Advocacy
What Is Advocacy? Advocacy is about working with people to support them in ways that are responsive to their own views of their needs. To speak, plead, or argue in favor of, one that argues for a cause; supporter or defender. One that pleads in another's behalf, an intercessor.
Successful advocacy efforts include understanding rights, entitlements, and responsibilities and what to do if your advocacy efforts are not working.
Self Advocacy: Identifying what you need and being able to act to get or achieve it. It is when you take responsibility for your own life and become active in determining how to best meet that need
Systems Advocacy: is when you cause change with the world around you: community, government, society.
At Indiana Protection and Advocacy Services Commission we provide Client Centered Advocacy
- Efforts are centered on the client’s interests
- a. The client is that individual being served
- i. Not the referring agent, service provider, agency administrators, family members or another party
- a. The client is that individual being served
- Respect the client’s individual dignity
- Respect the client’s personal preferences
- a. Actions are not to be taken contrary to the client’s wishes or choice
Laws: Learn civil rights and all other laws that may pertain to issues regarding disability
Rights: Are the clear expression in laws what citizens are entitled to.
Rights are meaningless unless they are respected by others. Individuals may take steps to have them enforced through appropriate advocacy and through the appeals process. Our rights as specified by laws may be denied or simply ignored by others.
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