BAC’s values as a disabled people’s organisation

·        BAC is an organisation of disabled people run by disabled people for disabled people

·        We will always be run by a majority of disabled people

·        We seek to retain this majority at every level of BAC

·        BAC promotes the social model of disability. This model states that disabled people are discriminated against by society on the basis of their impairment.

·        Discrimination oppresses disabled people internally. We seek to enable disabled people to redress the discrimination that causes this and support them to realise their own empowerment.

·        As a social model organisation BAC seek to challenge organisations to change themselves, to correct their attitudes and to provide environments that are not hostile to disabled people.

·        When BAC acts to represent collective issues we will do so from a position that we believe is consistent with the disability equality duty, whilst remaining sympathetic to the aims of the wider disabled people’s and advocacy movements, whilst taking as our primary guide the hopes and aspirations of our members.

·        BAC will use advocates to achieve this.

BAC values as Advocates

·        Our primary concern as advocates is to enable the empowerment of disabled people.

·        We support the Advocacy Charter which states that advocacy is taking action to help people say what they want, secure their rights, represent their interests and obtain services they need. Advocates and Advocacy schemes work in partnership with the people they support and take their side. Advocacy promotes social inclusion, equality and social justice.

·        Principles of Advocacy which we accept from the advocacy charter are clarity of purpose, independence, putting people first, empowerment, equal opportunity, accountability, accessibility, supporting advocates, confidentiality and complaints.

·        BAC accepts that if advocacy is about taking action to help people say what they want that this can operate on many levels, including self, one to one (with or without peers), group, or collective advocacy. As advocates we seek to support advocacy at all these levels. We also aim to provide a crisis response when and where we can.

·        BAC have developed the 4 R’s of Advocacy which says:

1.    We Respect disabled people and the choices they make,

2.    We will support Risk taking by disabled people if necessary to make their choices a reality and to enhance their standard of living,

3.    We promote the Rights of disabled people to be involved and included as active participants in community life

4.    Disabled people must ultimately be Responsible for themselves.

·        BAC do not promote impartiality. Advocates are on the side of the person or the group that they support and they support the choices that they make. We respect disabled people and support them to make choices they make regardless of our position as an organisation of disabled people. Our advocates are enabled to do the same.