About Us...
Liverpool Citizen Advocacy (LCA) originated in 1988, when a group of individuals concerned with the rights of people labelled as having ‘learning difficulties’ set about developing the organisation. The objective was, and remains, to encourage people to take action to build more inclusive communities in which all people are equally valued.
LCA officially started its work in January 1992, when it was fully established as an independent organisation, becoming both a Registered Charity and a Company.
Advocacy is about taking action to help people say what they want, secure their rights, represent their interests and obtain services that they need. It promotes social inclusion, equality and social justice. LCA’s community partnerships are rights focussed relationships in which one member of the community makes a commitment to the rights of another who is in a position of particular disadvantage and/or social exclusion.
Although originally the major part of the organisation’s work was with people with ‘learning difficulties’, LCA has long been committed to extending its support to all people facing disadvantage and exclusion. It seeks to challenge the isolation and discrimination experienced by people that find themselves cut off from the natural support that many of us take for granted. It currently has one project, entirely run by volunteers, that is building on the organisation’s work since 1992.
Being one of the first independent advocacy organisations to be established in the North West, LCA has always taken a proactive role both in the development of advocacy and in encouraging collaboration between groups. LCA is a founder member of the National Coalition of Advocacy Schemes (2001) and has been involved in most of the developments around advocacy, both regionally and nationally throughout its existence.