Your Voice Counts provides Independent NHS Complaints Advocacy in Newcastle, Gateshead and South Tyneside.

Our team of professional advocates are here to help make your voice heard. Every member of our team brings a wealth of experience and compassion so through our new Advocate Spotlight series we’re proud to introduce you to the people behind the service – the skilled, dedicated advocates who work every day to support people who need them.

Our Health and Wellbeing team provides a targeted, bespoke service for people with a learning disability and autistic people. Our work is aligned to wider public health initiatives so this month we’ve been offering accessible and inclusive ways to engage with Dry January.

Sam's story is just one example of our work in action.

We have been awarded a four-year grant from the Henry Smith Shout! fund that will enable us to offer independent advocacy to young people with a learning disability.

Our Communities team has launched a new weekly drop in group to extend its services across the South Tyneside area.

Blog by Leah Kennedy, Your Voice Counts Head of Communities

At Your Voice Counts, we believe in the power of lived experience and the importance of supportive working environments that help people thrive. Few stories demonstrate this more clearly than Summer’s. Joining us as a Co-Production Worker with lived experience of mental health services, Summer has grown in confidence, developed new skills and now reached an exciting next step in her career as she moves into a customer service role with a new employer.

We’ve published our Annual Report and Accounts for 2024/25, highlighting a year of progress, impact and growth.

During Advocacy Awareness Week, we’re celebrating the people and moments that remind us why advocacy exists. This year's theme is 'Why Advocacy?' and to us the answers are simple: