Hertfordshire County Council funds independent advocacy services to ensure that our most vulnerable citizens can have their voices heard in conversations about their care and support and to promote individual choice and control in decisions that will affect their future.
Advocacy services in Hertfordshire are provided by a range of organisations, working together in partnership, with each other and the Council. You may recognise:
People Of here Want Equal Rights (POhWER) – Adult Disability advocacy for individuals between the ages of 18 – 65 years
Hertfordshire Independent Living Service (HILS) – Older People advocacy for individuals aged 65 years +
VoiceAbility – Mental Health advocacy.
These services deliver both statutory and non- statutory advocacy including Independent Mental Capacity Advocates (IMCA), Independent Mental Health Advocates (IMHA) Independent Complaints Advocacy (ICAS) and Community Advocacy, all services are independent and currently free of charge.
The current contracts finish in June 2024 and the Council is reviewing the advocacy services available to the citizens of Hertfordshire to inform future arrangements. We want to hear from you as it is equally important that the new services are shaped by a broad range of people across the county.
Please complete this survey, which can be anonymous, but if you would like to be involved in a working group set up to help shape the future of advocacy services in Hertfordshire, then please give us your details at the end of this survey. Thank you for your help.
There is a separate survey for Hertfordshire citizens which can be found
here.