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Explains what advocacy is and how it can help you. Gives information on different types of advocacy, including statutory advocates, what sort of situations an advocate can help you with, and how to find an advocate.
- Types of Advocacy
Advocacy in mental health. Explains what advocacy is and how...
- Finding an Advocate
What questions should I ask my advocate? It is important you...
- Legal Rights to Advocacy
What are my legal rights to an advocate? In some situations...
- Working With an Advocate
An advocate can support you by helping you understand your...
- Social Care Advocates
The local authority must provide an advocate for him. Jake...
- IMHAs (England)
What should my IMHA be able to do? Your IMHA should be able...
- Useful Contacts
Complaining about an advocate; Useful contacts; Useful...
- Types of Advocacy
ADVOCATE definition: 1. to publicly support or suggest an idea, development, or way of doing something: 2. to speak…. Learn more.
They make sure you're heard and are called advocates. For example, they can help you: understand the care and support process. talk about how you feel about your care. make decisions. challenge decisions about your care and support if you do not agree with them. stand up for your rights.
Advocacy in mental health. Explains what advocacy is and how it can help you. Gives information on different types of advocacy, including statutory advocates, what sort of situations an advocate can help you with, and how to find an advocate.
- Overview
- What does an advocate do?
- Types of advocates
- How to become an advocate
- Tips for working as an advocate
Working as an advocate can be a meaningful experience for those who want to help others. There are a variety of different types of advocates, including customer advocates, patient advocates, victim advocates and youth advocates. Working as any type of advocate requires empathy, organization and communication skills. In this article, we describe wha...
An advocate is a professional that speaks and advocates for a particular category of person, such as a customer, a victim, a child or a patient. Advocates help to do what is best for the people you represent and need to be extremely empathetic to the situations involved. As an advocate, you may need to keep information confidential or know when to report certain types of information to authorities or involved people. You will also need to assist the people you represent in a crisis.
Advocates generally need to excel at communication and problem solving, in addition to being compassionate. Given that many of the people an advocate represents are vulnerable or might share sensitive information, an advocate needs to be trustworthy. Advocates also often need to collaborate with other departments or organizations to resolve issues that the people they represent encounter. Also, an advocate often needs to be prepared to recognize signs of trauma and abuse.
Customer advocate
A customer advocate is a little different from some other types of advocates, as it is more like a customer service representative position with some slight differences. Customer advocates have a focus on helping and speaking up for customers. There aren't usually degree programs related to being a customer advocate, but there are often training programs at companies that have customer advocate roles. A customer advocate should be empathetic, believable for customers, prepared to criticize your company as needed, trustworthy and aware of how your company's operations work. You may deal with individual customers and help them get their problems resolved or you might work with groups of customers to make change in your organization. You might study customer behavior and make suggestions for how to make those customers happier.
Victim advocate
A victim advocate is someone who works with the victims of crimes to help them through many parts of the criminal justice process. You might offer counseling services to victims to help with the mental health effects of what they've experienced. You likely will help them through a crime being prosecuted and what the criminal justice system expects of them if they need to testify or give other information. You might also function as a case manager for the victim. You may work for a prosecutor's office, a law enforcement agency or some other government office. Many victim advocates have a degree in criminal justice, criminology or counseling. Skills that can be helpful in this role include being compassionate, organized, understanding of the criminal justice system, and able to handle hearing the details of criminal acts. Related: 5 Popular Law Enforcement Jobs
Youth advocate
A youth advocate is someone who works with children and teens to help them navigate challenges in life. You might work with foster children, children who have experienced abuse, children in a custody battle or other children somehow in need. Youth advocates might work through government organizations or with private non-profits. Working as a youth advocate means you need to be prepared to listen to your youth clients and represent their wants and needs in formal settings that otherwise they might not feel comfortable speaking in. Since authority figures like judges, lawyers and police officers can intimidate children and teens, a youth advocate being present can allow the feelings of the children involved to be heard more clearly. Like other advocate roles, you will want to be empathetic, compassionate, organized and good at listening.
1. Research types of advocates
As mentioned above, there are multiple types of advocates, and there isn't always crossover between the different types. Thus, if you want to be a certain kind of advocate, it's most helpful to focus on that type and the requirements for working in that field. You may be able to turn other careers into a career as an advocate, however, such as a career in counseling, law enforcement, healthcare, customer service, marketing or foster care. When you research types of advocate, the most important thing to learn is what, if any, training or education you will need.
2. Pursue education or training
If you intend to work in a field like victim advocacy, you might need to get a degree in criminal justice or counseling. Similarly, a career in youth advocacy might require a degree in social work. If you find that the type of advocate you want to be requires a specific degree or other training, you likely want to pursue that type of education in order to get hired. If you want to work as an advocate in a field that doesn't require a specific degree, you can still work on the applicable skills, such as communication.
3. Find employers in your field
Different types of advocates are hired by different types of organizations in the specific industry related to the people you're advocating for. For instance, while customer advocates may find work at a wide variety of companies, most victim advocates will work with the government or related organizations. Once you know more about the openings in your field, you'll be ready to pursue a job. Related: 12 jobs for an advocate role
Here are some tips if you are planning to work as an advocate:
•Decide on what type of advocate you would like to be and get any applicable education or training.
•Enhance your communication skills, especially in person.
•Plan for how you will care for your mental health, as advocates might hear information about painful situations.
•Research what employers hire advocates in the field you want to specialize in.
•Find out what legal rules there might be for your type of advocate, such as abuse reporting or HIPAA.
Advocacy is an organised way to tackle social injustice issues, such as a lack of access to education for all children. You can be an advocate for an issue by talking about the problem and influencing those with the power to change things.
Nov 21, 2019 · 1) They are passionate. Enthusiastic, driven, compassionate, caring. All of these characteristics convey the passion of exceptional advocates. Their work is more than a job requirement or a professional responsibility. It’s a calling and a lifelong mission. 2) They are well informed.
