Have your say on: The Future of Advocacy

Discussion Topic:

HAVE YOUR SAY ON: THE FUTURE OF ADVOCACY

Advocacy supports people who may find it hard to speak up for themselves, understand information, or get the help they need because of disability, illness, communication challenges, mental health difficulties, or social exclusion. It helps people understand their choices, express their views, and stay involved in decisions about their lives. An advocate can support someone in speaking up for themselves or speak up on their behalf.

Suffolk County Council provides independent advocacy for adults, children and young people across Suffolk who need support to have their voice heard. With the current advocacy contract ending on 1 April 2027, we want to hear from people who use or have used advocacy services, as well as those who support them, including unpaid carers. We’re interested in what advocacy means to you, what good support looks like, what has made a positive difference, what hasn’t worked well, and how the new service should involve people and their families.

We will explore the following questions:

• What does advocacy mean to you?
• What makes a good advocate?
• What should a good advocacy service offer?
• If you have used advocacy (or supported someone else to), what worked well?
• What did not work so well?
• What difference did advocacy make for you (or the person you supported)?
• How did you first hear about advocacy, and how easy was it to find information?
• What would help you speak up for yourself, or for a friend or family member?
• How could an advocacy service help you do this?
• How should the new advocacy service involve people who use it (and carers)?

How the event works

• Each group will have people guiding the conversation and taking notes.
• Attendees can add any feedback that falls outside the current discussion to the Future Conversations board so we can share it with the Suffolk County Council.

Access to the venue

• Our meeting will be in the Lecture Hall on the first floor - follow our event signposts
• Level access to the building
• Lift
• Accessible toilets
• Full Accessibility guide and parking details at this link: AccessAble - Your Accessibility Guide

Please note that photographs will be taken during the event. If you do not wish to appear in any photos, please inform a member of staff.

A free light lunch will be provided to all attendees from 1:00 pm, with the event formally concluding at 2:00 pm.

We understand that discussions about mental health can be emotionally triggering or difficult. The SUF team will be available throughout the event to offer support to anyone who needs it, and attendees are encouraged to take breaks at any time.

To help ensure everyone has access to support after the event, we will also provide a crisis card with key contact details to take home.

Info: An update on developments from our previous Stepping Forward events.

Info: Presentation by Felicity Tate, Lead Commissioner in Suffolk County Council for the All-Age Advocacy Service and Lois Dunne, Representative from POhWER the Lead advocacy Partner in the Suffolk Advocacy Service.

Info: Key questions with SUF facilitators and SUF scribes at each table.

Info: Jayne Stevens SUF CEO. Thanks, summary of next steps, signposting to further support.

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