South Tyneside Advocacy

Your Voice Counts to deliver all advocacy services in South Tyneside from 1 September 2025

From 1 September 2025, Your Voice Counts will become the single point of contact for all advocacy services in South Tyneside.

Following a successful bid, we’ve secured a long-term contract with South Tyneside Council. As part of this contract, we’ll continue delivering statutory and general advocacy services - and we’ll also take on responsibility for Independent NHS Complaints Advocacy and an expanded general advocacy offer.

A one-stop shop for advocacy

As the main provider of advocacy in South Tyneside, we’re here to make things simpler for professionals and the people we support. Our skilled and experienced Advocacy team - supported by our Central Support team - is passionate about empowering people and protecting their rights. We’re available to offer information, guidance and support with referrals, and we’ll signpost or refer on if another service is better placed to help.

We offer:

• Statutory advocacy – including Care Act Advocacy, Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA), Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy (IMCA), Relevant Person’s Representative (RPR) services, and Independent NHS Complaints Advocacy (NHS ICA)

• General advocacy - for people who need help to speak up but don’t meet the criteria for statutory services

Reaching more people together

Thanks to the general advocacy element of the new contract, we’ll now be able to support more people who may not have qualified for advocacy in the past.

We already have strong links with local voluntary organisations and will continue to work together to make sure advocacy reaches the people who need it.

We’re also evolving how we work by using the spaces and local networks developed by our Communities team in South Tyneside - helping us bring advocacy directly into the communities where people live.

Resources and information

You can find a wide range of resources and guidance on our website, including:

• Clear information about all our advocacy services

• Referral forms and instructions for professionals and the public

• Self-help tools and resources for people interested in self-advocacy

Visit www.yvc.org.uk/advocacy to access these.

Get in touch

If you have any questions, aren’t sure whether someone needs advocacy or want to talk through a referral, please get in touch:

• Call us on 0191 478 6472

• Email mail@yvc.org.uk

Please note: if you live in South Tyneside and are currently receiving NHS complaints advocacy support, your case will be transferred to us automatically and you will continue to receive the help you need. We will get in touch with you to introduce ourselves soon. If you have any queries in the meantime, please contact us on 0191 478 6472 or mail@yvc.org.uk.