Self and Peer Advocacy
We have groups of people who have similar experiences, such as accessing mental health services called Self and Peer Advocacy Groups. They meet together to discuss:
- issues everyone is facing
- what would make health systems work better
- how to stand up together to make changes
- creating campaigns on important topics
The group is led by the members and for the members. Sheffield Advocacy Hub support to set the group up, and we can help apply for funding and book rooms. It is not our group but yours.
Our current Self and Peer Advocacy Groups
We have some groups running and in development now:
- Mental health self advocacy group.
Our members are interested in campaigning around access to Mental health services, prevention and using creative ways to campaign for better treatment within health systems. - Experiences of Brain Injury group
We are currently exploring how people would like to bring attention to brain injuries in their different forms. We’re currently collecting information for this group. Please complete this survey if you or someone you know has a brain injury. - Self Advocacy group for Carers of people who have been sectioned under the mental health act
Currently we are exploring ideas, one of which is a Mental health Passport for people who are regularly sectioned.
All groups are open to collaboration, if you are an organisation or an individual please contact us using the details at the end of this page.
Anyone above the age of 18 is welcome to discuss how they would like to be involved or create a group that may be different from the ones above. We would like to make the groups accessible to everyone, please let us know if you have any access needs.
We want to help you set up your own Self and Peer Advocacy Group
We want to help set up more Self and Peer Advocacy Groups. Although we are helping you to set it up, this is your group. It belongs to you.
How we can help:
- We can use our professional skills and resources to support you to make your group.
- We can do things like help you organise your meetings and book meeting rooms.
- We could help you apply for funding for your group.
- We could give you suggestions of things you may want to discuss, based on the issues we see our clients struggling with
We are here to make building the group easier for you. You can tell us what you want from us. You get to make all the decisions about your group.
Get involved
If you want to get involved with one of our current Self and Peer Advocacy groups, or you want to start a Self and Peer Advocacy Group, you can contact us by emailing
Self advocacy resources
Find below our self advocacy resources. We’re still working on creating these so watch this space for more content.
Easy Read: About Self and Peer Advocacy Groups
Learn about what these groups are and how we can help you to set one up.
This is in Easy Read format
Self Help Information Pack: how to apply for medical priority
An information sheet about how to apply for medical priority. Our partner Disability Sheffield can support with the application process if you are struggling to do this process independently. Fill in a referral for Generic Health Advocacy here if needed.
Self Help Information Pack for NHS Complaints
Learn more about NHS complaints, the process and how you can do this yourself
News & campaigns
See some of our latest news, articles and reports here
Advocacy Impact Report 22-23
Download our report on the work of Sheffield Advocacy Hub, led by Citizens Advice Sheffield with our partners Cloverleaf and Disability Sheffield in 2022-23
Navigating change
We've partnered with Lamplight, our database provider, to publish a Navigating Change E-Book for charities to learn from our change process over the past year.
Self Advocacy Training
As part of the Self and Peer Advocacy groups we are running self advocacy training, delivered by our partners Cloverleaf advocacy.
Contact us
You can contact us to ask a question about our service, about advocacy, to get information or to put in a referral.
Make a referralReferrals
If you need an advocate for yourself, friends or family
Email us
Call us
Access points
Access points
At the moment, we can only only accept referrals by phone or email. We are developing access points which we hope will increase access to our services. This space will be updated when they are available.