Advocacy in the Human Service Field
Yolanda Morrison
BSHS/442
September 12, 2011
Courtney Bruno
Advocacy in the Human Service Field
Advocacy in the Human Service Field
Advocacy is about assisting people in speaking up for themselves and making sure that their ideas and opinions are heard and understood. An advocate should avoid conflicts of interests with the people that give services to the person that he is assisting. The advocate should stand up for the person as if he is standing up for himself.
The five main ways to advocate are first to advocate for you, this is called self-advocacy, next is volunteer advocacy, legal advocacy, group advocacy and, peer- advocacy. The group of people which I would advocate for are disadvantaged youth. Disadvantaged youth are youth that have barriers such as a high dropout rates, unwed pregnancy, homelessness, and they tend to bring up children in poverty. I choose to advocate for disadvantaged youth because they are vulnerable and need help concerning education, housing and, obtaining the resources that are available to help them in society. Disadvantage youth are the most misunderstood population. They are misunderstood by their parents, their peers, their family members, and their teachers. As an advocate for disadvantaged youth, I would get on their level when discussing issues. Some segments of the United States population, such as adults with low literacy skills and disadvantaged youths, face barriers in making the transition into and through postsecondary education, including community college and career training, and these barriers can keep them locked in low-wage jobs. The skills needed to work with disadvantaged youth are empathy, compassion, street smarts, quick wit, and a genuine love for children.
Communicating and working with young people can be inspirational and rewarding. When working with youth you must be encouraging, useful, helpful, concise, and be able to get on their level, you also must be approachable and encourage
BSHS/442
September 12, 2011
Courtney Bruno
Advocacy in the Human Service Field
Advocacy in the Human Service Field
Advocacy is about assisting people in speaking up for themselves and making sure that their ideas and opinions are heard and understood. An advocate should avoid conflicts of interests with the people that give services to the person that he is assisting. The advocate should stand up for the person as if he is standing up for himself.
The five main ways to advocate are first to advocate for you, this is called self-advocacy, next is volunteer advocacy, legal advocacy, group advocacy and, peer- advocacy. The group of people which I would advocate for are disadvantaged youth. Disadvantaged youth are youth that have barriers such as a high dropout rates, unwed pregnancy, homelessness, and they tend to bring up children in poverty. I choose to advocate for disadvantaged youth because they are vulnerable and need help concerning education, housing and, obtaining the resources that are available to help them in society. Disadvantage youth are the most misunderstood population. They are misunderstood by their parents, their peers, their family members, and their teachers. As an advocate for disadvantaged youth, I would get on their level when discussing issues. Some segments of the United States population, such as adults with low literacy skills and disadvantaged youths, face barriers in making the transition into and through postsecondary education, including community college and career training, and these barriers can keep them locked in low-wage jobs. The skills needed to work with disadvantaged youth are empathy, compassion, street smarts, quick wit, and a genuine love for children.
Communicating and working with young people can be inspirational and rewarding. When working with youth you must be encouraging, useful, helpful, concise, and be able to get on their level, you also must be approachable and encourage
References: Concordia University (2010, November 16). Disadvantaged youth more likely to be high-school dropouts, young parents and poor adults. Department of Education, (. (2010). Postsecondary Education Transition: A Summary of the Findings from Two Literature Reviews. Office of Vocational and Adult Education, US Department of Education, Retrieved from EBSCOhost. .