What is advocacy?
Advocacy involves speaking up on behalf of another, representing their views on issues that affect them, and ensuring that their needs and wishes are carefully considered before any decision is taken that will affect their welfare. It aims to speak for them as they would if they were in a position to do so themselves.
There are many groups in society to whom advocacy is particularly important, because in the absence of such a service, their needs are likely to be ignored or marginalised. These groups include young people, the mentally incapacitated and those with learning disabilities.
Legal Advocacy is the term used to describe the broad range of methods by which lawyers and other legally trained individuals assist people to defend their rights. Traditionally people associate advocacy with this but other forms of advocacy have developed away from this expert, advice model and they can support people to speak for themselves in a variety of settings.
As advocates, we are here to protect your rights, and to assist you in putting forward your individual points of view. There may be instances where you do not agree with decisions that are being made about you, or you need some impartial advice on matters that may be troubling you. We can help you to decide what to do, assist you in obtaining any information you require, and inform you of your rights in a particular situation.
We can also attend meetings and appointments with you, and represent you at tribunals, reviews and hearings. We speak out on your behalf making sure that your rights are being heard and respected.
Principles of Advocacy
At OTAS we abide by the following principles which govern our dealings with all of our service users.
Independence
We ensure that there is no conflict of interest so that we can competently represent your interests. All of our projects are managed independently and funded at arms length.
Confidentiality
OTAS subscribes to the spirit and intent of the eight principles established by the Data Protection Act 1999. In consequence all information shared by clients with our advocates remain confidential, and disclosure remains fully within the control of the individual client concerned.
Equality
We recognise our obligations under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Race Relations Act 1976 and as a result we ensure that all our clients are fairly represented regardless of their creed, colour, or sex. All our clients receive equality of opportunity and access to our services.
Empowerment
We support all our clients to enable them to make their own decisions and get them in a position where they can assume control of their lives
Listening
Our responsibility is to represent the views and wishes of our clients. We cannot do this effectively if we do not fully know what they are. Therefore we place a high premium on carefully listening to each client with the express aim of building up relationships of trust.
Impartiality
As advocates, we do not judge our service users. We recognize that when a service user is seriously mentally ill for example, an advocate may be the only person he or she sees who is not responsible for assessing, treating and monitoring their illness. This means that we are aware of our responsibility to listen to and hear the service users' report without prejudice, and to communicate their requirements.
For more comprehensive information on advocacy, including current legislation and its interpretation, please email us at info@oliver-thomas.org, and we will send this out to you at no charge.