The Sense Advocacy Project was a three year pilot project which set out to learn. We discovered how to set up partnerships and identified the issues involved in doing so. Advocacy Learning Pack and the setting up of the Sense Advocacy Development Network. Relationships Deafblind and multiply disabled people, like anybody else, need a range of relationships. There is a need for both caring and concerned staff and independent advocates.
Independence is a key factor in advocacy.
Advocates independence from service providers means they are much freer to express views and concerns that might differ from prevailing norms, moreover they can bring a refreshing new outlook to particular situations. We worked with families and parents in the project and recognise the enormous contribution families make to their daughter or son s lives. Two very important themes emerged in relation to families and advocacy. Families themselves need to be encouraged to advocate, but family advocacy is not a substitute for independent advocacy. It is also important that deafblind people establish their independence from their families and develop their own lifestyle.