As part of Advocacy Awareness Week, we’re continuing to speak with members of our team to learn more about what advocacy means to them and the experiences that brought them to this important role.
Today, we’re speaking to our Kirklees Advocacy Hub team.
Nafeesa has been an Advocate for over five years. Working closely with others, she saw a real need for more female advocates from South Asian backgrounds who can connect with people in their own languages. She speaks Gujarati and Urdu, and understands Punjabi, helping her bridge communication and cultural gaps to support people more effectively.
What does advocacy mean to you?
Ensuring those who need advocacy support are being treated fairly, they are heard and understood, their views and wishes are included in their care and support, and they have easy access to information and services they need.
What first made you interested in becoming an Advocate?
Through personal and past work experiences, I learnt that advocacy support can make it easier for a person to understand and exercise their rights. The Advocate can support people to understand the jargon, language and complex processes of services, look at their options and help to make informed decisions.
Working alongside other advocates, I identified there was a need for more female advocates, especially from the South Asian background who can speak and understand different languages. I can speak, Gujarati, Urdu and understand Punjabi.
What do you find most rewarding about being an Advocate?
Being an Independent Advocate is a fulfilling role, especially when the advocacy partner is able to feedback that they are finally feeling heard by other professionals and their advocacy issue/s have been resolved and they have been able to reach their goals.
Every day, I learn something new, this benefits all, by sharing information with other advocates and empowering advocacy partners to self-advocate for themselves.
