Leroy's story about advocacy

Hello my name is Leroy Binns and I have been a peer advocate for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) for about three years now.

I thought that it would be a challenge for me and I would get a lot out of working with people with profound and multiple learning disabilities. I am able to speak up for myself and I want to speak up for and on behalf of people with profound and multiple learning disabilities as they can not speak up for themselves. I am supported to do this by Newham Advocacy project.

I first started working in the campaigns and policy team at Mencap at the end of September 2006. In the afternoon of that day me and my manager at the time went to see a family that she knew had a son with PMLD. When I saw the family and their son I knew then that we were going to be the best of friends. I also knew I wanted to be an advocate for their son because his mother was telling us about her son having his sitting services taken away from him. I knew that this was not right and fair for him or his family so I knew that I had to try and do something to get it back for him. So when I got back to the office the next day me and my manger had a meeting about how it went and what we could do next. She said that we could work with his professional advocate and maybe come up with something together.

We went to his next circle of support meeting with his professional advocate and with his parents and him and with his new adult social worker. His social worker said that he had got his sitting services back.

I was working with him for about fourteen months and in that time we built up a good friendship. But in October 2007 he sadly passed away.

Then in October 2008 I got two new advocacy partners. I try to go to see them about twice a month each. It takes a very long time to get used to a new advocacy partner but at the end of the day it is all worth it because it is very challenging and rewarding to see that I am helping someone that can not speak up for themselves. That is what I am there for so that they can have a voice as well.

My peer advocacy partners are two men with profound disabilities. They find it hard to communicate vocally but because I know them well, I can tell what they are telling me through facial expression, vocalisation and body language. I can tell if one of my peer partners is unhappy with something as he will close his eyes. If he is interested he will keep his eyes wide open.

I go to person-centred planning meetings and also support one of them at his circle of support meetings, which includes my peer’s friends, and social workers.

These meetings are important as it is a chance for anyone to raise any concerns or problems they are having.

I enjoy it very much and it is very rewarding. It is a challenge for me working with people with profound disabilities as it takes time and patience. I get a lot of job satisfaction out of supporting my peers.

People with a learning disability make the best peer advocates as they understand where people with a learning disability are coming from better than anyone. They are the experts.

I do not think there are enough peer advocates in the UK. There should be a lot more.