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Advocacy from an Empowerment Perspective

Most people already advocate, although they may not call it that. Advocacy can be as simple as speaking up if a store clerk has mistakenly given too little change, or as complex as mobilizing support for 'distinct society' status for Quebec. Advocacy is usually sought when 'systems' that administer programs such as health care, BC Benefits, or pensions are perceived to be all powerful in a given situation and the individual or group involved feels unheard, that their rights have been violated, or that they are powerless.

No one can give power to another person. People already have personal power; they already have a voice. The difficulty is being heard or making a difference in the outcome of situations where there is conflict or disagreement between a system and system user. Empowerment advocacy focuses on balancing the relationship between providers and users by helping the person seeking advocacy to become more effective.

One way of becoming more effective is to identify what gets in the way and strategize about how to reduce or eliminate barriers. Individuals may fear that speaking out is useless; that no one person can make a difference. Some people are afraid to ask for what they want because they believe that standing up for themselves will "only make things worse", or they may have concerns about retaliation or revenge from people in the system who have the power to make decisions that will affect their lives.

A supportive, empowering advocate can help anindividual to develop confidence in his or her ability to exercise control in their own lives and to prepare for whatever consequences happen because they had the courage to speak out. Even when resolving the advocacy situation is beyond the control of any of the individuals involved, an individual will know that they did what they could, that they took control in the situation.

Feelings of confidence and control lead to increased self-esteem, self-respect and self-reliance that can spill over into every area of a person's life. An empowerment perspective looks at the individual as a source of their own power; the advocate's role is to give them tools to plug in in order to get the job done.

Pat May, Coordinator Penticton Advocacy Project