CAPS Advocacy

What CAPS Advocacy does

CAPS Independent Advocacy (Scottish Charity Number SC021772) is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) founded in 1991 as part of the grassroots mental health user movement, headquartered at the Old Stables, Eskmills Park, Musselburgh. It delivers free Independent Advocacy services across East Lothian and Midlothian, Edinburgh, and Lothian, plus a national Veterans' Advocacy service covering all of Scotland. Its core beneficiaries are adults with mental health issues or substance use concerns; children and young people aged 5–18 navigating the Children's Hearings system; LGBTQIA+ adults (and, from April 2026, LGBTQIA+ young people); veterans and their families; and Collective Advocacy groups across Lothian who campaign to influence mental health service design.

The service portfolio comprises Individual Advocacy (one-to-one support), Children's Hearings Advocacy, LGBTQIA+ Individual Advocacy, Veterans Advocacy, and Collective Advocacy, complemented by experience-led projects including the annual People's Conference, the Out of Sight Out of Mind (OOSOOM) art exhibition (running since 2013), and the Oor Mad History community history and education initiative (including a free course hosted at the University of Edinburgh). Operationally the organization relies on standard case management software for individual casework and an Email Blaster system for newsletter management; there are no proprietary technology platforms, public APIs, or AI/ML systems disclosed. The organization is led by CEO Jane Crawford, with a leadership team built around a small specialist workforce of 13 employees, supported by volunteers and embedded partnerships with the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance (SIAA), the University of Edinburgh, the Lothian Health Services Archive, and Summerhall.

CAPS is funded primarily through grants from foundations and government bodies — including the Henry Smith Foundation (new funding from April 2026 for LGBTQIA+ young people), the Scottish Government Improving Access Fund managed by Inspiring Scotland, the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board, and the People's Postcode Trust — supplemented by charitable donations. Services are free of charge to eligible individuals. The go-to-market motion is community-led and event-driven: CAPS acquires service users and collective advocacy members through presence in community settings, partnerships with individual advocacy workers, and recurring events (People's Conference, OOSOOM exhibition, community and zine-making workshops). Marketing channels are predominantly organic social (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X), the website and newsletter, and community events. CAPS published its Strategic Plan 2026–2030 in July 2026, prioritizing independence preservation, organizational efficiency, diversification of advocacy methods, and exploratory use of automation and AI.

Name

CAPS Advocacy

Legal name

CAPS Independent Advocacy

Website

https://capsadvocacy.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CAPS Independent Advocacy is a Scottish charitable incorporated organisation (founded 1991, 13 staff, Musselburgh) delivering free Independent Advocacy across East Lothian, Midlothian, Edinburgh, Lothian, and Scotland-wide for veterans.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Advocacy Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Legal Aid & Client Advocacy Services (BPAGAEAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

LGBTQ+ Rights & Advocacy Organizations (BPAGAFAE), Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations (BPAGAFAB)

Keywords

• Independent advocacy services
• Mental health advocacy
• Collective advocacy
• Children's hearings advocacy
• Veterans advocacy services

Headquarters

HQ city

Musselburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: CAPS operates as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) funded primarily through grants from foundations and government bodies. Funding sources include the Henry Smith Foundation (new funding from April 2026 for LGBTQIA+ young people), Scottish Government Improving Access Fund (managed by Inspiring Scotland), and Edinburgh Integration Joint Board.
2. Charitable Donations: The organization accepts donations and has received rescue funding from organizations like People's Postcode Trust for specific projects such as the Out of Sight Out of Mind exhibition.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CAPS Advocacy provides free, independent individual advocacy for people experiencing mental ill health, substance-related concerns, and those accessing or seeking access to services. It also delivers collective advocacy groups and specialist advocacy streams for children in hearings, LGBTQIA+ people, and veterans, all delivered at no cost to the service user.

Product overview

CAPS Independent Advocacy operates as a single unified advocacy service organization providing both individual and collective advocacy programs. The core services include Individual Advocacy for people with mental health issues or substance use concerns in East Lothian and Midlothian; Children's Hearings Advocacy for young people aged 5-18; LGBTQIA+ Individual Advocacy across Edinburgh, East Lothian, and Midlothian; and Veterans Advocacy covering all of Scotland. Complementing these are experience-led projects including The People's Conference (annual gathering planned by Lothian Voices), the Out of Sight Out of Mind annual art exhibition (running since 2013), and the Oor Mad History archive and education initiative including university-based courses. The organization uses Case Management Software for individual advocacy operations and Email Blaster for newsletter management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Individual Advocacy Free, independent one-to-one advocacy for adults experiencing mental ill health or substance-related concerns, supporting them in accessing or challenging services.
• Collective Advocacy Group-based advocacy where people with shared experience of mental ill health collectively raise issues, influence services, and campaign for change.
• Children's Hearings Advocacy Independent advocacy for children and young people involved in the Scottish Children's Hearings system, helping them understand the process and have their voice heard.
• LGBTQIA+ Individual Advocacy Specialist individual advocacy for LGBTQIA+ adults experiencing mental ill health, addressing identity-related barriers in accessing mental-health services.
• Veterans Advocacy Independent advocacy for military veterans in Scotland who need support navigating NHS, local-authority, or veterans'-welfare services around mental health and related issues.
• Oor Mad History Project Heritage and recovery project led by collective-advocacy members, exploring the history of mad activism and recovery in Scotland and producing public-facing outputs.
• Out of Sight Out of Mind Conference Annual public conference organised by CAPS collective-advocacy members and partners to raise awareness of mental-health issues and mad activism.

Quantifiable outcome

• Artworks by 83 people were shown at the 2020 Out of Sight Out of Mind exhibition

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance (SIAA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026CAPS works with the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance (SIAA) together to promote the importance of Independent Advocacy and advocate with decision makers including MSPs and Health and Social Care Partnership leads about the importance of Independence.
• University of EdinburghcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAPS collaborates with the University of Edinburgh on the Oor Mad History project and hosts the Understanding Oor Mad History community course at the university. The Lothian Voices group also participates in the Mental Health Cross Party Parliamentary Group.
• Lothian Health Services ArchivesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAPS collaborates with the Lothian Health Services Archive on preservation of mental health history and the Oor Mad History project.
• SummerhallsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerSummerhall is the venue for the annual Out of Sight Out of Mind exhibition, hosting artworks made by people with lived experience of mental health issues.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• LGBT Foundation: UK-wide LGBT+ charity providing advice, advocacy, and support. Adjacent peer to CAPS's LGBTQIA+ Individual Advocacy service, with much broader national scope across England and beyond.
• Mind: UK-wide mental health charity network providing advocacy, information, and local services via local Mind associations. Overlaps CAPS on mental health advocacy, but with much larger reach and scope including services beyond advocacy.
• Rethink Mental Illness: Major UK mental health charity offering advocacy, services, and policy work. Broader portfolio than CAPS but overlapping on independent advocacy for people with mental health issues, with national scale CAPS lacks.

Direct peers

• Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH): Scotland's national mental health charity, providing direct support, advocacy, and service delivery across Scotland. Highly comparable to CAPS as both deliver community-based mental health support with advocacy and lived-experience components in overlapping Scottish geographies.
• Combat Stress: UK veterans' mental health charity providing specialist treatment and welfare support. Comparable to CAPS's Veterans Advocacy service for veterans and families, though focuses on clinical mental health treatment in addition to advocacy.
• VoiceAbility: UK-wide independent advocacy charity delivering one-to-one advocacy, particularly for people facing decisions about health, social care, and the law. Closely matches CAPS's Individual Advocacy service for mental health and vulnerable populations.
• Penumbra Mental Health: Scottish mental health charity providing person-led support including advocacy and community-based services. Directly comparable to CAPS's individual and collective advocacy model for people with mental health issues across Scotland.
• Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE): Scottish national third-sector interface for health and social care, advocating for people with lived experience and supporting independent advocacy. Comparable to CAPS through its focus on amplifying service-user voices in Scottish health and care systems.

Regional players

• Children 1st: Scottish children's charity supporting children and families, including work around Children's Hearings and family advocacy. Comparable to CAPS's Children's Hearings Advocacy service for ages 5-18.
• LGBT Health and Wellbeing: Scottish charity supporting LGBT+ health, wellbeing, and advocacy. Directly relevant peer for CAPS's LGBTQIA+ advocacy stream, though primarily health/wellbeing focused rather than independent advocacy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/capsadvocacy
• Facebookfacebook.com/CAPSIndependentAdvocacy
• Instagraminstagram.com/capsindadvocacy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/caps-advocacy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CAPS Advocacy