Citizen Advocacy Auckland

We can talk at length about what Citizen Advocacy is, but really it is the stories from people themselves who have been involved in our programme that will give you a sense of what we are about. Here are a few…

Willie and Margaret

Willie and I first met twenty years ago when Carrington Hospital closed its doors. After sixty years of Ward 10 being home Willie moved into the community and to an IHC (now called Idea Services) home.

My name is Margaret and for the last twenty years Willie and I have been friends. Officially I have been his advocate for seven of those twenty years.

I always think of my friendship with Willie with a smile on my face. We share a love of hot pools and have had some memorable holidays sharing that love.

Willie has taught me how to drink a cup of hot chocolate with finesse and appreciation where every mouthful was savoured, the smell, the taste, the ritual of how and when the marshmallows go in.

I admire Willie, his creative abilities. He is a very good artist. His lack of inhibitions, his single-minded drive, and that when he looks at me he really looks at me.

Willie is part of my family. He new my father and mother who have now both passed away. He is close to my partner Keith. We even talk like Willie now. I will never say banana or apple the same again. But will always echo Willie saying, “Banana, banana, big yellow banana. Apple red, red, apple, lots of big red apple”. Everything has to be big in Willie’s world.

We had a wonderful celebration for Willies 80th birthday. At Valentines, with a big, big cake, loads of people, presents and fuss just the way he likes it.

This is not a one-sided friendship. Willie gives and shares with me in many different ways. I enjoy that he accepts me as I am and has no expectations of our relationship. We enjoy lovely silences, unspoken pleasures in quiet moments.

I remember when my mother was ill and changed greatly from the person she had been. So many people didn’t visit her because they wanted to remember her as she had been. Is this friendship? Not to me. Friends are there when you need them no matter what the situation is.

I take great pleasure in our friendship. I am able to support Willie, be a voice when he needs it. I am the consistent person in his life when the support workers and managers in his service have moved on. I am still there in his life. I don’t have a choice. We are family now.

I am the one that knows he doesn’t like cream and mushrooms but loves to keep clean. That shaving is a great joy of his. I know that it might say “Raymond V” on his paper work but Willie is his name. I remember that when we visit Valentines he has a plastic bag ready to take jellybeans home because this is what he has done for the past ten years.

Being an advocate is a wonderful opportunity to practise the true meaning of friendship. “

Liz and Linda

Hi. I became involved with CA when someone needed an advocate urgently for what was thought to be for a short time only. I have now been an advocate and friend for Linda for seven years.

Since our first meeting I have been involved in her life in many different ways, for example going to social events, going with her to medical appointments, making a complaint to police about her neighbours and helping her to move house.

Over the years there have been a wide range of issues and problems that she has asked for or I have offered my assistance to help her with.

As an advocate, I have become very aware of how some people treat other people who look a little different. People can be thoughtless and insensitive towards others and an advocate can help to reduce that happening.

Linda says that having an advocate means that it gives more weight when trying to express herself in any situation and that others will give her more respect. That means she feels people are more likely to believe what she is saying when she is with me. When on her own she says she is often ripped off especially when dealing with trades people or when paying for a service. I have certainly noticed that trades people tend to do a poorer job for her and sometimes charge her more than what the work is worth.

I enjoy being an advocate and know that the help I give Linda is appreciated. It would be really good if all the people on the CA waiting list could be given advocates within the next few months as some of them have been waiting for a long time.

Being an advocate doesn’t have to take up much time as sometimes it’s just about making a phone call to check how the person is getting on. Being an advocate does make a difference in someone’s life.”