Advocacy is about giving you the support and encouragement you need to live an independent and dignified life in your community

Choice in Hackney is able to assist anyone who lives in Hackney and are known to adult social care teams (for example, those receiving care services or continuing health care, those undergoing a care assessment, those in receipt of a transport service such as blue badge, etc.). If you are ineligible for our service we shall do our best to signpost you to another service that may be able to help.

• Be led by you to set goals. 
• Provide you with adequate information to enable you to make informed choices.
• Help you liaise with a whole system of statutory, voluntary and private services.
• Monitor services to ensure that you are satisfied.
• Work with you to feedback to services, shaping their delivery. 

Community Alliance To Combat Hate (CATCH) is an exciting new Hate Crime Advocacy partnership of 6 organisations (Including CHOICE IN HACKNEY ) to tackle hate crime, discrimination and abuse in Hackney and Westminster.

CATCH is commissioned by the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), which is responsible for commissioning victim's services in London.

What is disability hate crime?

A disability hate crime is any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim, or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person’s disability or perceived disability.

This includes anyone targeted as a result of their physical disability, sensory impairment, learning disability or mental health needs. Hate crimes and incidents can be committed against a person or property.

We have successfully moved the entire volunteer project offline! Volunteer Befrienders and Gardeners are available! 

During Lockdown we are able to offer telephone befriending and contact-free gardening services. Our support is tailored to suit you and your needs. 

Our befriending+ service aims to reduce social isolation with weekly phone calls to talk, listen and take part in activities. This is a long term relationship moderated by choice but controlled by you and your volunteer. 

Our Gardening Service matches volunteers with disabled people who need assistance with their gardens. If you have a garden that you are unable to manager, our volunteers can help you to transform it into a vital green space for you to enjoy. This is now performed whilst recognising social distancing restrictions. 

We aim to keep these services as open as possible because we recognise that empowerment, independence and social inclusion will mean different things to different people.

We are not able to provide personal care, cleaning or anything that should be covered by a person's care package. If you are struggling with personal care, contact us so we can provide an advocacy service or refer you as needed.

If you or someone you know may benefit from this service then feel free to contact us directly for any information about this service.

Alternatively you can complete the client referral form at the bottom of this page and return it to us. We are also looking for volunteers to join the project. Please see the Volunteering page to download the application pack.

Our free training course has three goals:

• To get disabled people into employment

• To train disabled people to advocate for themselves and others

• To improve self confidence amongst Disabled Jobseekers

Our course now offers: 

• An accredited Certificate
• Job Coaching
• Work Experience Mentorship

Disabled people tend to be either unemployed or in low paid jobs. This project is an attempt to help disabled people build careers they can be proud of, improving their quality of life.

The course covers disability rights, benefits, services, confidence building, and employment skills. We comprehensively cover the roles and skills of a disability advocate. We will teach you about disability, including the history of disabled people, contemporary views of disability and the services and benefits available to support disabled people.

The course includes a mandatory 12 week voluntary work placement which will provide trainees with important work experience so they can put what they’ve learned into practice and actually start supporting disabled people.

The course is accredited by OCN Credit 4 Learning. All successful candidates shall receive a Level 3 certificate worth 20 credits. Former trainees have used their certificates to qualify for jobs and further education courses.

We now have an Advocacy Mentor and Job Coach to ensure our trainees make the most of their work placements and are guided beyond the course to consider their career options and make informed decisions about their work.

One third of trainees find employment after completion of the course, which is higher than most similar employability projects. Of the remainder, many go into further education or active volunteering. Nobody completes the course without having benefited in some way.

Two thirds of our trainees for the last year are now employed, in further education or on placement.