Individual Advocacy
YDAS works with disabled young people in Victoria to make sure you can speak up and are being treated fairly.
Our free individual advocacy service is here to help young people who:
- are aged between 12 and 25
- live in Victoria
- identify as having a disability*
- are experiencing a human rights issue we may be able to assist with
*You can be diagnosed or un-diagnosed.
You can contact us yourself, or you can get a family member, friend, guardian or another person to assist you to contact us.
Families and carers
If you are a family member, guardian or friend of the young person, please first visit our Families and carers section before getting in touch.
Workers
If you are a worker or professional, please visit our Workers section.
How can YDAS advocates help you?
Our advocacy team works directly with disabled young people to provide advice, information and support about a human rights issue you might be experiencing.
Our advocacy team can:
- Give you individual advocacy support with problems you have that might be impacting your Human Rights.
- Explain your rights to you
- Give you information, ideas and resources to help you solve the issue
- Help you to understand what options you have in addressing your issue
- Provide you with once-off individualised advocacy meeting
- Give you individualised guidance, tips and resources to help you address your issue
- Work with you for a short time on specific goals related to resolving the issue you are experiencing (for young people who are assessed as eligible)
- Refer you to other services if we are unable to support you
What our advocacy team cannot do
Our contact details are below, but before you reach out, please first read what our advocacy team are not able to assist with.
We cannot:
- Give legal advice or assistance
- Provide counselling or support work
- Provide case management or coordinate supports
- Help with issues that are not related to your rights
- Make choices for you or on your behalf
- Give financial advice
- Help you with an NDIS or Centrelink application
- Help with or represent you at Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) Cases
- Give you long-term assistance
- Give you services a different organisation provides
- Work with young people who do not have a disability
- Work with young people who do not live in Victoria
- Work with people who are not aged between 12 to 25
Contact us
Phone/Text: 0438 638 734
Email: intake@ydas.org.au
YDAS is not a crisis service. Call 000 if you are unsafe and need help right away. You can find more crisis numbers here: (insert crisis support numbers)
We will always try and get back to you as soon as possible. Sometimes, when we are very busy, it might take a few days.
Other advocacy services and organisations
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