POhWER is a charity and membership organisation. We provide information, advice, support and advocacy to people who experience disability, vulnerability, distress and social exclusion.

POhWER was set up in 1996 by service users who, tired of others making assumptions about their capabilities and views, wanted equal access to information and a voice of their own.

Reflecting our origins, the majority of our Board are people who count as disabled under the Equality Act and our membership is largely drawn from people who have used our services.

Click here for a film in which our Trustees and founder members talk about how POhWER came about and what the organisation means to them.

POhWER's mission is:

"To empower people to have a voice and make a real difference to their lives"

Our role is:

"To enable our clients' voices to be heard, speaking for them when they can't and supporting them when they can."

Our overall strategic aims are:

  • To enable all who need it to have a voice, to achieve empowerment and self-help so they win respect, uphold their rights and get their essential needs met
  • To respond to rising numbers living with mental ill-health, dementia or a disability and reach other excluded people who need support in navigating the system to access essential services

Our values:

Our values are our core principles, the qualities and beliefs that drive all of our work. These have evolved over the years and can now be restated to ensure we put people at the heart of everything we do:-