What is an Advocate anyway?

The word “advocate” may call up a mental image of activists like Martin Luther King, Jr. or humanitarians like Mother Theresa who spoke out in favor of social change. But here at CWS, we have advocates on staff who help improve the lives of survivors every day.

CWS Advocates partner with survivors to support their empowerment and self-determination as they navigate large-scale systems and difficult decisions. They provide everything from short-term crisis intervention to long-term goal setting and safety planning. Although advocates often take on case management functions, such as assessing family needs and connecting survivors with resources, they maintain a strengths-based, non-directive approach to this work. For example, an advocate will explain how to get a restraining order but won’t tell participants whether or not they should apply for one. Advocates recognize that survivors are the experts in their own experience and work to meet them where they are.

Advocacy is being there to talk through options with participants, providing assistance in locating resources, and offering encouragement.  In short, advocacy is an active, unconditionally supportive approach to providing services to survivors of domestic and sexual violence.