Sandwell Advocacy

There are now more than 200 advocacy projects in the UK, working with many different types of people who benefit from this kind of representation. Some projects continue to be aimed at specific groups, for example: people with learning difficulties or those with mental health problems. Others are directly involved with representing the views of those using hospital patient services or older people. However, Sandwell Advocacy is a generic scheme, which means we will strive to provide advocates for anyone who needs representation. This is a challenge for our Citizen Advocate volunteers because there are a whole host of issues with which they can be dealing with at any one time.

Sandwell Advocacy has existed in some guise since the mid-80’s, and was the first generic advocacy scheme in the country. The project was officially launched in 1993 when funding was secured from Tipton City Challenge and Sandwell Joint Finance. Sandwell Advocacy has undergone many changes since then. As we have developed, services and posts have changed over time as we have continued to adapt and meet the needs of those seeking advocacy.