• Where am I?
• Home »
• What we do »
• Participation and Involvement »
• Self Advocacy

Self Advocacy

Lots of us self advocate every day. When I decide what I want to do at the weekend or what I want to eat for dinner I say so. Sometimes I may decide about more important things, where I want to live or what job I want to do. I may not always get my way but I know that I can say what I want.

The reason why advocacy is so important is that there are thousands of people who aren’t able to speak up for themselves. Having an advocate means that there is someone on your side, who will listen to what you want and make sure that your voice is heard.

Learning to self advocate is part of the process. Our aims aren’t just to speak up on others behalf; we want everyone to feel confident enough to tell others what they want.

Self Advocacy is something we work towards in every piece of work that we do, whether that is Professional Advocacy, Support Brokerage or Training.

We also run specific Self Advocacy groups in different areas. These groups are places where individuals can come along and talk to others about things that concern them. Some people don’t feel able to speak up at first because they are nervous and uncertain. That’s okay too. We will work with people on an individual basis until they feel ready to join in with the rest of the group.

The groups talk about a lot of different things, things that affect only some people and things that affect everyone there. With the support of VoiceAbility Project Workers the groups write letters, make phone calls and create campaigns about what is important to them.

We have self advocacy groups across the country, click on one of the links below to find out more about self advocacy in your area.

If you would like to speak to someone about starting up a self advocacy group in your area, please contact Paul Morrish on 01223 555800 or comments@voiceability.org.

• Sutton
• Lincolnshire
• Newham
• Thurrock