“Advocacy provides you with the support and help when you need it most”
Advocates will:
- Listen to you
- Support you to get your voice heard
- Help you to make informed choices
- Help you with meetings (although these may be done in a different way) and talk to services with you
- Help you to understand and uphold your rights
- Provide you with information about emergency legislation and what it means for you.
- We may have to change the way we work with you to protect you and others but we will still find ways to support you.
Who are we?
We are a partnership of experienced and qualified advocates who are commissioned by the three local authorities in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire to provide Independent Professional Advocacy in Welsh or English across the three counties. We have been recognised for the excellence of our service provision by the award of the quality performance mark (QPM) for advocacy services.
Our service is free, confidential and independent of all other services.
What is Independent Professional Advocacy?
You can access this service if:
- You live in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion or Pembrokeshire and you are 18 years old or over AND
- You have social care and support needs or care for someone with support needs AND
- Your needs for care and support are being assessed or reviewed or you are undergoing planning around your care and support needs OR
- You are involved in a safeguarding enquiry OR
- You have a recent complaint about any of these AND
- There are barriers that stop you from getting your voice heard or from participating fully in social care processes AND
- You do not have anyone else who you would want to advocate for you
What is Advocacy? watch our video …………..
Advocacy involves supporting people to speak up for themselves, to ensure that their views and wishes are listened to and that they are able to make informed choices when seeking to access social care services. Advocates support people to uphold their legal and human rights.
An advocate will:
Talk to you and find out what is important to you
Find out if there are things you want to change in your life.
An advocate will not:
- Make decisions for you – an advocate will talk through your options with you and support you to make your own decision.
- Repeat anything you tell them unless you say it is OK, or you or someone else is at risk.
If you would like to make a referral for yourself or on behalf of somebody else, or if you wish to speak to an advocate PLEASE CALL: freephone 0800 2061387