About Advocacy

Advocacy

Advocacy is about supporting you to make sure that your rights are respected and your views and wishes are heard at all times.

The aim of advocacy is to make sure you are protected and your rights are met by providing an opportunity for  your views to be listened to and properly considered. An advocate can provide support by:

• giving you an opportunity to speak confidentially to someone who is independent
• being with you when you have appointments or meetings
• speaking up for you, if you want them to
• giving you information about the different ways that you can raise your concerns
• helping you to think about what you would like to achieve or want to change.

What is an Advocate?

An advocate is someone who will come and meet you and find out what your wishes and feelings are. They will help you to start, change or stop something in your life. They can go with you to meetings, if you want them to, and help you to tell people what you want, or speak for you if you don’t want to.

An advocate will:

• explain things to you so that you can make choices
• take time to listen to your wishes and feelings
• talk with you about what support you need to make your voice heard
• tell you everything anyone has told them about you
• get the information you need so that you can make the right choices

If I decide I want an Advocate, what do I do next?

You can talk to your foster carer, social worker or independent reviewing officer who will arrange an advocate for you.

OR

You can email the helpline help@nyas.net or call them on 0808 808 1001.

You can find lots of other useful information on NYAS’s website for young people https://youngpeople.nyas.net