Types of Advocacy

John Lord

May 31, 2004

Brock University

What is Advocacy?

Varying expectations of purpose & function

“To plead the cause of another” - traditional definition, legalistic

What is Advocacy? (con’t) Definition must also include:

- depth of feeling & commitment in advancing a cause - more than what is routinely done – “going beyond the call of duty”

Advocacy often stresses vision, voice, choice

- “what vision” is often a key issue- “whose voice” is critical to identify

Why Advocacy is Necessary?

Rights – concerned with law & social structures (e.g. ODA)

Participation – concerned with move to inclusion, citizenship, & involvement in recovery (e.g. Individualized funding)

Power – concerned with shifting power to families & individuals & distributing valued resources more equitably

Pat Deegan, Mental Health Advocate

“It is not our job to pass judgement on who will and will not recover from mental illness and the spirit breaking effects of poverty, stigma, dehumanization, degradation and learned helplessness. Rather, our job is to participate in a conspiracy of hope…First, we must be committed to changing the environments that people are being asked to grow in. We must recognize that real change can be quite uncomfortable and sometimes I worry we will content ourselves with superficial change.”

Dilemmas Advocates Must Face Consciously

Differentiating between ends and means

There is power in purpose and advocates need to remember why they are advocating

Easy to get lost in technical aspects of advocacy

Clear values makes it possible to compromise on means

In dual diagnosis, it takes time & dialogue to find common ground related to values and purpose

Dilemmas Advocates Must Face Consciously (con’t)

Conflict of interest

Occurs when two interests collide – most powerful interest usually wins

Consumers and families not well served when service providers are also primary advocate

Dilemmas Advocates Must Face Consciously (con’t)

Challenging authority

Reality that advocacy at some point involves challenging authority

Causes anxiety & leads to avoidance of conflict

Deference to authority quite common

Not all are suited to “step up” for cause

The Potential of Advocacy to “Imagine” Better

Getting the analysis right & asking the right questions

Grievances & criticisms tend to drive advocacy

Grievances cannot define vision – values are key

Key questions enable groups to focus advocacy on “right” understanding

The Potential of Advocacy to “Imagine” Better (con’t)

Being educated about “better”

Both a personal & collective process – we imagine better possibilities & explore these possibilities with others

Imagining “better” is about dreaming & values

The Potential of Advocacy to “Imagine” Better (con’t)

The complexity of “imagining” in dual diagnosis

“where to begin?” is often a challenge – how to address & link two systems?

Success has occurred where champions of change understand the strengths & limitations of both systems, & the value of involving individuals & families

Complexity can be daunting for advocates

Forms of Advocacy Their Strengths and Limitations

Self- Advocacy

Individual Advocacy

Agency Advocacy

Collective Systemic Advocacy

Forms of Advocacy Their Strengths and Limitations

Self- Advocacy

Process whereby individuals advocate for own needs, interests or grievances

Strength lies in conviction of the person Difficult for authorities to ignore personal

pleas Self-advocacy training creates awareness of

oppression and rights Limitation lies in its limited impact on social

policy

Forms of Advocacy Their Strengths and Limitations

Individual Advocacy

Process whereby professional or volunteer works 1:1 ‘with’ & ‘represents’ the interests of vulnerable person

Strength lies in its voluntary relationship, compassion, and commitment to the “other”

Advocate must truly listen & represent the person’s cause “as if it were one’s own”

Most effective when individual advocacy links to broader issues

Limitation is that few human service workers have the independence or courage to be advocates – Joyce’s story

Forms of Advocacy Their Strengths and Limitations

Agency Advocacy

Agencies often “assume” they do advocacy Strength lies in the resources available to

mobilize action Few success stories of agency advocacy Successes involve agencies where some staff

do not provide direct services Its limitations are fourfold: bureaucracy,

mandates, conflict of interest, professionalism Professionalism - “clients” the least powerful

group

Forms of Advocacy Their Strengths and Limitations

Collective Systemic Advocacy

Involvement by a group to promote & defend the rights of those it represents

Strength lies in its collective, broad support Many potential strategies: lobbying, legal

action, litigation (e.g. two autism families) Limitation related to difficulty of escalating

carefully Key is relationship building & appropriate

strategies

Limitations and Shortcomings of Advocacy

Advocates are imperfect and mess it up as we all do

Tendency to be single issue focused: dual diagnosis issues get ignored

Failing to include the vulnerable person Few advocates have knowledge of both

systems Few people in human services are really

“strategic”

Limitations and Shortcomings of Advocacy

Other strategies can be just as powerful

Sometimes advocacy for system change not the right direction (e.g. Support Clusters)

Building community demonstration projects very powerful in creating learning impact

Keeping Advocacy Grounded in Hopes and Possibilities

Need for vision and practical solutions

Advocacy cannot just be critical Vision and values need to outline

possibilities Practical solutions help others see

possibilities Cross-system resource teams in British

Columbia came out of this kind of advocacy

Keeping Advocacy Grounded in Hopes and Possibilities

Social movements maintain energy and commitment

Advocacy for inclusion, citizenship, & individualized support grounded in social movements

Important to connect with social movement groups (CMHA, Community Living Ontario, People First, Canadian Association for Independent Living Centres, Council of Canadians with Disabilities)

Keeping Advocacy Grounded in Hopes and Possibilities

It is about NOT separating the personal & the political

Advocacy is ultimately about what we stand for – our compassion, principles, & belief in the worth of every human being

“Self-help and social action cannot be arbitrarily separated. At some point helping

ourselves includes joining together as a group to fight the injustices that devalue us and keep

us in the position of second class citizen.” (Deegan)

Keeping Advocacy Grounded in Hopes and Possibilities

Personal and political advocacy is about the little things and the big things

It is about inspiring ourselves and others with our hopes for a more humane world

It is about having the wisdom to know when to be quiet, when to make noise, and how to build relationships for change