Advocating for Equal Rights and Social Justice

BigDog participants belong to a devalued minority group, and that means that most of society will be unaccustomed to viewing them as valuable. BigDog can provide help to enhance a person’s ability to function in all areas of their life, closer to the level of people from valued groups by:

Encouraging the performance of valued roles,

Teaching the competencies, the roles require and

Paying attention to a person’s image. BigDog services are provided in ways that observe and promote a positive image of people with disabilities or with lived experience of mental illness. Wherever possible BigDog will engage directly with people with a disability in the advocacy process and foster and encourage the development of people with a disability to assume advocacy and leadership roles. BigDog will: Advocate for people with a disability in all areas of human rights and social justice.

Help the people we support directly or indirectly to understand and express their rights and responsibilities

Work to remove barriers to service access and to ensure that all people with a disability have equal access to service programs

Advocate for change in structures, systems or procedures which prevent the people we support directly or indirectly from exercising their rights

Ensure that only quality services are designed, engaged and/or provided to assist the people I support directly or indirectly, monitor their quality and contribute to their continuous improvement according to my professional role

Encourage and seek appropriate advocates for the person as necessary, avoid conflict of interest and assure independence of advocacy

Be aware of all forms of discrimination and seek to work in partnership with people with a disability and other stakeholders to overcome these

Promote understanding in services and in the community of the social barriers to participation which are encountered by people with a disability

Involve people with a disability in disability awareness raising using the insights gained from their experiences wherever possible relevant to my professional role

Ensure that the working environment is free from bullying and harassment

I will support the rights of people with a disability as documented in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006. I will report immediately any breeches of this principle to my immediate coordinator