James, who was separated from his family at the age of 4, is now 50 years old. All his life he suffered from a feeling of isolation and of not belonging and had asked his carers repeatedly to try and locate his family to no avail.

As soon as Mary, his advocate met him and heard this, she made it her project to find them and as a result James was at last reunited with three sisters who were just as thrilled to find him!

His most treasured possession now is a family photo album - at last he knows he belongs! Mary has also spoken up for James, securing him a comfortable unit where he feels accepted by his neighbours and she continues to be a loving and protective presence in his life.

 

• No particular skills are necessary and often not much time is involved, just the desire and commitment to make a positive difference to the life of a person who is isolated or at risk;

• People who believe in the need and right of all people to be treated with dignity and respect;
  
  
• People who can see beyond someone's disability and see and value the person inside;

• People who do not look for material rewards for helping people in need;

• People who are genuine about making a long-term commitment to a person with an intellectual disability to help them with some of their needs;
  
  
• People with high expectations of what people with intellectual disability can achieve with the right support and encouragement;

• People who believe that integration, not segregation of people with intellectual disability is beneficial to all members of society;

• The kind of people that can put themselves in the shoes of their 'protégé' and ask themselves, "if that was me, how would I feel? What would I want?" and work towards that vision.