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Who We Are


MBCA has touched the lives of over 800 people since its founding in 1978.

Macon Bibb Citizen Advocacy, Inc. (MBCA) is a private non-profit corporation governed and led by a voluntary board of directors consisting of concerned citizens, community leaders and people with developmental disabilities. Citizen Advocacy was established in 1978 and has served the community continuously since that time. The purpose of MBCA is the protection of and advocacy for people with developmental disabilities. This is accomplished by matching ordinary resourceful citizens with citizens with developmental disabilities and then supporting the advocacy relationship. Currently, 81 people are involved in citizen advocacy relationships in Macon as protégés or advocates. Over the past 30 years over 874 people have been involved. Another 20 people are considered “core members”- long time advisors, supporters and board members.

The small office and small staff, plus the board and a group of friends of the program, spend their time and efforts in the following ways:

  • Recruiting people as protégés who have developmental disabilities who are isolated, discriminated against, or at risk for their health and safety
  • Getting to know the protégé well enough to know with whom they would mesh well and who would be appropriate for helping to address the most pressing issues
  • Recruiting a volunteer citizen to be an advocate who would be loyal, see the issues from the point of view of the protégé and represent the protégé’s interests as if they were the advocate’s own
  • Making potent, relevant matches of citizens and protégés
  • Giving the advocate an orientation to the usual challenges facing people who have disabilities and also to the benefits for all of a strong personal connection to a person with a disability
  • Providing follow-along and support to relationships so they will be able to be fruitful
  • Arranging on-going learning opportunities for advocates and protégés to deepen understanding and develop skills in particular advocacy roles


-Advocate independence and loyalty to the person with the disability

-Citizen advocacy organization is independent of service providing agencies

-Promote positive and dignified images of people with disabilities to counter general negative impressions

-Ensure clarity of staff functions so that staff do not take the place of voluntary advocates

-Promote local ownership so that citizen advocacy will be rooted in the community, while observing community values and norms and being long lasting

-Balance advocacy roles so that a wide variety of people will be able to participate

©Macon Bibb Citizen Advocacy, Inc. 2008