The Winchester District Advocacy Project

The Winchester District Advocacy Project was established in 1995 and is part of Winchester Area Community Action (WACA), the local council for voluntary services and a registered charity.

The project uses a mixture of paid and volunteer advocates to provide advocacy for people with a wide range of needs, but with a focus on working with people with a learning disability.  The geographical area covered is the entire Winchester district i.e. the central city area and rural areas including the Southern and Northern Parishes. We also run a limited advocacy service, including person-centred planning in Andover and the Test Valley.

We support two self advocacy groups for adults with a learning disability (Just Us and Speaking Out!) which meet monthly in central Winchester.

There is a part-time manager, four part-time staff and a team of volunteers. We have a 24-hour voice mail facility and disability access at our offices in Winchester and Andover.

The project accepts self-referrals and third party referrals as well as those placed through statutory and voluntary organisations.