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Effective Interventions Unit: Advocacy for Drug Users: A Guide

Chapter 1: What is advocacy?

Advocacy is recognised as playing an important part in helping marginalised groups become more socially included. There are different types and different forms of advocacy. It can take the form of an ordinary activity, part of every day life, that is provided and received by most people at some point in their lives. For example, many of us may ask a family member or a friend to accompany us to a formal appointment to help us either by speaking on our behalf or by helping us to express our views. Advocacy can also be a formal organised activity for people who are vulnerable and excluded, treated badly because of prejudice, have no family or friends to support them or whose family and friends are part of the problem.

The aims of advocacy

An 'Independent Advocacy A Guide for Commissioners: Supplement' (Scottish Executive 2001) suggests that advocacy has two main themes:

• Safeguarding individuals who are in situations where they are vulnerable.

• Speaking up for, and with, people who are not being heard, helping them to express their views and make their own decisions and contributions.

Advocacy is about promoting people's rights and helping them maintain control over their own lives. Advocacy can promote social inclusion and raises awareness of the obstacles faced by excluded and isolated individuals. Advocacy involves supporting and empowering people to speak for themselves, speaking on behalf of people who are unable to speak for themselves, helping people to explore the range of options open to them and clarifying a particular course of action. It can enable people who are marginalized, such as drug users, to express their views, to be heard and to have a say in crucial decisions that affect their lives.

From the evidence that we have gathered, we have identified a number of values and beliefs that underpin the provision of advocacy services. These include:

• all service users have the right to be heard and for their views to be respected

• with the right help, everyone can learn to communicate more effectively and gain more control over their own lives

• everyone has the capacity to contribute and people need help to overcome issues that prevent them from contributing

• the social and economic exclusion of some people in society who are seen as 'less important' is always a risk

• there is a need for partnership work between those who plan and provide services and those who use services

• some clients feel let down by services. Service providers are not always aware of these situations.

What is advocacy a response to?

'Key Ideas on Independent Advocacy' (Advocacy 2000) suggests that advocacy is a response to four general problems:

• Lack of community contact with services and the social isolation and exclusion of some people

• The disempowering effects of some services and a lack of independent support for some individuals

• People lacking in confidence, experience, or skills to stand up for themselves

• General public prejudice or ignorance about certain people

Who can advocate?

Anyone can act as an advocate as long as an individual has asked them and they are willing to become involved in that way. An advocate can speak on behalf of a wide range of people to help ensure they receive what they are entitled to. Very often people choose a relative, a friend or a carer to advocate on their behalf. Some people, provided there is no conflict of interest, choose another service provider to advocate on their behalf. Others choose either a trained volunteer advocate or a professional advocate working through an independent advocacy agency. Yet others ask the help of self-help groups or voluntary organisations.

Our review of the evidence and the responses from our consultation suggests that an advocate is someone with competent listening, negotiating and communicating skills; that an advocate needs to earn the trust of the person they are advocating for; and that an advocate should have good understanding of the person's situation and a working knowledge of available services.

The role of the advocate

The primary role of the advocate is to be on the side of the person they are supporting and ensure that his/her opinions and wishes are being listened to. The advocate should follow the agenda of that person and work in a way that is directed by that person's ideas, hopes, wishes and ambitions. It is important to act in a non-judgemental way and, as far as possible, avoid actions that might compromise neutrality and loyalty to the supported person.

Our research and consultation suggest a number of key factors that seem to influence the effectiveness of an advocate. These are set out in the following table:

Note: This table has been created by EIU from the analysis of our findings.

Types of advocacy

There are different types of advocacy. The Scottish Executive, through the Advocacy Safeguards Agency is promoting the development of Independent Advocacy. This means that advocacy projects/services, and their advocates, operate independently of other service providers. This removes any conflict of interest and enables an independent focus on the individual. The aim of independent advocacy is to ensure that advocacy is completely on the side of the person.

There are 3 main models of independent advocacy:

Individual professional advocacy

This is carried out by professional, trained, paid or unpaid individuals who are independent of any service provider or agency. The primary loyalty and accountability of independent advocates is to the people who need advocacy rather than to the agencies providing health and social services.

Individual professional advocacy services often provide support to a range of individuals or groups for short or long periods of time, depending on what support is required. These services are set up to ensure that they are as free as possible from interests that conflict with those of the people they support. Independent advocacy should be available to anyone. However, it can be especially helpful for people who do not have a family member or a friend to help them, and do not want to rely on providers of other services for support. It is also useful when support is needed from somebody neutral, who does not need to be concerned about conflicting interests with their own employer or colleagues. Individual professional advocacy is a useful way to support people to develop their confidence and aspirations, and ensure they receive the services to which they are entitled.

Citizen advocacy

The objective of citizen advocacy is to encourage ordinary people to become more involved with the welfare of those who might need support in their communities. Citizen advocacy projects usually involve unpaid ordinary members of the community speaking on behalf of another person to protect their interests. This is usually done on a one-to-one basis and involves providing general long-term support to an individual by helping them to develop a trusting relationship with a member of the community and regaining their place within the community. Citizen advocacy projects also aim to have a lasting impact on the community, not just on the individual they support.

By using citizens to bring about greater social inclusion, such projects aim to support local communities to be more inclusive, raise awareness of local services and improve the quality of services. A citizen advocate would usually:

• work with only one person at a time

• work voluntarily and not be motivated by personal gain

• encourage the person they are supporting to present their own interests

• have a personal commitment to support the individual they are working with.

Collective advocacy

Collective advocacy, or group advocacy, as it is sometimes called, is when a group of people with common views on a particular subject or similar experiences join together to make their voices heard. The idea behind collective advocacy is that people possess more power, have more sway and are better at supporting one another when they come together and organise as a group. Collective advocacy often takes place when people have become so dissatisfied with something that they feel they have to complain collectively to be heard.

Collective advocacy entails forming a group to meet and discuss possible courses of action, delegating duties to group members and, in some cases, electing a chair or a spokesperson. It is an effective form of advocacy to deal with issues that affect a whole group of people and provides a mechanism for a group to support individuals.

Collective advocacy is not addressed in this guide. For more information on this type of advocacy see 'Principles and standards in Independent Advocacy', Part B, Advocacy 2000, January 2002.

The 2 other types of advocacy most commonly mentioned in our survey and consultations were:

Advocacy provided by other (non-advocacy) services

Many people who are already engaged with services receive advocacy from those services or from other (non-advocacy) service providers. Although the staff carrying out this kind of advocacy are often not formally trained advocates, they may have substantial knowledge and experience of the needs and aspirations of a specific client group and the nature of their condition. However, their effectiveness as advocates may be compromised if the interests of the service they work for conflicts with that of the client.

Advocacy provided by family and friends

The most common form of advocacy is that provided by family and friends. Often people provide this kind of support to their relatives and friends without realising they are acting as advocates. This form of advocacy could be as simple as a friend or family member accompanying someone to a doctor's appointment or going along to the job centre to help fill out forms and ask for advice. For many people, family and friends are the only constant support they have throughout a difficult period.

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