About Us

Aylesbury Vale Advocates (AVA) was formed in 1990 and became incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee in June 1997.  We were registered as a charity with the Charities Commission in August 1997. 

Our Management Board consists of:-

We deal with a broad range of advocacy - citizens and group advocacy as well as one-to-one, individual, issue-based advocacy.

What is our Aim?

As a free and independent advocacy service, our aim is to empower vulnerable people by providing effective communicationn skills on their behalf.

We aim to listen to people, put forward their viewpoint and support their rights as individuals – in other words, to empower them. 

We aim to provide  support, in the form of assistance, representations and services, to vulnerable people who are unable to communicate effectively, either because they have a learning difficulty/disability, a mental health illness or other communication problem.  By providing this support we hope to improve the experience and quality of life for those who choose to use our services. 

The aims are fulfilled by responding to refeerrals received from a wide variety of statutory and other agencies.  All new referrals are assessed to determine eligibility for support and then allocated to a trained advocacy coordinator or volunteer.  Advocates are trained to ascertain, at the outset, the precise needs of the person by listening carefully to their issues or seeking appropriate means of communcation to find the information.

Limitations to the service.  AVA is funded to work within the district of Aylesbury Vale only and is not able to advocate for children i.e. for those under 18 years of age.  Similarly we do not provide advocacy for people over the age of 65 or older people with mental health problems such as dementia - these services are available from Age Concern Buckinghamshire.  However, services are provided for some elderly people with learning disabilities who are living in residential care.  People in wheelchairs are not able to access our office if unable to get out of their wheelchair.  Alternative arrangement can be made to see people outside of the office if necessary 

The People

We are a small, friendly charity comprising a group of 35+ committed and trained volunteers and a small team of trained Coordinators.  In addition to providing advocacy support for a wide range of vulnerable people, the Coordinators also oversee the activities of the volunteers who are partnered with clients in the community.  We also have a General Manager, a Volunteer Support and Administration Manager, an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate, and a User-Focused Monitoring Project Coordinator.  

What do Advocates do?

A significant amount of an advocate’s time is spent finding information and presenting choices – sometimes people are unaware of their rights, the options available to them and the benefits to which  they are entitled. Very often this means trying to achieve a practical outcome to everyday problems that some people, due to illness or disability, are unable to resolve. Some of the work involves helping people with their correspondence and paperwork or supporting them at interviews and meetings with health service professionals, solicitors or County / Magistrate Court appearances, or helping families through Court of Protection issues.

Other examples of work done by our advocates include supporting people through care assessments and reviews, attending meetings for budget advice, housing, benefits or debt collection and liaising with mortgage companies, banks, rehabilitation agencies, or education officers.

We also support people with learning disabilities who live in residential homes or supported living, some of whom may be non-verbal.  For people who have little or no communication abilities, the principles of non-instructed advocacy are used to build up a picture of the person's likes, dislikes and preferences.  The advocate would then try to uphold the person's rights to ensure fair and equal treatment and access to services.  This would also include ensuring that any decisions take into account the person's unique preferences and perspectives. 

We always try to encourage the principle of self advocacy, that is, encouraging people to speak up for themselves – often the fact that someone is there to support them means that they find enough confidence to speak out.

AVA is committed to the rights and interests of individuals and to that end operates an equal opportunities policy. No-one connected to the organisation, eithre as a volunteer, member of staff, job applicant or user of the service, is treated less favourably than another on the grounds of social class, race, ethnic origin, gender, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, age or disability.

Staff and volunteers strive to be non-judgemental and respectful of peoples' needs, views and experiences.

Aylesbury Vale Advocates © 2007 | Registered Charity No: 1063911