This essay aims to cover issues regarding the needs for advocacy among older people and to examine in more detail some important difficulties on a thematic basis while these needs are met. Generally, elderly people are considered to be those who are over 65 years old. Statistics show that in the UK, more than 10 million people (1 in 6 people) are aged over 65, and this number is estimated to have doubled to around 19 million by 2050. representing 66 .2 million of the total population of the United Kingdom, these elderly people who constitute the majority of the entire British population are yet negatively labeled as dependent, useless, poor, etc. Although there have been a plethora of laws and policies for older people to protect their deserved legal rights, this is only limited to specific circumstances (e.g. mental health) in which older people are ignored and subordinated in society. Therefore, they should certainly be entitled to more support from the UK government, especially for advocacy purposes. The term “advocacy” will be defined and explained in the final part of the essay. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayOver the past 30 years, forms of advocacy have diversified, while this essay will primarily focus on one-on-one communications. -professional advocacy. A broad definition of advocacy would be actions involving any citizen advocating for themselves, advocating for their own interests, representing others and providing them with support to secure and promote their deserved rights and needs on an individual or collective basis. Yet advocacy is inevitably seen as a highly principled activity. The Older People's Advocacy Alliance (OPAAL), UK, applies the principles of advocacy in broad terms such as empowerment, inclusion and independence. Therefore, advocates must go beyond all interests, encourage people to freely express their wants and needs and safeguard their deserved decisions that affect their lives as much as possible. This part of the essay will now examine the needs for advocacy with older people on a thematic basis. As mentioned above, older people within society remain very limited in various circumstances, with descriptions of older people being mostly negative. Lorraine Green (2010) argues that widespread discrimination against older people – ageism – greatly exaggerates the problems people face as they age. Green defines ageism as “systematic stereotyping and discrimination against individuals related to the aging process.” The first relevant problem would be stigma. The Center for Confidence and Wellbeing (2015) identified the following stereotypes related to aging: “Older people are: needy, passive, unable to learn new things, and less useful than their younger counterparts. ", Labeling theory holds that once a label is applied, attached to a person, older adults tend to perceive themselves in terms of a label which diminishes their self-esteem. Older people may be unwilling to express their needs (e.g. crime prevention needs, inadequate public transportation, unsuitable and poor housing) or even decrease their motivation to participate to defend their rightsdeserved, which ultimately leads to social exclusions. As older adults remain powerless in the face of the civil rights agenda, advocacy is needed to combat ageism and other forms of discrimination. Individual professional advocacy could help older people assert their needs, translate their beliefs or thoughts into actions, which could also stimulate unengaged stakeholders by highlighting issues related to the detrimental impacts of stigma and prevent other prejudices against older people. . - It is doubtful whether there is a set of “standard and appropriate rules and frameworks” that best protect older people from unfair treatment. A survey shows that “only 26% of respondents believe that older people in the UK have a good quality of life, while 28% of respondents believe that their standard of living is good in terms of their financial situation. The above shocking findings interpret a cruel fact that older people in the UK are at risk of being infantilized, as they are protected by their younger counterparts or by society itself, regardless of the older people's wishes, which makes them dissatisfied with their current situation. even they felt that their standard of living was good in financial terms. The study, made up of half of respondents who are themselves older people, professionals working with older people or caregivers, indicates that "older people are collectively wealthier than before, but with growing inequalities, They don’t feel any happier than before.” On the contrary, even older people get richer, their decision-making power does not increase proportionally. In some cases, older people are powerless and excluded from decision-making, being forced to move into a nursing home regardless of their own will because their younger counterparts believe that the nursing home could provide better care for them. their parents, but this takes away from them the deserved authority of a person. There is no doubt that these younger counterparts mean no harm, but acting out of ignorance, protecting the weak is honorable, but sometimes overprotection causes problems for others. Therefore, advocacy is necessary, helping older people express themselves of their own free will, letting their younger counterparts provide them with what they want with dedication. This is why the think tank ChentreForum has called for the creation of a “elderly commission” responsible for defending the rights of older people. The Forum's chief executive, Stephen Lee, said that "by giving more older people a formal voice in Whitehall, we would see greater progress on age-protection services and more policies." adapted to the difficulties and opportunities of a maturing society. .' Through advocacy, the voice of older people could be taken to the highest levels of government and published approaches to tackle their problems at the root. In reality, despite all the obvious advocacy needs mentioned above, the feasibility of advocacy also comes into play. question. Instead, the British government, particularly during the New Labor period, saw some shift in the development of a legal and policy framework concerned with promoting advocacy to meet the needs of older people in circumstances and specific situations such as the Mental Capacity Act 2005, Older Persons Act. s Commissioner for Wales and Care Act 2014, etc., but statistics show thatOlder people still do not feel satisfied with their quality of life because their needs could not be met. The reason is that most older people are very distant from those in power, do not feel well informed, or even unable to identify themselves as a target group when “important” people talk about them. Therefore, although there are a range of approaches implemented to meet the needs of older people, 'service users' do not see themselves as the target group for these measures. Sarah Rochira of The Old People; The Wales Commissioner comments that "my report shows that older people are often unaware that this type of support is available and are often unable to benefit from it, even if they have the right to benefit from it, which is simply unacceptable. The only way to achieve this requires the support of an independent advocate who can express their views and defend their interests. Advocacy among older people, particularly individual professional advocacy, could serve as a bridge between older people and the community, as paid self-employed workers could help older people see themselves as “service users” and to increase their level of awareness regarding the elderly. accessible resources around them, ensure that they are included in the core activities of the communities, as some of them do not even understand their basic rights to live as a British citizen. As noted above, there have been signs of progress in government policies and attitudes towards older people, particularly during the New Work period. The Mental Health (Wales) Regulations 2008 introduced the role of Independent Mental Health Advocates (IMHA), aimed at providing supports to people who have difficulty expressing their opinions and ideas, to help them to exercise their rights or express their point of view, in which older people also benefit. However, after the Conservative Party came to power since 2010, they vigorously promote austerity measures, keen to reduce public spending, which directly affects the effectiveness of advocacy. Advocacy and campaigning organizations say it is becoming more difficult to provide full support than before. One study shows that more than 80% of advocacy workers said it was becoming more difficult for clients (e.g., older people, Black people) to get representation and advocacy. Reduction in public spending also means a reduction in the workforce, as the age of the population increases despite the decrease in the number of service personnel, resulting in members working with the elderly not having enough time to prepare advocacy work and follow-up actions, so as to This increased the workload of these members and reduced the effectiveness of advocacy. As noted above, older people now live in appalling conditions, with some being negatively labeled and at risk of social marginalization, while others are disempowered and infantilized, "taking advantage" of their life independently of their own will. Therefore, advocacy should be placed at the forefront of the government's decision, calling for urgent action to restore spending on public health services, so that the voice of older people can be conveyed to those in power, in launching policies that protect equality between older people and others. member of society, defending justice and/