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Advocacy and Service Delivery in the Voluntary Sector: Exploring the History of Voluntary Sector Activities for New Minority and Migrant Groups in East London, 1970s–1990s

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Abstract

In the 1970s, the voluntary sector acted as a key space for advocacy and support for communities that were marginalised from statutory provision. This paper explores how East London voluntary sector organisations addressed the needs of new migrant communities in this period. Drawing on data from six case study organisations, this historical study explores the dual role these organisations played in advocating for these communities and providing needed services. The findings show that in the 1970s through the 1990s advocacy and service delivery functions were closely linked rather than service delivery crowding out advocacy as has been the trend in recent decades. The findings also emphasise the importance of the creation of trusted relationships between the organisations and the communities they served.

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Notes

  1. After the dissolution of the GLC in the mid-1980s the London Boroughs Grant provided similar funding.

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Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank colleagues at the Third Sector Research Centre (TSRC) and the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on this article. The research on which this article is based was part of a major project directed by John Mohan at the TSRC, funded by a Leverhulme Trust Research Project Grant (RPG-2017–102, Community-level perspectives on post-war change in the British voluntary sector).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Business and Society, University of South Wales (Research completed at the University of Birmingham), Treforest, Pontypridd, CF37 1DL, UK

    Elizabeth Cookingham Bailey

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  1. Elizabeth Cookingham Bailey
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Correspondence to Elizabeth Cookingham Bailey.

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Conflict of interest

The research is funded by a Leverhulme Trust Research Project Grant (RPG-2017–102, Community-level perspectives on post-war change in the British voluntary sector). The author is not aware of any potential conflicts of interest in this research. This research involved three semi-structured interviews where verbal consent to participate and be quoted was taken at the start of the interviews. Interviewees were also sent introductory letters with information about the project as well as instructions on participation and their consent. No direct quotations were used in this submission. This research complied with the ethical review process at the University of Birmingham under which this research was conducted.

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Appendix

Appendix

Directly Quoted Archival Sources (Tower Hamlets Archive)

Avenues Unlimited (AVU)

  • I/SPP/4/6/11/2—Fieldwork Report 1972/3

  • I/SPP/4/6/11/2—Annual Report 1974

London Black Women’s Health Action Project (LBWHAP)

  • LC1279—Annual Report 1986/7

  • LC1279—Annual Report 1994

  • LC1279—Annual Report 1994/5

Oxford House (OH)

  • LCP00235—Annual Report 1996

Praxis

  • LCP00240—Annual Report 1990

  • LCP00240—Annual Report 1996/7

St. Hilda’s House East (SHE)

  • LCP00251—Centenary Annual Report 1988/9

Organisation

Founding

Location

Purpose

Initial funding sources

Advocacy

Services

Avenues Unlimited (AVU)

1965

East Side

Youth; Community Development

Charitable and Statutory (YMCA and ILEA)

Formal: Campaigning; Anti-discrimination; Issue Signposting

Advice: Legal

Informal: Community Development; Facilitating Citizen Advocacy

London Black Women’s Health Action Project (LBWHAP)

1982

West Side

Women’s Health/Education

Charitable and Statutory (GLC Women’s Unit)

Formal: Campaigning; Anti-discrimination; Issue Signposting

Advice: Women’s Health

Informal: Education; Community Development; Facilitating Citizen Advocacy

Services: Health Sessions

Oxford House (OH)

1860

West Side

All Ages Leisure/Education/Social Work

Property Ownership; Donors; Charitable and Statutory

Formal: Anti-discrimination

Advice: Immigration; Youth

Informal: Education; Community Development

Services: Interpretation

Praxis

1983

West Side

Social Justice/Migrant Rights

Endowment (Robert Kemble Trust)

Formal: Anti-discrimination; Issue Signposting

Advice: Immigration; Health

Informal: Education; Community Development; Facilitating Citizen Advocacy

Services: Interpretation; Housing

St. Hilda’s East (SHE)

1889

East Side

All Ages Leisure/Education/Social Work

Property Ownership; Donors; Charitable and Statutory

Formal: Issue Signposting; Anti-discrimination

Advice: Legal; Pensioner

Informal: Education; Community Development; Facilitating Citizen Advocacy

Services: Interpretation; Elder Care

St. Margaret’s House (SMH)

1889

West Side

All Ages Leisure/Education/Social Work

Property Ownership; Donors; Charitable and Statutory

Formal: Anti-discrimination

Advice: Immigration; Legal; Women’s Health

Informal: Community Development

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Cookingham Bailey, E. Advocacy and Service Delivery in the Voluntary Sector: Exploring the History of Voluntary Sector Activities for New Minority and Migrant Groups in East London, 1970s–1990s. Voluntas 32, 1408–1418 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-020-00253-2

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