Advocacy & Social Justice

Some Tools Learned from Social WorkBy Shannon EricsonAdvocacy & Social JusticeGuidelines for AdvocacyBe reasonable in what you undertakeTeamwork often produces better outcomesBeing an advocate can require assertivenessFlexibility is a strength, not a weaknessAccept that sometimes you win & sometimes you loseBe prepared with a variety of strategies

Saul Alinsky (1971)Use methods that are familiar to you and unfamiliar to the target system Easier to be successful when your opponents are caught off guardOrganizations have rules make them live within their announced policiesYou are asking nothing more than what they say they do alreadyPeople should be organized around issues that are vital to themMost people in power respond to political pressure If you know which buttons to push, push themPaint your opponents as bad/evil and you as goodPropose yourself as an alternative

Advocacy TacticsPersuasionFair hearings, grievances, complaintsEmbarrassing the target of changePolitical pressurePetitioning

Work toIncrease accessibility of social services to clientsPromote service delivery that doesnt detract from the dignity of the groups we serveEnsure equal access to all who are eligible

PREPARE methodP - identify problems and translate into needsi.e. no trash removal = need for waste mgmt. servicesR - realize macro and personal realitiesMacro realities are overarching patterns affecting your community and the advocacy client/groupPersonal realities are the micro aspects affecting your community and the advocacy client/groupE establish primary goalsP identify the people of influenceA assess potential costs and benefitsR recognize personal and professional risksE evaluate potential for change

Use both the PREPARE & IMAGINE methods to determine what will best help with your advocacy situation and what steps to take to accomplish a beneficial result. An example from my undergraduate experience is included to help you see what it looks like to go through these methods. 5Example: Urban Family Ministries Mentoring Program Our MissionUrban Family Ministries exists to strengthen families and change lives by sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the urban core of Grand Rapids, MI through relational, spiritual and economic empowerment.

Our VisionTo serve as a safe haven for families and youth by developing a community in the heart of urban Grand Rapids which provides a place for Christ-centered lives and skills to be developed. Within this community, we can help to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the family within an environment of grace while raising up community leaders.

P - identify problems and translate into needsShortage of mentors for the mentoring programNeed for more understanding mentors that can relate to the kids in the programCurrent pool for mentors is largely Caucasian while most of the kids are of other ethnicitiesNeed for a more ethnically diverse group of mentorsLack of good, collaborative connections within the community that UFM serves Need better relationships with local organizations, churches, parents, etc.

R - realize macro and personal realitiesMacro Realities:View the poor as undeserving and lazyGovernment funding is not the best for these areasWelfare provides for the communitys basic needsPoor government representation for the communityPersonal Realities: Successful program with students that have gone on to collegeLoyal and hardworking staffSupport system of suburban churchesthe churches they get support from are largely Caucasian and distanced from the community, and funding is not always consistent or substantialDesire for improvementStaff has a negative view of the community members and parentsNew director utilizes the strengths perspective and is knowledgeable of community development My personal knowledge should be helpful for this change process

E establish primary goalsRecruit more culturally diverse, morally strong mentors for the programBuild more collaborative relationships within the local communityImprove the use of the strengths perspective amongst staff membersP identify the people of influenceThe Director of UFM can be a source of power and support for the change processOther staff at UFM can also support and help in the implementation and evaluationFunding churches can support financially once they have been taught the importance of having culturally relevant mentors for the program.Previous clients of UFM can support the idea based on their experience (or lack of experience) with culturally relevant mentors

A assess potential costs and benefits$$$Costs: By choosing to use a more diverse mentor population, they could potentially lose support from some of the larger, Caucasian churches that monetarily supported them and sent volunteers in the past+++Benefits: Bringing in more diverse mentors will increase the efficacy and outcomes of the mentoring program for the youthCould also increase local collaboration by connecting to other organizations and churches in the area

R recognize personal and professional risksCould cause some upheaval amongst the staff Challenging their current (primarily negative) view of the communityCould affect my reputation in the communityIf it fails, seen as a poor community organizerCould affect my future employabilityIf it fails, seen as an ineffective organizer/social workerE evaluate potential for changeBy providing the youth with mentors that they can relate toThe impact on the youth should be greater Should increase the connection with the local communityMentors may feel as though they are giving back to their communityIMAGINE methodI innovative ideasM muster supportChange agent: who is initiating the change? Action system: who is in power to support the change? Client system: who will benefit from the change? Target system: who needs to accept the change? A identify assetsG specify goals, objectives, & action stepsI implement (PERT chart)Make a chart of the necessary steps & when they will happenN neutralize the oppositionFind ways to explain your innovative idea that will make the Target system excited and supportive of changeE evaluate the processAfter implementing the change, evaluate whether its been helpful or not

Example: Urban Family Ministries Mentoring Program Our MissionUrban Family Ministries exists to strengthen families and change lives by sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the urban core of Grand Rapids, MI through relational, spiritual and economic empowerment.

Our VisionTo serve as a safe haven for families and youth by developing a community in the heart of urban Grand Rapids which provides a place for Christ-centered lives and skills to be developed. Within this community, we can help to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the family within an environment of grace while raising up community leaders.

I innovative ideasRecruit more diverse mentors from the local community, and through doing so, develop collaborative relationships with local organizations, churches, and agenciesM muster supportChange Agent: You! You are initiating the change and recruiting the mentorsAction System Director: he is in charge of the whole organization and values the strengths perspective and community development models. Could support the idea and help with the evaluationAction System Staff at UFM: currently working, they can help develop a new method of recruiting mentors for the program and in evaluationAction System Funding churches: they can monetarily support the idea and sway the opposition with their financial contributionsClient System The kids from the mentoring program that will be receiving the servicesTarget System Mentoring program and the mentors: includes current mentors and the staff working with the mentors. Will need their consent and willingness to changeA identify assetsPrevious clients who have benefited from their programsLarge pool of volunteers and faithful and hardworking staffSelection of churches that are supporting their endeavorsDirector is keen on improving services in a way that empowers the youth and clients as well as the local communityG specify goals, objectives, & action stepsGoals: Recruit more diverse mentors for the programCollaborate with local organizations, churches, and agenciesAction steps: Garner support from director and other UFM staff Speak with previous clients about becoming mentors Network with these clients to discover other possible mentors through their college, work, church, etc. Utilize these clients as connections to local organizationsTalk with local organizations and present the mentoring program Bridge the gap between UFM staff and local organizationsImplement a more culturally relevant mentorship training programI implement (PERT chart)Action StepDeadlineGarner support from director and other UFM staff 6/1 6/7Speak with previous clients about becoming mentors 6/8 7/1Network with clients to discover other possible mentors 6/8 7/1Utilize these clients as connections to local organizationsTalk with local organizations and present the mentoring program looking for mentors, advice, & collaboration7/1 8/1Bridge the gap between UFM staff and local organizations7/1 8/1Develop a new mentorship training program with insight from previous clients, current clients, & any local orgs with similar programs 7/1 8/1Implement the new mentorship training program8/1 9/1N neutralize the oppositionExplain knowledge and idea to the current UFM staffAsk the director to give his opinion in support of the new mentoring programExplain how important culturally relatable mentors are to the supporting churches Explain to current mentors how training them for culturally informed mentoring will be importantUtilize the support and personal accounts of previous clients

E evaluate the processEvaluation survey for youth & mentors after 6 mthsOpinions on new mentoring program & styleWhat do/dont they like?Do youth think mentors are relatable and helpful? Do mentors feel they can relate to their mentees?Did the mentors feel adequately prepared as a result of the training program? Evaluate the youths performance at the entry level and at 6 mthsGrades, criminal records, community and church involvement, etc. to look for improvements

*** Consequences? ***Before doing anything, ask yourself what the consequences of this change will be:What are the latent & manifest consequences? Who will be affected? Do the potential positive results outweigh the risks?