1. ADVOCACY: A Process for your Passion A Personal Visionby
Richard Krzyzanowski
Consumer-Employee Advocate
Center of Excellence / Orange County Health Care Agency

2. Who am I to Talk? (Some of My Background & Experience)
Five years as a Patients’ Rights Advocate for Los Angeles County
Two years on California Association of Mental Health Patients’ Rights Advocates board of directors, including as vice president
Four years on the LA County Commission on Disabilities, including as vice president and treasurer
One year on board of directors of California Network of Mental Health Clients
Two years on Client & Family Leadership Committee of the California Mental Health Services Oversight & Accountability Commission
Shop Steward for Orange County Employees Association
Two years At-Large Neighborhood Representative, 8th Los Angeles City Council District Empowerment Congress

3. The Value of Experience
Over the years, I had my victories and defeats
I made mistakes. In some cases, I didn’t realize they were mistakes until later (sometimes much later). Live and learn!
On occasion, I made enemies. Sometimes, that was unavoidable but, at other times, it was. Learning from these experiences has (hopefully) made me a better advocate.

4. A Definition (with assistance from Mr. Webster)
ADVOCACY: The ART of speaking or writing in support of something or some person
Like all art, many skills go into making it happen successfully

5. Some Types of Advocacy Individual advocacy Self-advocacy
Collective advocacy
Systems advocacy
Adversarial
Collaborative
Process or Structural advocacy
Informational or Educational

6. Some Workplace Examples
Self-advocacy: Seeking a “reasonable accommodation” based on disability or personal situation
Other, more collective advocacy: Seeking to improve workplace conditions for a group, for example, speaking out for the interests or rights of “peer professionals”
Systems advocacy: Seeking to make or change policies to improve conditions or clarify procedures

7. One Effective Combination
Real systems change is often accomplished with a combination of individual or self-advocacy with systems advocacy. Even big changes can have a “human face!”

8. A Good Advocate is … … a good strategist:
What do you want to accomplish?
(Don’t just point out problems: Have a solution to suggest )
How can we get it done?
Where do we start?
(It’s usually best to start at the lowest levels, and work your way up)

9. On Strategy What is the next step?
Know where to go to accomplish your goals; and
Who has the power to make things happen?

10. A Good Advocate is … … a good communicator: Know your audience
Speak their “language”
Know their needs and values
Know their culture or environment
Honor their time frame
And remember: The most important communication skill is the ability to LISTEN!

11. A Good Advocate is … … a good collaborator:
Advocates “with,” not “for” others
(Take care not to disempower)
Who can help? Who do I need ‘on my side” to achieve this?
(Make friends/allies, find common ground)
Be a “bridge builder!”
(Create problem-solving relationships, even with those that seem like they are on “the other side”)

12. A Good Advocate is … … a good diplomat:
Put “principles over personalities”
(Remember, in the workplace, for example, that you will have a continuing relationship with your bosses and colleagues, and you want that to remain collaborative and civil, if not friendly)
Keep your perspective; focus on your goals
(Don’t destroy the village in order to
“save” it)

13. On Diplomacy
Your ability to occasionally “agree to disagree” and to intelligently compromise can mean the difference between success and failure.
Be patient & think long-term: A partial success today gives you a foundation for future advocacy that may achieve you full goals. Some things take time and can only be accomplished step-by-step.

14. Another Effective Combination
“Insider” vs. “Outsider;” A “one-two punch!
Advocacy on the outside of systems of power and bureaucracy has a freedom of movement and speech, and can focus its message on what seems right
Advocacy from within systems requires more diplomacy, because advocates have to exist within a delicate web of power relationships. On the other hand, they may have more direct access to those with decision-making power. Such advocacy often focuses on what seems practical

15. Workplace culture Is typically: Hierarchical Undemocratic
Task-oriented
Advocacy in such an environment requires striking a “delicate balance” between the culture and needs of the workplace and your needs and interests as a worker.

16. Do your “Homework”
Know the Rules: In the workplace, this can be your company or agency’s:
Code of Conduct
Union Contract or MOU
Human Resources policies
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Fair Employment & Housing Laws, and other federal and state Labor Laws

17. The Most Essential Tool: Ethics
This is your Code of Honor, your values, the “big picture” principles that guide your life
It could be Recovery values or spiritual values; They could be drawn from your life experience or family, ethnic or professional traditions

18. You are Seldom Alone
As this call aptly illustrates, we are part of a “Community of Advocacy”
Whether you advocate as an individual or as part of a group; for yourself or for another; as a professional advocate, as a worker, or as a citizen: What you do and how you do it can reflect on us all
Therefore, be considerate of your partners, seen and unseen, in the quest for justice and the common good

19. Something to remember
There is power in advocacy, and we have a responsibility to use that power to serve others and the common good
Use you power to build, avoid destruction for its own sake; help others grow and succeed as individuals and collaborate as coworkers
Find the common ground, and plant your seeds!