What is Citizen Advocacy?

“Advocacy” is about helping people speak up for what they want and get their views heard. It describes a situation where one person sticks up for another.

“Citizen” means a member of society, which includes all of us. Citizen Advocacy is a way for ordinary citizens to become involved in the life of someone in our community who’s vulnerable. It involves the creation of long-term partnership between two individuals.

Why do some people need an advocate?

At some point in our lives, most of us will have had to speak up for something we believe in or something we want. Some people find this harder than others.

Some of us don’t have anyone to ask, because we’ve led very isolated lives and not had the chance to get to know many other people. The people that we turn to for help might be paid to be there and have other people’s needs to take into account. Others may not be able to ask, because we have problems with communication.

Some of us aren’t used to expressing our opinions or aren’t confident about doing it. Other people may have made all our decisions for us. Because of this, we don’t get the chance to make the most of the services available. We may not know what our rights are. We feel left out and powerless.

Sometimes what we need is someone independent to come in and stand by us.