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What is a Citizen Advocate?

A Citizen Advocate is someone who volunteers their time to get to know a person with a disability.

They are someone who will be on your side when you want to say something.

A Citizen Advocate will listen to what you want and make sure people listen to you.

They can support you to:

• Find information so you can make choices and sort out problems
• Change your services if you want to
• Know about your rights and make sure they are respected
• Make difficult decisions
• Make a complaint if you are not happy about something

Why does the service exist?

When you talk to people who have a disability, you often come across the term 'circle of support'.  This means the friends and family that person has, each of whom play an important role in supporting that individual. 

Citizen advocates are a great way widen the circle of support.  Because they are totally independent, they can work with somebody to find out what they really want to do, without any pre-conceived expectations or ideas.  The partnership that is formed can work towards developing positive relationships with individuals, relevant groups and organisations.

Volunteering

We may be looking for people to become Citizen Advocates in your area.

We provide all new potential Citizen Advocates with induction training, on-going training and regular updates.

We also provide support and evaluation sessions for each partnership.

If you would like become a Citizen Advocate or would like to volunteer to become a Citizen Advocate, please take a look in our 'in your area' section to see what opportunities are available near you.  Alternatively, you can contact your local office and speak to one of our advocates.