Llanfair - I know how you fell. I was in a Social Services department for 20 years, and got out with the same feelings.

For Advocacy, the link I gave you is a good one. So is Values into Action, which is a bit more local - it used to be CMH, but changed its name, for the kind of reasons that came up in the thread. VIA have contacts with just about anything that's going on that's relevant and useful.