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For Friendly Support
& Information:
01325 776 554

For Friendly Support
& Information:
01325 776 554


For Friendly Support
& Information:
01325 776 554

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Who is Advent Advocacy

Advent Advocacy started in 2007 at a time when advocacy in the mental health sector began to grow.  Our aim then is the same now:  to offer high standards of advocacy to everyone in need of it, when they need it.

Our service continues to go from strength to strength and has grown every year as commissions and clients continue to appreciate the quality of advocacy delivered.

Advent Advocacy delivers a quality assured nationwide advocacy service offering a full range of statutory and non-statutory advocacy to a broad range of commissioning organisations including:

NHS and Private Mental Health Hospitals, step-down services, rehabilitation units, eating disorder clinics, Children and Adolescent Mental Health services and Universities.

Our Values

Person first, diagnosis second. All our advocates enjoy spending time with people, getting to know them as individuals. We advocate for our clients in a truly person-centred manner.

Fundamental to our work with individuals is our non-adversarial approach. We listen and support without judgment or prejudice. We encourage individuals’ independence promoting self-advocacy and cohesiveness in a safe environment.

Our Service Model

At Advent Advocacy we believe that all clients should have access to high quality advocacy as and when they need it.  We provide services with regular ‘opt-out’ advocacy visits so that the access to an advocate is integral to client’s treatment and experience.  

We’re Flexible

Advent Advocacy is a nationwide organisation with a centralised management team. Our service model is designed to meet the needs of each organisation and individual setting, offering flexible advocacy, with the ability to adapt to different settings and environments.

We’re Accountable

We provide a quantitative and qualitative record of activities to ensure comprehensive feedback to service providers and commissioners. We create monthly and quarterly reports demonstrating our impact and identify trends and areas of need.

We’re Quality Assured

Advent Advocacy has been awarded the Quality Performance Mark for Indpendent Advocacy from the National Development Team for Inclusion.  This provides reassurances for commissioners that we are independent and uphold the Advocacy Charter and principles of excellent advocacy and work within the code of practice for the Mental Health Act throughout all our work.

“Advocates demonstrated a person-led and empowering approach to advocacy delivery; this was seen to be integral to the culture and approach at Advent Advocacy.” QPM assessor NDTi

Our Advocates

All our advocates are

  • A permanent employee of Advent Advocacy
  • Qualified or completing the level 4 City and Guilds Advocacy in Practice qualification
  • Meet the criteria to act as an IMHA
  • Receive regular supervision and are supported by our centralised team for safeguarding, training and quality assurance

“My advocate is patient and helps me, they are clear in their role and are completely independent- they don’t make any decisions and can’t do things for me and they leave things in my own words and respect my choices.” QPM Report 2024

 Advent Advocacy do not use volunteers or agency workers.

Our Senior Management Team

Ben Santaluce – Managing Director

Ben Santaluce – Managing Director

Ben’s background in mental health began during his degree in Physiology from UCL. As Managi...

Romy Leon - Head of Operations & Business Compliance

Romy Leon - Head of Operations & Business Compliance

Romy is a key member of the senior management team, her role as Head of Operations ensures effici...

Claire Bennett – Head of Safeguarding, Staff Development and Quality Assurance

Claire Bennett – Head of Safeguarding, Staff Development and Quality Assurance

Claire has both a BSc in Psychology from Staffordshire University and an MSc in Forensic Psycholo...

Jan Sams – Head of Corporate Compliance

Jan Sams – Head of Corporate Compliance

Jan, as Head of Corporate Compliance is a key member of the senior management team, her role is t...

Kerry Critchlow – Head of HR & Service Deployment

Kerry Critchlow – Head of HR & Service Deployment

As a key member of the Senior Management Team the Head of HR & Service Deployment supports th...

Louise White - Head of Business Development

Louise White - Head of Business Development

As a member of the Senior Management Team, Louise provides a strategic overview of the business, ...