Advocacy that understands your cultural needs

What is culturally appropriate advocacy?

Advocacy is taking action to help people say what they want, secure their rights, represent their interests, and obtain the services they need. 

Culturally Appropriate Advocacy is Advocacy that meets the cultural needs of the individual to help them effectively advocate for the care and treatment they need. Our Advocates address the specific challenges racially minoritised people face and challenge racism and discrimination. 

Why do we need culturally appropriate mental health advocacy?

People that are from racially minoritised backgrounds (Black Asian, Arab and minority ethnic people) are more likely to experience difficulties in accessing mental health services and report worse outcomes, especially when in hospital.  

Advocacy is an effective tool to address these racial disparities and ensure people accessing mental health services have their voice heard. 

DHSC pilot service

This service is a Culturally Appropriate Advocacy Pilot (Phase 2) commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care. 

This pilot was commissioned following The Independent Review of the Mental Health Act, which found that people from Black Asian and Minority Ethnic groups are more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act than other ethnic groups, and report worse outcomes during their care and treatment. 

Our service

Our Culturally Appropriate Advocacy service works with Black, Asian, Arab and minority ethnic people across Greater Manchester.

We work with people detained under the Mental Health Act and people who have been detained in the past.

Gaddum are delivering this pilot in partnership with our established partners African and Caribbean Mental Health Services (ACMHS). 

We are doing this by: 

• Employing Advocates with a track record of providing Advocacy to racially minoritised people with Mental Health needs 
• Providing group advocacy services to people in in-patient psychiatric settings. 
• Providing group advocacy sessions in local community settings 
• Providing training and information sessions to people who work in the NHS, Local Authority and community organisations.  

You can share our leaflet here:

Culturally Appropriate Advocacy Leaflet

Our mailing list and training opportunities

You can sign up to our mailing list for updates on our service, referral information and training opportunities.  

Sign up to our mailing list here

Are you Black, Asian, Arab or from another Ethnic Minority background? Have you been treated in hospital for your mental health?

We’d love you to join us for a discussion on improving mental health services and we want to ask the experts – you.

We are coproducing our Advocacy service. That means the people who use our service decide how it’s run.

Our sessions will be in a safe and confidential environment led by our Advocates. All we ask is an hour of your time, so bring a brew and make yourself comfortable.

And we want to thank you for your time in helping us run our service – we’ll give you £15 per hour in gift vouchers or cash payment and we will reimburse your travel.

Attend our coproduction events

If you don’t want to attend a group coproduction event, but still want to share your views get in touch with us for a one-to-one session. Just call 0161 834 6069 or email advocacy@gaddum.org.uk

You can also fill in this survey to share your views and experiences:

Tell us what you want to see

Find out more about Coproduction