Types of advocate

There are four principal types of advocates: - Citizen advocates - Peer advocates - Paid advocates - Self advocates Citizen advocates build and maintain partnerships with individuals facing discrimination. All advocates try to enable their partners to express their views and opinions to others such as carers or people in authority. Peer advocates help others who are experiencing, or have experienced, particular discrimination or disadvantage because they have had similar experiences. Disabled people and people who have used mental health services have become leaders in developing peer advocacy in many countries. Paid advocates are most often trained staff who provide advocacy for people who need short-term support to deal with specific questions or issues. Self advocates frequently work as group advocates, involving people who have, or have had, similar experiences coming together to help themselves; organizing and running such groups to help individuals speak up for themselves. Many such groups have been formed by people using day centres or those who live in residential care. Some groups are helped by support workers. These workers may be paid staff or volunteers but they should be independent of the management of any service the group members are using.