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The "Self" In Self-Advocacy

Self-advocacy, the practice of speaking up for your rights and well-being, is a topic I'm sure many of us are familiar with. Every month, as part of the Youth Empowerment series, we touch on different topics relating to self-advocacy; this includes unique and important ways you can advocate for yourself. This time, we're covering special lessons and personal stories about youth learning to become self-advocates.

There are some fun ways to learn about self-advocacy, for those unfamiliar with it. On the explore-work.com webpage, there are many different ways to explore the topic. There's short videos on self-advocacy, self-reflection journals, guides on taking action, and plenty more. This site is a great hub of resources, each of which can be explored on your own time. 


Encouraging Self-Advocacy

While self-advocacy relies on making your own decisions and plans, there's nothing stopping your family and friends from offering their support. Parents, friends, teachers, coworkers, and anyone else can encourage self-advocacy in others, and discuss how to best reach different goals. Churchillstl.org has a great post showing off their Four Steps To Self-Advocacy, in addition to tons of tips on how you can help others along the path of self-advocacy.


Our final resource for this week can actually be found on SPAN's own YouTube channel. The video playlist Advocacy Stories By Youth For Youth contains over 10 video stories from various young men and women, recalling their advocacy stories, and how they've grown to use self-advocacy in their everyday lives. These honest and emotional stories serve as a great morale boost for many other youth who want to share their own experiences, and we hope to include many more stories in the future.


What are your thoughts on self-advocacy? Is there a special way you like to advocate for yourself, or help others to do the same? Let us know in the comments below! For youth and young adults, ages 13-26, join us on the SPAN Youth Chat on Wednesdays from 4:30-5:00 PM.

Resources...

Link to SPAN's website: www.spanadvocacy.org
Link to SPAN's Youth in the Know Resource Page: Youth in the Know
We're here for you! Call SPAN if you need assistance: 1-800-654-7726

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