard.

The Groundswell Homeless Health Peer Advocacy
020 7725 2851
https://groundswell.org.uk/what-we-do/homeless-health-peer-advocacy/
The Groundswell Homeless Health Peer Advocacy (HHPA) service supports people experiencing homelessness to address physical and mental health issues. They work to improve people’s confidence in using health services and increase their ability to access healthcare independently. The volunteer Peer Advocates delivering the service have all experienced homelessness themselves; in some areas we also have specialist Care Navigators or Case Workers – the majority began as volunteers. Everyone goes through a rigorous selection procedure (including DBS checks or Garda checks in Ireland), attends a comprehensive training programme, and receives ongoing support and supervision to enable them to carry out the role safely. Services in London, Dublin, Birmingham, Manchester, Salford

VoiceAbility
0300 303 1660
https://www.voiceability.org/
They support people to be heard in decisions about their health, care and wellbeing. They are an independent charity and one of the UK’s largest providers of advocacy and involvement services.



If you cannot find an advocate in your local area from the links above, please email SupportLine on info@supportline.org.uk and we will see if we can find a service for you