ADVOCACY STORIES

For people who have been labelled or marginalised, a freely given relationship can make a tremendous difference. To know that you are valuable for your own sake can give you more confidence, raise your self esteem and make it easier for you to speak for yourself. It removes labels like "loner", "unpopular" or "service user".
A citizen advocate might do some or all of the following:

1. Build up a trusting relationship with their advocacy partner by spending time together.
2. Find out about the important issues for their partner, and give unbiased support to make decisions about these issues.
3. Help their partner to put these views forward, and make sure they are heard.
4. Help their partner to participate in community life by spending time doing activities that both enjoy.
5. Help their partner to broaden their social horizons, by introducing them to other friends and family.
6. Treat their partner as an equal and encourage others to do the same.

The best way to understand about citizen advocacy is to hear from a citizen advocate and partner.

Marco & Sophia

The question in our heads was: Why was Marco still in a home for under18s at the age of 24?  Was it because services sometimes place people inappropriately? Was he deemed unsuitable to progress on from this residential school to some further education, and was left in the top class indefinitely? Was it just that there was nowhere else for him to go? No. The truth was that Marco had been left there to die. Not that he had been neglected. In fact, the staff were very caring, and keen for him to move on. But Marco had a terminal condition that meant he was not expected to live beyond his teenage years. Therefore, it was argued, it was pointless planning any post-school services.

The room I met Marco in was stark, with no furnishings or anything else that might have made it homely. There was a TV on in the corner. People wandered in and out from time to time. Later, I noticed two beds in the corner where Marco slept, along with one other man. A curtain divided their beds, though nothing separated their beds from the public area. Marco didn't look at me. He didn't speak. The grimness of the room and my forced chattiness made me feel uncomfortable until a staff member appeared and said we could go out. Marco cheered up straight away, and I realised he felt as oppressed by the room he lived in as I did. I wondered what could possibly change for him if he had an advocate.

Services don't always respond well when you need them to. Marco had been in a place inappropriately for five years, but urgent action was now required, because Marco's place was needed by another child. With haste a place was found at a nursing home in Millport for this 24 year old man, who had spent all his life in Glasgow with his family and friends.

I introduced Marco to Sophia who, like himself, was Italian. The three of us went to a pub on Byres Rd, but Marco was quite withdrawn with his chin on his chest, he didn't look up. Sophia, being very outgoing, chatted away, but she too, was finding it heavy going. Sophia, then talked about her family; and when she spoke of her aunt she mimicked her voice: an animated, high-pitched Sicilian gabble. Suddenly Marco threw his head back and laughed. For me, that was the moment I started to relax. For Sophia, it was the moment she decided to become Marco's advocate.

It was clear that Marco needed someone to speak up strongly for him immediately, or he'd be moved to Millport within weeks.

Sophia reminded me of an occasion before she met Marco, when she and I visited his parents. They were looking at family photographs. They showed one to Sophia, of two young parents and a four year old boy: an ordinary scene with an ordinary looking boy in an ordinary house. Later on, Sophia said that that photo was what made the difference for her.

At a number of meetings, we put Marco's case forward strongly. Marco's father wrote to the Social services and his councillor.  Then, miraculously, Marco was offered two places to live near to his family! Marco moved from the world of children to the world of adults. He had support to focus on living a full life and he had his family, friends and an advocate to make sure it stayed that way.

Marco is now 30 and leading a full life, with the help of his support team. Sophia moved away to pursue her career and has sadly lost touch with Marco.

Andrew & George

All advocacy partnerships are one to one but it doesn't need to stop there. Sometimes the most effective advocacy involved introducing your partner to other people...

Hi, I'm Andrew. I have a friend called George who I met through Equal Say. We first met in 1999.

At first we went to the pub and chatted about ourselves. It was hard keeping the conversation flowing for any length of time. Then one night I took George to my home. He instantly felt comfortable and started chatting to Bernadine my wife, and to my sons. He has been coming for his dinner every week since.

We all now consider George a family friend. He regularly participates in our activities, swimming, ten pin bowling, going to the part, visiting family and friends or just playing cards.

This has allowed a real friendship and trust to develop between us. It also allowed George to meet a greater number of people, of varying ages and backgrounds, than he would have if we were still going to the pub ourselves. He is now a lot more confident and loves meeting new people.

I think it is important that George has people he can talk to, people he can trust, who are not paid to be there. Someone he can confide in or speak up for him, if he wishes.  I also consider it important for my family and friends to see, first hand, what Citizen Advocacy is about. Maybe they would like to get involved or help. Who knows, time will tell.

Billy & John                                                                                                                           
When I first met Billy, he was at risk of becoming homeless again. He knew what it was like and didn't want to end up back on the streets. All he really wanted was a quiet life without getting hassle from his neighbours. Billy liked the simple things in life: a good film on the TV, a nice cup of coffee in a cafe or a walk round the park. Doing even these simple things had become a problem and Billy was beginning to wonder whether life was really worth living.

I wanted to know how life could have got so bad for Billy. Two years earlier, Billy had got his own place, a small one bedroom flat in a tower block. Billy was proud of his new homeand at first, things had gone well. Billy had got to know his neighbours and was getting on quite well with some of them. A man who had befriended Billy on the streets still came to visit occasionally and life seemed OK.

Then, about six months later, the noises started. At first the occasional thump, but quickly becoming loud, regular banging. Billy went upstairs to his neighbour who threatened him. When Billy complained to the housing association, they said they would investigate. The neighbour denied it, and that was the end of the investigation. The noise continued and Billy became increasingly frustrated. He would shout upstairs to his neighbour to stop the noise; soon he could no longer sleep in his bedroom and frequently went without sleep for days on end.

At about the same time, Billy started to get harassed by some young men who hung around outside the tower block. 

By the time I introduced John to Billy, Billy was desperate: other neighbours had complained about the noise he was making and Billy had several warnings from housing association. Billy himself was frustrated that he was being blamed for the noise, and he couldn't understand why people had turned against him and as the final straw, he received a letter starting eviction proceedings against him.

John's response was very simple. He believed Billy. He helped him speak to his lawyers, to the housing association and to his social worker to explain what it was like for him. He asked the social worker for extra help for Billy to cope with his circumstances.
Billy's need for a little extra support has finally been recognised, thanks to John.

In the short space of time they've known each other, John has clearly done a lot to help Billy, but John is always keen to point out that they work together:
"I'm not there to do things for Billy, but to help him figure out what he wants to do for himself, and then we'll work on it together."

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