General advocacy
Laura has been extremely thoughtful and helped to reduce the stress on me. She has actively helped me solve my problems. Her calmness and diplomatic manner have helped us overcome the complex hurdles I have had to negotiate.
In some areas of the country, we support people who have an issue we could help with, but that doesn’t fall into the criteria for ‘statutory advocacy’.
We call this support ‘general advocacy’. You will also hear it called ‘professional advocacy’ or ‘community advocacy’. All these terms mean the same thing: advocacy that is only available in your local area, for issues that aren’t covered by statutory advocacy.
Is general advocacy provided in my area?
Each local authority or care provider can decide for themselves whether to offer any general advocacy or not, and what it will cover, so the eligibility criteria for general advocacy can vary very widely by area.
You can find out what is available in your area by going to your local service page or using our ‘Make a referral’ button.
Services in your area
Find out if we work in your area and what services we offer
Who can get general advocacy?
To access general advocacy, usually you must
- need help with something not covered under statutory advocacy types: IMHA, IMCA, Care Act or NHS Complaints advocacy
- be using health or care services
- have specific problem or issue that is covered by the general advocacy criteria for your area, and that is not related to benefit claims