Chair of Trustees: Chairperson for the board of trustees
Key Word List
CEO: The boss/leader of AfA
Chair of Trustees: Chairperson for the board of trustees
They give advice and support to AfA.
Our partners and funders
“I feel this service is fantastic. The advocates help so many young people as they give the young person a voice, which is very important.”
Key Word List: Statutory advocacy: where local boroughs have to provide certain advocacy services as a legal right. Non Statutory: projects we create where there is a need, like self-advocacy support.
Starting in 1997, Advocacy for All (AfA) is a people-focused charity with a long history and excellent track record of providing high-quality statutory and non-statutory one to one and self-advocacy in various Southeast and South London boroughs and in Kent.
Advocacy empowers vulnerable people, including those with Learning Disabilities (LD) and also Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) to have bigger voices and better lives.
Key Word List
Inclusive: including everyone.
Empowering: the process of becoming stronger and more confident, with more control of their lives and rights
AfA support many people who do not have a voice. The clients we work with are often isolated, are unable to access services, social and employment opportunities, suffer from poor mental and physical health and can experience abuse in a variety of ways.
This is a human rights issue, and our service is person centred, empowering and professional, providing quality services that are inclusive. We are passionate about enabling our clients to speak up.
Jon Wheeler has been our CEO since 2016, and has managed advocacy services for 25 years. He has made a video talking about our charity and what he is most proud of.
←Please click on the box to watch Jon’s video.
You can read the words of his speech by clicking on the word Text to download.
Text
One of the favourite parts of Jon’s job is going to the Bigger Voices Planning group meeting where he can chat with members from Bromley, Bexley and Sutton.
Jon is joined by Brian who is the chair of the trustees, and other trustees. They listen to the members talk about the work Advocacy for All do, and help developing new work. The trustees are the people who share responsibility for a charity and how it is run. They work together for the good of AfA.
Key Word List
Team Day: A day where staff, trustees and volunteers meet to get the latest news, training and share stories of our work.
Brian has been chair of the trustees since June 2022. At our Team Day, Brian gave a message to all the staff, trustees and volunteers about why he is proud of the work Advocacy for All do.
←Please click on the box to watch Brian’s video.
You can read the words of his speech by clicking on the word Text to download. Text
Please click on the picture of Brian with his son Jonathan to play a video message for our 25th Birthday. Bigger Voices, Better Lives.
Key Word List Expert by experience: is someone with personal, firsthand experience of using health or social care services (or caring for someone who does).
The Chair of Trustees is the leader of the group of people (the board) who run a charity. All trustees are equally responsible for the charity, but the Chair takes on a special role to make sure the board works effectively and follows the law.
Brian’s day time job is CEO for a housing association organisation in Bromley. He is also an expert by experience, as he has two sons living with learning difficulties and complex needs.
January to December 2025
2,555 written reports
7,967 phone calls
24,954 emails
35 different languages/ communication styles
Word List
Best Interest meeting: is where different professionals meet to discuss a patient’s treatment and care
5,204 total clients
60 different local councils/ authorities
104 Best Interest meetings
January to December 2025
Key Word List case reviews: where different professionals meet to discuss how to improve services and better protect young people
298 social media posts
763 case reviews
Advocacy for All provides advocacy for NHS complaints for people living in Bexley, Bromley, Croydon and Sutton.
We support people to make a complaint about services provided by the NHS.
Our aims are to ensure that you get the best possible outcome to your complaint and that complaints are used positively to improve NHS services for the whole community.
Key Word List
DoLS: Stands for Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
RPR: Relevant Person’s Representative.
The relevant person is someone who can live in different settings (like a care home, nursing home, supported living), and they have care or treatment that stops them from being able to come and go as they please (known as Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards or DoLS).
The relevant person may lack the capacity to agree with a DoLS and so the Relevant Person’s Representative advocates for them.
Please click on square below ↓ to play case study.
Key Word List
IMCA: Independent Mental Capacity
Advocate
Lack capacity: This means that they are unable to make a decision at the time.
Independent Mental Capacity Advocates (IMCA) help people who
Please click on square below ↓ to play case study.
Key Word List
Raising a safeguarding: alerting a professional (like a doctor or social worker) that you are not safe and it is an emergency
Care Act Advocacy is about giving the person as much control as possible over their life. It helps the person understand information, say what they want and what they need.
There are 2 conditions for this service:
1) the person has difficulty in being fully involved with their assessment, care and support planning/review or raising a safeguarding alert
640 cases
2) there is no one appropriate and available to support and represent their wishes.
446 client meetings
2546 emails
703 phone calls
26 local authorities/ boroughs
Key Word List
Appropriate: The appropriate person will usually be someone who knows the person well and are in the best position to represent and support them.
Self-advocacy is the ability to speak up for yourself. It’s the ability to identify your needs, communicate them clearly, and help others understand how they can support you.
There are many issues that our members talk about. Mental health, benefits, relationships, education, training, work, digital poverty and most recently the cost of living.
Advocacy for All run LD speak up groups in the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon and Sutton. We run social events and host ‘Stay Up Late’ events.
As well as the different speaking up groups, we also have special interest groups, including a Lads group, Ladies group, Creative Voices Together (←picture), LD Easy Read team, The A Team (safeguarding training) and LD/ASC Media team.
South East Autism Support
All Together Autistic: if you have a diagnosis of high functioning autism or Asperger’s syndrome, are over 18 and live in Kent, we support people to gain confidence, meet others, join in social events and hold peer support groups across the whole of Kent.
We provide monthly peer support groups, regular, supported social events and days out across Kent,including art workshops, walks, meeting up for meals, and visiting attractions.
Key Word List: High functioning: refer to autistic people who read, write, speak, and manage life skills without much assistance.
75 self referrals
129 text messages 837 zoom meetings
99
Touch Base Project: A project for people who have a diagnosis of (or are awaiting evaluation for, Autism or Asperger’s and who are experiencing significant mental health difficulties. We operate in Kent and Medway. Our team of professional staff, peer supporters, and volunteers aim to provide a detailed, individual, and specific mental health service, which is built around you and your needs.
103 total meetings
831 phone calls
264 total cases
The numbers on the previous pages are from 2024; this was because we had paused this service while in discussion with Kent ICB. A huge thank you to our participants and staff for their support and helping us retain this important contract.
Please click on square above to play → case study.
