Our Services

Are you finding it hard to get the right help?

Are you finding it hard to get the right help?

We help people over 50 in York who may be:

  • Experiencing financial hardship
  • Overwhelmed by bureaucratic processes
  • Facing communication barriers or digital exclusion
  • Lacking support systems
  • Unaware of their legal entitlements

OCAY is here to help.

Contact us today.

Could advocacy help be right for you?

Advocates aim to help you achieve an outcome which will have a positive effect on your wellbeing.

Advocacy simply means supporting people to speak up for themselves when there is something they want to say. Advocacy is a way of making sure a person’s voice is heard when issues affect their lives.

Advocates are skilled staff and volunteers trained to assist with everyday issues. They will not tell you what to do.

OCAY can help you with issues relating to:

  • Benefits
  • Finance

  • Energy

  • Consumer Rights

  • Housing

  • Health & Social Care

  • Complaints

We can support you by:

  • Finding out information and who to contact
  • Helping you to access health and social care services
  • Going to meetings and appointments with you
  • Helping you to write letters and fill in forms

What we are unable to help with:

Legal Advice

Debt Advice

However, we are more than happy to find an organisation that will be able to help even if we cannot.

We are happy to take referrals from other organisations or you can contact us directly. All clients have an initial meeting (currently over the phone) but usually face to face with our Lead Advocate. They chat through and agree with the client what help or support is needed, undertake a risk assessment and a questionnaire about how the client feels. They then match the client with a volunteer with experience of the issue. The volunteer works with the client for as long as is required. Our service is client-led, free and confidential.

OCAY Policies and procedures are available on request