Niacro

ADVOCACY PROJECT WITH YOUNG PEOPLE

NIACRO works with some of the most disadvantaged and socially excluded children and young people in society.  They often feel that they have no say in what happens to them, and no control over their future choices. An advocate can help a young person to express their views by encouraging them to speak for themselves or by speaking on their behalf. An advocate can also help access other services, offer advice on children’s rights and help them to make a complaint, speak up at a case conference etc.

What makes advocacy different from the usual way of working with young people is that the advocate does not work to what he or she might think of as the “best interests” of the young person, but to the wishes and feelings of the young person.  The advocate’s feelings or opinions on a particular situation have no bearing on the process.

An advocacy process is about more than the wishes of the young person being fulfilled. The process itself is important. It is vital that the young person feels that their views have been heard exactly as they wished and, that, if the end result is not what they wanted, that they understand why the decision was made.

The service is offered to young people in Woodlands (the Juvenile Justice Centre) and Lakewood (the Secure Care Unit). 

If you’d like to know more about the advocacy project, contact Aisling Cartmill.