Informal Advocacy Support
Advocacy support for Carers
Advocacy means getting support from another person to help you express your views and wishes, and help you stand up for your rights. Someone who helps you in this way is called your advocate.
The role of an advocate depends on your situation and the support you want. But they are there to support your choices.
Advocacy is about giving a person support to have their voice heard. It is about helping people understand their rights and express their views. We can help Carers:
- To be more involved and have their voices heard in decisions that affect them and their families.
- Make sure that their opinion and experiences are properly heard by Health, Social Care and other Organisations.
- Make contact with organisations on your behalf if you’re not comfortable doing this and we will make sure that you are not forgotten about as a Carer.
We can also refer you onto formal advocacy if you need it
For more information on how we can support you contact us on 0300 005 1213 (Durham) or 0300 030 1215 (Darlington).
An advocate will not:
- give you their personal opinion
- solve problems and make decisions for you
- make judgements about you.
The support of an advocate is often particularly useful in meetings when you might not feel confident in expressing yourself.
They can:
- support you to ask all the questions you want to ask
- make sure all the points you want covered are included in the meeting
- explain your options to you without giving their opinion
help keep you safe during the meeting – for example, if you find the meeting upsetting, your advocate can ask for a break until you feel able to continue
Click HERE for more information from Carers UK about self advocacy
