It's the start of Advocacy Awareness Week 2024, and this year we are looking at the 'Impact of Advocacy'.
Before we explore the impact our advocacy services have on the children, young people and adults we work with, let's breakdown what advocacy is and the different types of advocacy NYAS offers.
What is advocacy?
Advocacy helps to make sure that your voice is heard and that you understand your rights in decisions being made about your life. It can help make sure that you are not excluded from these decisions and that your opinions and wishes are listened to by professionals involved in decision making.
How can advocacy help?
NYAS can offer advocates to make sure that your thoughts and wishes are being represented, heard and respected within decisions made about your life and the type of care that you receive. This can be especially helpful when there are lots of professionals involved in the process which can make it difficult for you to speak up.
Advocates can work directly with you to understand what your views are and can speak up on your behalf to represent your views when decisions are being made. They can do this by making sure that you understand your rights and entitlements, so you can make informed decisions when it comes to having your voice heard. They can also tell you why certain decisions are being made.
Advocates can also help you challenge and stop decisions if you are not happy with them and can also help support you to make formal complaints if you feel you have been treated unfairly.
Types of advocacy offered by NYAS
NYAS is one of the largest national independent advocacy service providers. We’re here for children, young people and adults across England and Wales who need someone to support them. Our advocates make sure that the views, wishes and feelings of young people and adults in vulnerable situations are represented, heard and respected. NYAS provides many different types of advocacy which can vary on eligibility criteria depending on the service and location.
- Issue Based Advocacy
NYAS advocates can work with children and young people with any issues that they want help with for example, living arrangements, seeing family or education. Advocates will listen to the wishes of children and young people and set out plans to try and achieve them.
- Active Offer Advocacy
In Wales, children who are living in care or are involved in child protection services must be informed of their right to advocacy and their right to an independent advocate. This ‘active offer’ means that all children living in care know their rights and are able access issue based advocacy if they wish.
- Care Leaver Advocacy
NYAS can provide advocacy for care leavers. They can help them get the right support when leaving care and make sure that their voices are listened to in decisions made when they are leaving care.
- Residential Visiting Advocacy
Residential Visiting Advocates listen to the voices of children and young people living in residential settings, such as care homes. They work with young people on both individual and group issues surrounding their experiences within the residential setting and make sure that their rights are being upheld and their wishes are being respected.
- Independent Mental Health Advocacy
Independent Mental Health Advocates support adults and young people being cared for under the Mental Health Act, they are fully independent and on the side of the service user. They give patients information on their rights and what it means to be detained under the act, and help them understand which conditions apply to them and what medical treatment will be provided.
- Parent Advocacy
Parent Advocacy offers support to parents to resolve issues that are impacting their family by working with professionals from third sector organizations. Parent advocates try to help parents, have choice and control over situations and achieve positive outcomes for their family.
- Non-Instructed Advocacy
Sometimes a child or young person may not know what they are feeling or what they want to happen regarding certain decisions being made for them. NYAS can offer non-instructed advocacy to make sure that decisions are being made with a child's preferences in mind and that their rights are being upheld.
- Peer Mentor Advocacy
NYAS offers Peer Mentor Advocacy where young people can complete training to become peer mentors to others going through similar experiences, whilst building their confidence and communication skills.
- Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) / Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS)
NYAS offers trained advocates for young people under Liberty Protection Safeguards, to support appropriate persons within their role and to act on behalf of individuals who lack capacity to make certain decisions and to make sure their rights are being upheld.
