Advocacy
Pronunciation: \’ad·vè·kè·sē\
Function: noun
Date: 15th century
: the act or process of advocating or supporting a cause or proposal. Action by an individual or group in support of a cause, ideal, or policy to effect change, advance a cause, or raise public awareness. Actions to achieve these goals may take the form of demonstrations, lobbying for legislative change, conducting educational activities, or organizing others. Types of advocacy include self-advocacy, individual advocacy, and systems advocacy:
- SELF-ADVOCACY/PERSONAL ADVOCACY: Addressing specific issues to achieve change in one’s own life by advocating on one’s own behalf. The goal is to stand up for yourself, protect your own rights, and achieve your own dreams. Being an effective self-advocate requires having or developing assertiveness skills, knowledge of rights, strategizing skills, and networking skills. Self-advocacy activities may include effectively managing the supports and services you use or being an active participant in the decisions that effect your life such as where you live, work, or go to school.
- INDIVIDUAL ADVOCACY: Action on behalf of, for, and most importantly, with an individual. Focuses on providing training, information, referral, and intervention to, and with, individuals. An effective individual advocate seeks to help people develop knowledge and skills for effective future advocacy activities. Individual advocacy may include confronting unacceptable conditions that infringe upon daily living activities and opportunities, learning how to appeal a legal decision, or filing a formal complaint or law suit. TRCIL Service Coordinators and Peer Support staff can assist you with individual advocacy matters.
- SYSTEMS ADVOCACY: Working to create broad-based change within a system, agency, community, etc., implementing strategies to increase availability and accessibility of services and resources, and creating equal opportunities for large numbers of people with disabilities. Systems advocacy activities may include speaking out on issues, laws, benefits, and/or practices that affect many people with disabilities, community organizing or making legislative contacts, lobbying, presenting testimony, filing petitions, etc. Specific examples include ensuring one’s community has a responsive paratransit system or using courts to interpret and enforce laws and regulations, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Systems advocacy usually requires a long-term sustained effort by a large number of people.
Without the national and grassroots plans of action of the Independent Living movement through the work of tireless and relentless leaders and members of the disability community, the great strides achieved for our basic civil rights would not be possible. The past few decades have shown much progress but we have more work to do! Please find your area(s) of interest and get involved!
For more information, contact the Advocacy Office at 412-371-7700 ext. 119 or TTY 412-371-6230. For information about Regional Action Teams and for meeting information for W.C.D.T.F. (Westmoreland Co.), D.I.G. (Armstrong Co.) and D.A.R.E. (Allegheny Co.), contact the Advocacy Office.
“Lead! Lead! Lead the revolution of empowerment!”
~ Justin Dart, Jr.
Father of the Americans with Disabilities Act &
Godfather of the disability rights movement