PAN Advocacy Charter
The People's Advocacy Network -
- Supports and promotes partnerships between users of health and social care services, families, whanau, service providers, commissioners of services and funders in promoting a strong, varied and appropriare advocacy service in New Zealand and elsewhere.
- Supports and promotes the development both of advocacy services internationally.
- Is committed to the principles of self advocacy as defined by People First (Oregon).
- Respects, supports upholds and defends the articles of the Treaty of Waitangi, believing it to be the keystone of human rights and inclusion in New Zealand.
- Respects, supports and promotes the diversity of cultures in Aotearoa New Zealand.
- Commits itself to the ideal that all advocacy models are by definition empowerment models and should always be striving towards the ideal of self-advocacy (whether supported or otherwise).
- Is committed to the principal of independent advocacy.
- Is committed to the principle that advocacy services to and for service users should be free and equally available to all irrespective of race, age, gender, sexuality, nature of dis-ability, religion, culture or nationality.
- Is committed to supporting any process that ensures that advocacy services are adequately funded in a way that enhances rather than subverts their independent status.
- Is committed to the principles and practice of community inclusion, integration and genuine social and economic participation.
- Supports all projects or developments that promotes and/or enhances the ideal of self-advocacy , speaking up groups and peer support.
- Promotes, supports and attempts to develop a holistic and empowering approach to all aspects of health and social care. This includes especially the ideal of genuine partnerships between service users and service providers.
- Believes in, promotes and supports the principles of needs led assessment and person centred planning in social and health care.
- Supports and promotes the development of recognised national and international standards of advocacy practice and training.
- Supports and promotes self-determination, personal dignity, choice and individual responsibility for disabled people.
- Supports and promotes good practice in non-verbal communication including the development of enhanced and augmented communication methods and the use of multimedia profiling as a means of enabling and empowering people with profound communication difficulties.
- Supports a broad perspective of social determinants of health
- Supports community integration focusing particularly on housing, employment and access to desired and quality living conditions
- Supports best practice and a people centred approach in all aspects and types of treatment
- Supports promotion and preventative approaches to mental health. Supports the development of a robust, flexible, skilled mental health workforce