Advocacy Now is an independent information portal about independent advocacy and support for adults across the UK. We publish practical guides on what advocacy is, how it works, who can access it and where to find the right support when you need someone in your corner.
The questions we answer
This site covers the landscape of independent advocacy: what an advocate actually does, the different types available, how to arrange support for yourself or someone close to you, and what to expect once advocacy begins. We write for people approaching the system for the first time and those already navigating it who need clarity on a particular step.
Every guide is built around the questions readers search for: what rights an advocate can protect, how long the process takes, whether advocacy is free, what happens during an assessment. The material comes from publicly available sources and is written to be understood without jargon.
Who this portal serves
Our readers are adults in the UK who need or are considering independent advocacy, family members arranging support on someone's behalf, and people curious about how the system works before a need arises. You might be facing a decision about care, treatment or housing and want someone independent to speak with you or for you. You might be supporting a relative and need to understand what advocacy can offer them.
The situations that bring readers here are as varied as the people who arrive: a hospital discharge you're uncertain about, a benefits review that feels opaque, a care plan you were not consulted on, or simply the sense that your voice is not reaching the people making decisions.
How we create each guide
A topic begins with what people ask. We take the recurring searches and shape them into a guide that answers the question plainly, describes the process step by step and points towards the organisations that deliver the service. Facts are checked against public registers, statutory guidance and the published material of established advocacy bodies.
We do not offer personal advice and we do not recommend specific providers. What we do is explain what independent advocacy is, who qualifies, how to make contact and what the conversation looks like once it begins. When something changes — a service is restructured, contact details shift, new guidance is issued — the guide is updated to reflect it.
What we do not do
This is an information site. We do not sell goods or services, we do not charge for access and we do not accept payment to feature any organisation ahead of another. No guide here is sponsored and no ranking is commercial. We are not an advocacy provider and we cannot arrange support on your behalf.
If you need someone to act for you today, the right step is to contact an advocacy service directly. What we can do is help you understand what to ask for and where to look.
Getting in touch
You can reach us at [email protected] with questions, corrections or suggestions for topics we have not yet covered. We reply within 48 hours. If you are writing about your own situation and need immediate support, we will point you towards the appropriate service, but we cannot provide personal advice ourselves.
This is an information site built for adults seeking to understand independent advocacy and support in the UK. We do not sell goods or services, and the material here is for general guidance only.