By: Dawn Bilpuch

Advoccy series part 1. What advocacy means, what it means to me, and what it means to you

Welcome to part 1 of a multi-part series on advocacy and being an advocate! In this 1st part, we’ll cover what advocacy means, what it means to me, and what it means to you.

What Does Advocacy Mean?
The dictionary definition of the word advocacy is:
“Public susport for, or recommendation of a particular cause or policy.”

But, it means more than that. Advocacy means different things to me, and, people’s personal definitions will also be unique.

What Does Advocacy Mean To Me?

For me, my personal definition breaks down into 2 categories. First, self-advocacy, or, speaking up for myself. That could mean anything from asking for an accessible version of a document, a braille menu, or asking for a big spoon because it’s easier to eat with. Then, there’s the more widespread advocacy on a state level that I do, or speaking up for and helping others. This could mean anything from teaching someone to use a piece of technology, educating policymakers on accessibility, or, pushing for rule or law changes. There’s more to it than this, and, it will be covered in other sections of this part of the series, as well as in other parts of this series. We will focus a lot on some of this also in the “What we wish people understood about being an advocate” part. But, we’ll touch on some of it here as well.

Being an advocate means I’m a public servant, whether I get paid or not. It means being on-call 24/7, which is also what is largely expected with public servants. I’ve gotten calls or texts at 5 PM. before, and, also late at night, that require a response.
It means working LONG HARD hours, including weekends. My typical day involves being on several conference calls throughout the day, and, sometimes on phone calls with clients/p/etc. Sometimes, I have calls late in the evening too, or that could go into late evening. Between calls, I’m checking emails, and responding to emails, responding to texts sometimes, and trying to make time for person care, and, do paperwork. There’s been times where I have not been able to go to bed until 3 AM. if not later, for various reasons, such as doing or getting caught up on paperwork.
It means giving up your weekends. At times, I have calls/meetings I have to attend on the weekends. Sometimes, I have to help people on the weekends. More often than not, I have to do paperwork. Some reasons are that this is the only time I have or will have, or, this might be the only time others have.
It means being flexible with your time, and realizing that things can change on a dime. Sometimes, I can work in a day or 2 of self-care in, but, not always. Mostly, it’s doing paperwork.
That day off you planned to take? Well, that may turn into only a partial. Plus, people take days off/vacation all the time, and, yes, they do have to plan. But, for advocates, they plan extensively and prep. Urgent calls? Yep, you still have to take them, or find someone who can handle it.
It means not having a lot of free time, and, when you do, you lean toward taking it for yourself, not spending it with others. This is me. I’m on calls and in meetings all day. When I get out, sometimes, I need to vent. Just because I may call certain people more than others means nothing. I still love people the same. It’s just that when Im done, I’m peopled out, and, I sometimes need to vent and work on paperwork, or anything else. The things we see are beyond most people’s ability to comprehend. If we told you, you’d never understand, at least not fully, or even believe it. We see abuse, negelect, broken people and lives, and every thing in between. We see the system fail people and see people slip through the cracks, and sometimes, that reminds us of our own situation.
It means that your meals, etc will be delayed or interrupted. It’s happened to me many many times. While it may be irritating at times, I don’t mind. Sometimes I don’t eat until 9 PM. or sometimes later. It’s to be expected!
It means coming to the table, even when you’re not at your best, or in the best shape. I’ve been at the table with migraines, bad sinus and allergy issues, being sick, and, yes, even when I’m not ok mentally.
It means being busy all the time. There’s always something to do, and while some weeks or times are busier than others, you’re still a busy bee. That means that you might want be able to call someone on the phone, but, you just have to text them. While we get that a sh* is sometimes better, it’s just not possible, or in our capacity.
What Does Advocacy And Being An Advocate Mean To You?

I covered a lot of things in this entry! Hopefully I gave you all some food for thought, and, hopefully you can share it with the people in your life. Don’t worry, there’ll be more thought nuggets to chew on. What does advocacy and being an advocate mean to you? Feel free to add your thoughts!