“Don’t settle for what life gives you; make life better and spread happiness around you”Ashton Kutcher
The National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS) is a rights-based UK charity, which aims to extend its support to children, young people, and vulnerable adults who are unable to raise their voices against the miserable state of their lives. NYAS offers advice, care, and legal representation to children and vulnerable adults across England and Wales.
It provides its services through a team of advocates and lawyers. NYAS advocates help their clients escape their unhappy lives and make their voices heard. They encourage them to express their feelings, wishes, perspective, thoughts, inner voice and make them eligible to participate in decision making and planning which surely affects their lives.
National Youth Advocacy Service provides various services such as Helpline, advocacy, independent visitors, Separated Parents Information Programme. It advocates for children and vulnerable adults and their rights. NYAS assists people in need, whether it is someone suffering from a disability or under Children Protection Plans, or they are separating from their parents.
National Youth Advocacy Service has a great network of 170 staff, 300 volunteers, and 350 self-advocates in the country. 59 members of its staff are based in NYAS Head Office in Birkenhead, Merseyside. Over the last 12 months, it has supported more than 9000 children and young people and receives thousands of calls every year. The charity has acted on 115 reported safeguarding concerns, and matched 379 young and vulnerable people with an independent visitor.
NYAS gets its funding from charitable trusts, foundations, corporates, and individuals. It utilizes these funds to conduct extra activities for the children. The charity also secures funding for its team leaders who give all their efforts and time to the people in need.
National Youth Advocacy Service aids the children whose parents have separated, and determines who gets custody of the child. Every child has a right to stay with both their parents, if it lies within their interest and well-being. As the charity works with Family Contact Centres, they contact the families and provide children with a better environment and support. It also assists children and young people in care, who are not happy in their placements or find it hard to adjust to their siblings. NYAS provides independent monitoring service that focuses on safeguarding residents and promotes their well being.
Services Offered To Help The Needy And Vulnerable
National Youth Advocacy Service provides various services to help children and young people in need:
1. Participation in the Charity for a change
National Youth Advocacy Service works with local authorities and children in Care Council. It facilitates events and projects with young people, allowing them to engage and participate in them. It ensures that their voices are heard on the issues which they face. The charity runs various campaigns for children, through which people can participate to explore solutions to their problems.
2. Advocacy services offered to people for support and advice
NYAS offers advocacy support and advice which ensures that the feelings and wishes of people are respected and their voices are heard when someone makes decisions for them. They provide advocacy services to children and young people who are Mental Health patients, children with disabilities, children in care, or children who are subject to Child Protection Act.
3. Dial Helpline number in case of any personal decision pressure
The NYAS helpline is a lifeline to a large number of children and young people who want a better environment for themselves. The charity receives around 24,500 calls a year. They have advocates who offer advice and necessary information, to the 10,000 cases that come up every year.
4. IMHA protection to mental patients
NYAS’ Independent Mental Health Advocates (IMHA) assigns a special advocate who is trained to understand the needs of mental health patients. NYAS’ IMHA service protects patients who come under the Mental Health Act. They are placed in special units such as eating disorder units, medium secure units, secure forensic wards, etc.
National Youth Advocacy Service has been working tirelessly towards spreading positivity and goodwill in the community. It has helped many families successfully settle again through NYAS’ advocates. Sometimes their despondent state of life makes people depressed and long for a better environment. They provide all the care and knowledge they can, listen to people’s problems and fight to give them a joyful life.
“Open-minded, optimistic, and flexible people always end up winning battles in life.”Dr. Chia Thye Poh
How To Get Involved With The National Youth Advocacy Service?
Volunteering
NYAS has provided vital support to vulnerable children and young people for over many years. Their team of dedicated volunteers continue to help the vulnerable every day, giving them a chance at a better life. People want to be a volunteer with the National Youth Advocacy Service for so many reasons: to meet new people, gain skills and experience, help the community, and many more. To get involved as a volunteer at NYAS, you do not need any prior skills or experience. You only have to be enthusiastic to give your time and care to those in need.
“FEAR is what stops you …. COURAGE is what keeps you going.”Chicken Soup For The Soul
- You can become an independent Visitor, peer mentor, or peer advocate and provide direct support to vulnerable children and adults in need.
- Raise funds or nominate a charity to your company, help in raising unrestricted funds to develop projects and campaigns which support young people.
What Does NYAS Offer?
NYAS is very thankful to its volunteers for their unique contribution and rewards them well for their splendid work. It provides volunteers with all the necessary support and training needed to build you for this role. Here’s what it offers you:
- Support and supervision from your line manager
- Access to a range of training opportunities
- Reimbursement of all reasonable expenses
- A full induction to the organization, including the chance to get involved with many opportunities
- The chance to gain new skills and meet new people
Even during the current Coronavirus pandemic, NYAS is still working to help people in need. It has been providing its services via email, messages, video calls, and chats. The main mission of NYAS is to listen to the people, give them advice, and empower them so that they can be strong enough to make their own decisions and raise their voices when needed. Volunteers here do their best to help vulnerable people shift to healthy lifestyles.
“Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is.”Mary Anne Radmacher
