So, you have decided to stand up for yourself and a cause, make a difference in your community, make friends, learn new skills. Where do you start? Willie Davis, our Spirit Lake Consulting resident expert on self-advocacy recommends the following steps.
- Find your passion. This may sound like one of those silly self-help book titles, but we really mean it. Whether it is parking spaces for people who are mobility-impaired, jobs for people with disabilities, teaching people to read - it has to be personal. That is the "self" part of being a self-advocate. It has to be something that matters to you because there will be time when you are attacked as a trouble-maker or when your efforts seem to be having no effect. You need to have a vision of what you really want this change in the community to look like when you are done. A couple of Willie's causes have been mobility-impaired parking, mentor programs for youth and an independent living center on the reservation.
- Identify people or organizations that can help you with your cause. Most people find it helpful to begin with someone they know well. If your Aunt Myrna or Cousin Bill is involved in tribal politics or a committee to prevent meth use on the reservation, contact them.
"Wait a minute, those causes don't have anything to do with what I am interested in!" Think not?
If you need to hold a meeting, you need a room. If you want people to know about your meeting you probably want to get an announcement on the radio, in the newspaper, maybe even sent home with the children in Head Start or the elementary school. Cousin Bill might be able to tell you how to contact and save you some time. Maybe you are just starting out, either you are young or you are getting started in some areas later due to years spent raising children or just getting your act together. We remember those years (really, we do). It's hard to get started. You think, "No one will listen to me. I don't even know where to start."
Start with the people who like you and want to help you. As you continue in your work as a self-advocate, you will discover more and moreof those people, or they will discover you.
More steps to becoming a self-advocate