3 Ways to Advocate for a Cause That You Believe In

3 Ways to Advocate for a Cause That You Believe In

Throughout America’s history we’ve seen many examples of advocacy at work. From present-day racial justice movements like Black Lives Matter to immigration policy like DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), advocacy is what keeps important causes at the top of our minds. Advocacy is defined as public support for or recommendation of a particular cause or policy. This type of work can be done on a small or large scale, and falls into three different categories – self-advocacy, individual advocacy and systems advocacy. 

Self-advocacy is an individual’s ability to effectively communicate, convey, negotiate, or assert his or her interests, desires, needs, and rights. (Van Reusen et al., 1994). To put it another way, self-advocacy is speaking up for yourself as needed.

Here are two examples of what this can look like:

• Knowing your rights and the laws in place to protect them
• Approaching your employer when something isn’t working for you and asking for accommodations that will help your situation

Individual advocacy is when a person or group of people focus their efforts on one or two individuals. This can include people with disabilities, mental health issues or any other condition that causes impaired decision-making. Individual advocacy can be done informally or formally. Informal advocacy is when relatives or friends speak out on someone’s behalf. Formal advocacy often involves a paid staff advocating for someone or a group of people.

Lastly, systems advocacy involves working to change policies, laws or rules that impact how someone lives their life. These efforts are targeted at the local, state and national levels and the focus of this work ranges. 

Now that we’ve laid a foundation for what advocacy is, here are five ways that you can be an advocate for a cause that you believe in.

Fully Understand the Issue

Even if you already have a good idea of what the problem is, it is important to broaden your knowledge and gain a deeper understanding of the issue. Most advocacy campaigns have opponents and resistance. Knowing who those opponents are and their cause for resistance will better position you to develop successful strategies. On the other hand, it is also helpful to know who the allies for your cause are. Allies can join your campaign and help give your platform visibility.

Use the starting points below to guide your research.

• Who is affected by the issue? Who is affected by the issue the most and what are they losing?
• What are some of the consequences of the issue?
• Are there any economic costs or benefits of the issue? Who pays and who benefits?

Provide Education about the Issue

Before you begin recruiting others to join your campaign, it would be useful to provide education about the issue. You can create a social media page or group devoted to discussing the issue and sharing information about it and those who are impacted by it. Facebook offers an extensive guide about advocacy best practices on its website. You could also create a website just for your campaign and provide downloadable fact sheets or other media resources (videos, images, infographics, etc.) for visitors who are interested in learning more. This level of strategizing is especially important when advocating on the state and federal levels. 

Community Organizing

Successful advocacy work requires power – community organizing builds that power. It involves assembling a group of people to address the issue and their concerns in a way that enables them to take action. Its main focus is on collective action because that’s what gives the cause its power. If you have an issue that you want to resolve because it affects a certain community, you must talk to and listen to those who are directly affected by it and find out what their concerns are. Hosting virtual or face to face meetings are effective in identifying those who genuinely want to be part of the campaign and ultimately, the change. The goal with this component of advocacy is to identify people who are willing to work together toward a common cause.

If you’d like to get more involved in advocacy work, learn more about issues that affect your community and collaborate with others whose goals resonate with your own. You can also reach out to our organization for more about the initiatives that we are working on. 

References: West Virginia University Center for Excellence in Disabilities, Alliance for Justice, Community Tool Box, The Self-Advocacy Strategy for Education and Transition Planning, CallHub