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Advocacy
What is advocacy?
Advocacy can support you to have a strong voice when you need to make an important decision or are facing issues you need help with.
Advocacy is free, independent or any service (such as City of York Council) and confidential.
You may need advocacy because you feel:
- No-one’s listening to you
- You have important decisions to make
- You can’t get the help you need
- You don’t agree with decisions that are being made about you
How can advocacy help you?
Advocacy can help you to:
- Challenge professional decisions which are being made about you
- Speak out on your behalf or support you to speak out
- Tell you about your rights
- Find out information to help you make an informed decision
- Help you make a complaint
- Go to meetings and appointments with you
- Assist you to fill in forms
- Enable you to access specialist advice and support
Advocacy in York
York Advocacy Hub
York Advocacy Hub is a service delivered by York Mind to provide 5 specialist advocacy services via a single point of access. These are:
NHS Complaints Advocacy
The NHS advocacy service can provide you with information on how to make a complaint. If you require additional support due to mental ill-health, learning disability or communication difficulties the advocates can help you to make a complaint.
General Advocacy
Help is available if you are aged 18 or over, have a disability, mental ill-health or are a vulnerable person with an issue you need support with.
Care Act Advocacy
You may be entitled to advocacy support if you have substantial difficulty engaging in decisions your social worker is making about your care and support.
Independent Mental Capacity Act Advocacy
This advocacy service is available for people who have no appropriate person with which to consult, and who lack capacity to make decisions about either serious medical treatment or long term accommodation.
Independent Mental Health Act Advocacy
This advocacy service is available if you are detained under the Mental Health Act 1983, conditionally discharged or on a Supervised Community Treatment or Guardianship Order.
Older Citizen Advocacy York
Older Citizens Advocacy York (OCAY) has been an independent charity in York since 2002, funded primarily by the Big Lottery as well as a number of smaller grants, donations and fundraising.
They aim to help people have their voices heard, through advocacy. They have upwards of 20 committed and skilled volunteers, including volunteer advocates, fundraisers and trustees, and a team of 4 dedicated part-time staff.
The majority of advocacy is delivered through volunteers, supported by staff with qualifications in advocacy. They offer ongoing training and development for all volunteers and staff.