Tips and Ideas for Creating Effective Learning Spaces

        I get the feeling that every person working in education either absolutely loves or devastatingly loathes decorating and arranging their learning spaces. I think we can all recall teachers from school and other programs we were involved in growing up that fit into one of those two categories. Every teacher I ever had either had a classroom decked out with rugs and bean bag chairs fit to be featured on MTV Cribs: Classroom Edition or one that was completely bare aside from rusty desks and that one school-issued motivational poster from the 1970s. I also think you can probably figure out which of these two that I classify as with very little effort - I LOVE IT! In my opinion, there is no better feeling than creating an effective system and actually being able to watch it function successfully in real time. Even without sparkly or colorful do-dads sitting around, personalizing the space where you teach and work with children in whatever capacity that is can and does have a major impact on how effectively you’re able to do that work. All it takes is a couple of seconds with your back turned for a quiet, well-mannered group of kids to turn into a mosh pit of slung toys and eardrum rupturing shrieks of maniacal laughter. The last thing you want is to get caught with your back turned for too long because you can’t find that specific book for story time.

For the sake of organizing this post as well as my own thoughts, I am going to break down the concept of a learning space into three zones: reflective learning, cooperative learning, and explorative learning (DISCLAIMER: honestly these are categories I made up for my own room planning so please don’t think any of this is actually some kind of official psychological terminology). You may have one of each or even a few of each of these zones in your space and when organized effectively, they can help to manage even the rowdiest groups. If you have ever been in a school, daycare classroom, youth center, or any other space typically inhabited by children I am sure you have noticed these zones sectioned off from one another without even realizing it. Each has its own benefits to child development and serves a purpose in the space as a whole in cultivating a manageable environment. Lacking or poorly executing even one of them, in my experience, tends to throw off the whole ecosystem.

    Reflective Learning Zone    

Reflective learning, or quiet learning, is learning that occurs while reading, listening, creating, or even just sitting quietly getting lost in your own thoughts. This kind of learning requires little to no movement and a calm, focused atmosphere. This kind of space is important because it is where a child can go to take a break for a while, practice self-care, and practice slower, more meaningful thinking. Have you ever sat quietly next to a child while drawing or watching clouds and they suddenly ask you the most random, off-the-wall question having nothing to do with anything in your general vicinity? That’s reflective learning at work as those little mental gears grind.

Reflective learning spaces are for usually independent play and self-led activities. You want to keep these spaces small and sectioned off to discourage rowdy or “big” play. Typically with kids, their mind wanders as far as they can see, so if you keep a space small they will almost always keep their play small as well. You can effectively section off a reflective learning space with sturdy, bottom-heavy shelving (harder to tip over and move), storage benches full of stuffed “reading buddies”, play tables, and comfy seating. My favorite seating choice for these areas are small, colorful beanbag chairs, but I only recommend using them if you are working in a smaller room because kids can get a little carried away on them and need to be watched closely. Great activity options for this type of space would be age-appropriate books, puppets, small “busy” boxes, puzzles, and other sit-and-play options. If you are working with older ages, this can be a great space away from busier areas to do things like boardgames and art projects. This space is also ideal when you’re working with teenies as there is less movement or chances of being kicked or stepped on.

I always considered my group and teaching spaces to be reflective learning areas as well and treated them as such. Kiddos learned early on that when we sat at the group table, they were expected to be quiet, polite, and use their classroom skills. If I felt a group was capable enough, I would also provide small fidgeting toys to keep their hands busy during discussion and keep their ears focused. Posters, die-cut words, and various other classroom decor can be a great addition to reflective learning areas as well for quiet reminders and encouragement. Will children talk and interact in these areas? Absolutely! And they should. It is ok to allow meaningful conversation in these areas, it just isn't a space for zooming cars and jumping jacks. 

    Cooperative Learning Zones    

Cooperative learning is like your middle ground when it comes to play areas. This is the zone where there is definitely going to be movement and talking, but it still isn’t full on running and jumping. A good example of this is when parents and teachers have kids using their “inside” voices and manners. Cooperative learning is exactly what it sounds like, children cooperatively working and playing together. This zone is so incredibly important because it is where children of all ages develop their social emotional skills. Sharing, taking turns, communicating thoughts and feelings, recognising social cues, and more are just the beginning of what is learned in these areas. The difference in this space, versus a more explorative learning space that we will talk about next, is it can be much more easily monitored. This is a great space to learn and practice communication with close supervision and assistance from an adult, ie: you the advocate.

When you are planning out your cooperative learning spaces, think about the type of play and interactions you want here. The space is going to be just a bit larger than what was allotted for reflective learning as children will likely need to move around with their cars and block building, however you definitely want some kind of containment or the entirety of your room will suddenly become a NASCAR speedway or a colossal mess because the child couldn't maintain focus. What has worked best for me has been using fun, colorful, or themed rugs to visually limit the space and teach kiddos to keep the toys ON the rug. My favorite theme is some type of town or city rug with lots of roads and buildings printed on them for little hands to trace with automobile toys. I also highly recommend a good organization system in this space with fun clipart or photo labels to help teach kids to put things back once they are done. Cheap plastic bins form the dollar store labelled with packing tape and printed labels are a great option for organization and come in a lot of fun colors. Again, this space should have visual barriers and limitations to keep play reasonably small, but within that area should be a good bit of floor space for multiple kids to play together.

As mentioned before, cars and other automobile toys are great in an area like this. I would recommend smaller toys no bigger than a child’s hand. If you try to incorporate larger things like big firetrucks and tractor trailers, I can almost assure you that kiddos will scope out a larger area of floor to sling them clear across the room. Save the bigger versions for your outdoor “explorative” areas. Other great options for these areas are building blocks, oversized puzzles, large felt boards, collaborative games, houses and neighborhoods, inclusive dolls for use in houses and neighborhoods, dress up clothes, pretend play toys (kitchen, shopping, parenting toys), and any other “smaller space” group play activity. This is also a great space for collaborative and group art projects with the supervision of an adult. You want to keep in mind what ages will have access to this space and plan accordingly. Make sure outlets are safely covered, playthings are often gone through to remove broken pieces, small swallow-able toys are kept up or better yet out of the space altogether, and all ages can safely learn in the space.

    Explorative Learning Zones    

Explorative learning is your biggest form of play. This is running, jumping, climbing, rolling, cartwheels, and exercising just how loud your voice can go. Unless you are working out of a huge facility with indoor jungle gyms and trampolines, it is fair to assume that this form of learning will likely take place in an outdoor space. This learning can get loud, fast, and messy, all of which are totally acceptable and encouraged with the understanding that your kiddos are also practicing kindness and respect. This is the type of area where kiddos really get to test out their abilities physically, mentally, and emotionally. This space is where children can safely face fears and limitations, use up stored energy, act silly, and be spontaneous. This is also a space where children are really put to the test on things like how they treat others and taking turns without being told. There should absolutely always be an adult present when children are utilizing an explorative learning space, but this space is significantly larger than the other two spaces and an adult cannot reasonably (and shouldn’t) hover over every conversation and interaction. While a space should be arranged in a way that the supervising adult easily has eyes on everything happening, this space should provide an opportunity for children to learn to be trustworthy and independently good people. 

Children should have plenty of opportunities to explore in this environment, including their own abilities, emotions, senses, communication, and information about the world around them. There should be a vast collection of things to see, hear, feel, smell, touch, and do. I personally like the idea of incorporating some of the first two learning zones into exploration as well to really round a space out. Where you may have houses, dolls, and puppets provided for an indoor cooperative space, you might provide life-sized playhouses and buildings in your explorative space. Arts and crafts can be translated into your exploration space through sidewalk chalk, sensory tables, and gardening. If you are creating a space used in trauma-informed play, empowering stepping stones, a sensory walking path, or a labyrinth can be a great addition for reflective “big” play. Other explorative and “big” play ideas you might want to consider incorporating might be climbing structures, large play equipment, sitting areas, a small performance/teaching “amphitheater”, seating for outdoor picnics, projects, resting (for both adults and kiddos), pull-up bars and other exercise equipment, gardens with accents like fairy houses and toy car paths, riding toy paths, and storage for lots of outdoor playthings like balls, jump ropes, and hula hoops.

I hope that this post has been helpful in planning your own learning and teaching spaces. I purposefully didn’t include any photos as I don’t have any personal ones to share (a downside to predominantly working in confidencial spaces). If you have a learning space you would like to show off, I would love to add your photos to this post in its correct category and of course give credit where credit is due. Otherwise, please feel free to check out my Learning Space Inspiration Board on Pinterest for lots of ideas linked to the original posters. Don’t hesitate to comment or contact me with any questions, comments, or things you might like to know more about or elaborate on. Until next time…

Good Luck & Keep Fighting,

Jess ♥️

Support Group for Kids?!

Yes!

     This may seem like an insane concept. I say that because when I was first starting out, I had a hard time finding specific kid's support group resources. When I say kids, I mean of all ages. I am sure there are support groups out there for teens and maybe even tweens. In the groups I facilitated, I often times had pre-school and kindergarten age children in attendance. I mean actual KIDS. I am honestly still not even sure it is a widespread thing. Most people see children as ignorant and too young to be affected by anything going on around them. Not the case.

    Take a second to think about childhood. In the first two years of a person's life, they learn likely as much if not more than they learn in their entire grade school experience. Fine and gross motor skills, eating before and after teeth, sleeping habits, faces, voices, discovering parts of their body, physical communication, forming vocalized sounds and eventually recognizable words, core balance and strength, walking, cause and effect, I could go on and on... Moreover, most of these things are learned from observing and experiencing the world around them. They are literal sponges taking in everything they see, hear, and feel. Now consider children that experience violence and trauma during this period of their life. Children internalize their experiences and don't yet know how to deal with the thoughts and real, heavy, adult-level emotions they feel towards those experiences. I once attended a training where the person presenting told a story about a family of 5 who were the subject of a 911 domestic violence call. Without telling the entire story, the point they were getting across and that stood out to me the most was the fact that everyone brushed off the infant on scene assuming he was too young to be affected and therefore not in need of support. A few years later following the event he had developed violent tendencies and severely injured another child in his daycare class. It is possible that had this child received early intervention following that 911 response, the later behavior could have been prevented. In my experience kid's support groups work and are a great resource for children to process through their experiences and learn what life, family, and personal relationships are supposed to look like. They are obviously not something that should be used in place of formal child trauma therapy, but they can be a great addition to a child's recovery journey.

    Now, understand I say all of this coming from a childhood trauma perspective and it may take some brainstorming to adapt to other groups going through different life journeys. I could totally see the concepts and ideas I have used being adapted for foster and adoption programs, children's hospitals, juvenile services, behavioral programs, etc. I also want to mention, as I do in every post, that this is simply what has worked for the groups I have facilitated. I am not in any way, shape, or form a licensed therapist or counselor. I am just a nanny-turned-advocate that saw a need and tried to meet it as best as I was able. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any insights, ideas, or additions you have to add to this or any other post on TheTraumaTeacher. I am always searching for like-minds as well as opposing views to consider and tailor my own knowledge. In advocacy, you should never ever stop learning.

I hope this post has inspired you to see the need and benefits of developing support group programming specifically for children. Keep checking back for more posts and details of how I organized, planned, and managed various groups of all different ages as well as lesson planning inspiration and resources. If you learn anything from my experiences or even just enjoy visiting TheTraumaTeacher and feel other people need to know and be aware of the information here, please share the link with friends or through social media. My number one goal for this blog is to further raise awareness about domestic violence, childhood trauma, and mental health support. If I can help even one person on their journey into child advocacy who is just trying to help kids heal, I have done my job. Until next time…

Good Luck & Keep Fighting,

Jess ♥️

The Humble Approach: Empower, Don't Overpower

    

    It may just be my personality or how I was raised, but I've always leaned heavily toward being an incredibly humble person. Like, to a fault. I have trouble admitting I have any level of talent for doing literally anything, even when I fully know that I am skilled and talented. It is painful for me to even accept a compliment for doing things well. Seriously, ask anyone that knows me. In most cases, it is a terrible, awful trait to have. 0 out of 10 DO NOT recommend.  Recognition for doing well or having an area of personal expertise should be a great thing. It is something I am working hard with myself on, but surprisingly it has served me well in my interactions with clients.

    When I entered into this field and after a bit of general observation, I made the semi-conscious decision that when working with clients I would approach people with a high level of humility. Bear in mind that my background is in child advocacy and a lot of the nitty-gritty conversations I was having was with parents, however I think this approach can and should be used in most advocacy interactions. You would think that most social and humanitarian work is done by the saintly-est, salt of the earth, most humble human beings in the world.... I am here to tell you that advocacy, non-profit, and social work fields are just like every other workplace. There are employees who love the job, have a heart that bleeds for their clients, and will do nearly anything for people in need, and then there are the people who think they know everything and end up only looking for praise and recognition. My nerdy self likes to refer to the latter as having “superhero syndrome.” Attention and praise feel amazing and can be addictive so it is understandable how someone can get caught in that trap, especially depending on one’s personality. However if you’re prone to it please go into another field. We appreciate your effort and hopefully good intentions, but you would enjoy and do much better in something competitive and commission based. Maybe try real-estate?

    I firmly believe in order to be able to do this work effectively, you need to be an extremely grounded person who can meet anyone that sits in front of you on their own level. We are professional best friends. We hold the hands of people walking through the worst moments of their lives. They don’t need to be lectured, made to feel under informed or feel incompetent every second that they talk to you. Think of it this way: Imagine you go to your best friend with a problem you’re having in your life. What do you want from them in return? Do you want them to listen and build you up, telling you how awesome you are and how you deserve better? Do you want them to suggest a friend, connection, or resource they personally know about and can vouch for? Do you want them to interrupt every sentence you try to get out with comments about what you’re doing wrong, overwhelm you with names and numbers, and try to fix you like you’re a project and not a human being? Most times we just want validation and to feel like we are heard. If we want help and resources, we will ask. Clients apply to this too. You will find that the majority of time you spend with a client will end up just being venting and brainstorming sessions with the client doing most of the talking. It is what they need. Your role in that is to just be the sounding board for them. If you’re not sure exactly how to do that, here are a few tricks and phrases I keep up my own sleeve.

    “Take it or leave it”    

    I started using this approach with parents and have found that it works with pretty much any demographic of client. Anyone that is a parent or knows a parent can attest that they are prime targets for unsolicited advice starting from the moment they announce they are expecting. The first platform a parent uses when defending their choices and styles is that no one has walked in their shoes. This is 100% accurate. No one knows a child as well as the parent does. No one knows what a family’s home life looks like if they have never lived in that home. It is impossible to know another person’s personal life experiences and perspectives no matter how close you may think you are to that person. Aside from parents, people who are seeking employment, facing legal issues, ending a relationship, and navigating mental/emotional/physical health crises closely follow as targets for the same treatment. Funny thing, as an advocate these are the people you will be working with. Any time I meet and start working with a client. I have a phrase I always tell them upfront: 

“You know your life, child, and self better than I do. Only you know What will actually work for you and your family. I have worked in this field for 5 years and have a lot of experience but I will admit that I don’t have all the answers and I won’t always be right. I will always ask first if you would like any advice I have to give and you will always have a choice if you would like to hear it or not. It is also up to you whether you decide to take or try that advice once you have it.”

    As an advocate, it is not our job to tell anyone what to do. It is only our job to empower people with information. Just because you give them that information doesn’t mean they will or have to use it. A client ultimately has to design a life or plan that works best for their family and it may be completely different than what you had in mind. That is okay. It is their life that they have to live and maintain, not ours. 

    Go on the Journey    

    It Is okay not to know everything. It can even help strengthen a bond between you and a client. It can be intimidating for a client in need to seek out help just to be sat in front of someone that seems to have all of life’s answers already figured out. For someone who is lost, struggling, or facing dark days it can be daunting and can make a person feel incompetent, like there is something wrong with them because they don’t know everything that you know. The information we gain as advocates comes from time, experience, and networking. In fact, a lot of what I know now came from needing to find resources for specific clients and cases. Don’t allow your clients to think all of this information comes to you effortlessly. Be transparent. If a client comes to you with a need that you’re unfamiliar with, tell them you’re unfamiliar with it but that you’re going to do some research to find resources to get them where they need to go. Better yet, make an appointment with them to sit down and do the research alongside them. An agency I worked for had a computer specifically for client use that I have sat at multiple times with clients helping them find answers that they needed. If a client witnesses you simply typing the problem into a Google search bar and being able to get the information they need, they will then feel like they are capable of doing the same research on their own. In a world where we carry more technology in our pockets than was used to put man on the moon, you would be amazed how many people believe information is a heavily guarded commodity. If you are transparent with your clients and go on the journey with them to reach their goals, you will not only help them in the moment, but equip them to grow long after your time with them is over. This job is not a competition, show your clients how to do the job for themselves. We want them to not need us eventually.

    Ask questions, Don’t give Answers    

    I have to admit, this is not a tip I learned from my own experience but rather from a training on parent coaching I attended. As I’ve said before, most encounters you have with clients will mainly just be a client needing someone to vent to and let off steam. Occasionally during these venting sessions, they will try to get you to tell them what they need to do. Your job is NOT to try and fix their situation, it is to hold their hand and help them process for themselves along the way. Part of helping them navigate is equipping clients with the skills to do their own problem solving. If a client is looking at housing and asks you to choose between two options, don't. Rather, guide them to figuring out what option is best for them through a variety of questions.

    - What are the pros and cons for each option?

    - How does it compare to the last place you were living? 

What did you not like about your last home?

    - What are your long-term plans? Do you plan to stay in this 

home forever?

    You can use open ended questions like these to frame any situation where a client wants you to write their story for them. I have used this method to guide clients through decisions about housing, mental health, career choices, parenting and discipline, etc. It is simply the act of taking a coaching and "choose-your-own-adventure" approach rather than spoon feeding answers. An additional benefit of taking this approach is the ability to reframe failure. If you give someone all of the answers, they will blame you when it doesn't work out. Allowing a client to come to their own conclusions helps them to take accountability for their decisions as well as equip them for making future decisions. They may have not completely thought out their plan and something they didn't account for happened. From this, they will then know they must have a pre-arranged back up plan working into their goals moving forward. Occasionally you have a client that truly is lost and doesn't know where to start. In this case, you can ask more direct questions such as; "how close is this option to your child's school? Are you willing to switch their schools? Does it fit into your budget? How close will you be to work or public transportation." You want clients to learn how to think critically and fully flesh out their plans on their own, again, because we eventually want them to be self-sufficient. 

    Wait for the Pause    

    This requires good judgement on your part. Depending on your role within an organization, you may have a lot of appointments and cases to manage so your time isn’t going to be unlimited. Let a client know this before the one-on-one session begins so they know you both should be watching the clock and may need to reconvene again later. Once you've made them aware and covered any questions or topics you needed to hit, ask them how they are or what is new then let them talk the rest of your appointment time. Don't interrupt them, don't interject, just actively listen and take mental or written notes. I get a much better picture of what a client has experienced and is currently facing by just letting them talk. In this atmosphere, a client tends to get comfortable and will disclose details they may not have thought of during a Q&A session. Eventually, the client will pause to gauge you for any judgement or thoughts, possibly even ask your opinion. That's when you can refer back to the last tip, ask open ended questions. "How does that make you feel? Do you have a plan moving forward? What have you tried?" The pause is when you begin to coach and guide. If you have a problem with interjecting (I honestly did when I started and still have to correct myself occasionally) make a habit of grabbing a notebook and pen before or at the start of a conversation. Anytime you want to interrupt to ask about something, just jot down what it is you're curious about to refer back to at the inevitable pause. Then you can start to try and make sense of the epic monologue that has been presented to you.

    Mutually Set Goals    

    My clients always know I am working behind the scenes for them because I am always emailing and printing off handouts for them every time they see me. I am the pamphlet queen. This is usually a discussion we have early on. At the end of my first advocacy session with a person as well as every following session, I make sure to wrap up the session by going back over the information and concerns they presented to me and any goals we have set for ourselves. I want to make sure my clients understand that after a one-on-one session with me, we will both have homework when we leave the table. You always want your clients working on something for themselves. I am perfectly happy to share information about a resource, print out the pamphlet with all the details, provide a sticky note with the contact information, and even let you use my phone to call, however I fully expect the client to be the one to make the phone call and report back with the outcome. It can't be one sided though, the client has to know there is work being done on both sides. Arrange with the client a timeframe you both reasonably believe you can have it done, decide how you want to communicate what you've found, and set a time to sit back down for another one-on-one planning session. This will help build a working relationship between you and your client, keep momentum, help the client feel like they have a reliable support system, and keep you both accountable.

    Try not to get disappointed    

    Prepare to have your heartbroken. Part of this approach is putting the power and accountability on the client. I can tell you first hand that not everyone is going to want your advice, not everyone is going to use your advice, and not everyone is going to be motivated to follow through. Some people just aren't ready. Our job is to meet people where they are and if where they are isn't ready, it is what it is. You can't let it get you down and you can't get angry with them. As the old saying goes, "you can lead a horse to water..." Prepare yourself for those clients that will continue to be self-destructive. Prepare yourself for the ones who choose to walk back into danger. Prepare for the ones that aren't mentally or emotionally prepared to put down whatever they are addicted to. It is going to happen and it is a part of the process. All you can do is give them information and encourage them but in order to truly empower them, you have to allow them to freely make their own choices and face the consequences for them. Sometimes you may be able to backtrack and start smaller by referring them to therapy, rehab, or support groups. You may and should try to work in pep talks and verbal encouragement into your one-on-one time. In my work with abuse survivors, I am constantly building up and encouraging clients because the person who abused them verbally tore them down as a means to control them. Always try to keep your words and conversations positive and forward moving. If they relapse or mess up because they didn't take advice, don't get angry. Just flip back in your notes to day 1 and start back over with a smile. Some clients sabotage because they don't think they deserve the services they are receiving. The believe making the advocate disappointed or angry will reinforce that. Don't reinforce it. Don't spread yourself working too hard for a client, but however hard they are working for themselves work just slightly more than that for them so they know they are worthwhile.

    Celebrate the Baby Steps    

    Echoing the last tip, reinforce even the tiniest steps forward. A client that is down trodden and discouraged will see their goals as mammoth, impossible tasks. They will feel like they haven't succeeded if they haven't hit the major goal and that they have failed if even the smallest obstacle arises. This is something that needs to be unlearned and is a great thing for an advocate to work with a client on. I have been known to do happy dances for clients that reported back to me with housing leads (did not apply just, just did the research), submitted job applications, and got kids to bed 15 minutes earlier than they usually would (though still way later than they should have been up). Progress is something to be celebrated, especially when progress is something that hasn't been made in a while. Celebrate the little things, even if they look at you like you have three heads. Eventually they will (hopefully) catch on and do a happy dance with you realizing their tiny bit of progress is a good thing. Then over time stretch out those goals, aim higher, but only when the client has learned to celebrate their own baby step milestones.

I sincerely hope that these tips and tricks I've learned along the way help you on your own journey. As I have always told my clients, I don't know it all and you can choose to take it or leave it. Ultimately the choice is yours and the hopefully you too will fall in love with advocacy and non-profit work as much as I have. I wish you the best of luck on your journey and hope it will take you places you never thought you would go.

Good Luck & Keep Fighting,

Jess ♥️

So You Want To Be An Advocate....

 

   

    Becoming an advocate is not difficult. There are a million and one ways to get into the advocacy field with a million more truly worthy causes that need people advocating for them. It may not seem like it is a widespread profession, in fact this may be the second time you've been introduced to the term (I would assume the first introduction led you here).

    Advocates are not always called advocates. Some are called case workers, others are social workers or spokespeople. Depending on where and what field or cause you want to work for, your title may be different. The role, though, tends to stay the same across the board. Advocates, from my experience and observation, have three main responsibilities:

 1. Emotional Support    

     This is our main role, what we get into the business for, and what we are truly meant to be doing. No matter what cause you join forces with, you are more than likely fighting for people going through unfortunate and unthinkable circumstances. This means when you get into this fight, you meet and work with those people. Our job is to hold their hand and help them get through whatever their situation may be. You may develop a passion for childhood cancer and work with families at St. Jude or have lived a life where you were homeless at one point but got on your feet and want to help others do the same so you go be a case manager at the Salvation Army. Whatever passion it is that you develop and cause you decide to fight for, your number one job will be to hold the hand and be a support system for people facing that challenge. They will be your clientele and they are who need you the most. You will listen to them talk for hours, watch with quiet tears in your eyes as some take your advice and others don't, and you will celebrate with them when finally they achieve their goals needing you a little less than they did before. This is the hardest and most important job of an advocate.

    2. Encyclopedia of Resources    

     This is the part Of the job everyone forgets to tell you when you start and what you will literally work on every day of your career. It never ends. It is the reason your clients think you are a miracle worker, your family and friends think you are a workaholic, and the thing that will keep you up at night. Going hand in hand with your role as a support system for your clients, they will often (multiple times an hour day) come to you seeking direction and guidance. It is your job to know ALL THE THINGS. Don’t be afraid, you will never know ALL the things. But over time with diligent research and experience, you will learn more than the average Joe. I have told clients for years that your advocate is essentially your own personal walking, talking encyclopedia of community resources. Your child needs tutoring? I know the school guidance counselor, lemme make a call. You can’t find a job? I have a connection at “x” local restaurant, call and tell them Jess sent you. You’re moving in an hour and just realized you need a couch? Just so happens I was just scrolling through Facebook Marketplace and a friend had one for sale cheap, lemme text her to see if she is willing to donate! These are the kind of questions you’re going to get asked every 15 minutes day. It will be hard fielding these questions at first because you’re new and don’t know anything, but fret not, you’ll get there. Eventually, you will subconsciously take mental notes of resources you run across even when you’re not in the clock. You will slip business cards into your pocket with a client in mind, you will bookmark websites that you will totally forget about until you’re researching for a specific case and need it, and you absolutely will get into the habit of scrolling through craigslist or Facebook marketplace with a running list of links copy/pasted into Google Docs. I promise you’ll get there.

    3. social activist    

     Okay, this part of the job just comes with the non-profit And superhero territory. If you didn’t already deduce from the word “non-profit”, most organizations Worthington with people in need do so at little to no cost. When you aren’t charging for your services, the money to keep the lights on and support staff financially has to come from somewhere. This may not be as huge of an issue when you work for a nationally recognized Organization with donations coming in from across the globe (maybe? Enlighten me. If you do!) however I have only experienced working with small, local, grassroots organizations. When you’re small in name and usually staff, it is everyone’s job to raise awareness in the community about your agency and cause. This includes the networking I mentioned above as well as attending events, hosting festival booths, and organizing fundraising efforts. You will want to learn how your agency works inside and out, write and practice a script you can repeat over and over because you will be telling EVERYONE about what you do for a living. This is how we bring in funders, volunteers, clients, etc. You can’t make a difference in a world that has no idea that you exist.

     Speaking of networking, another great way to spread awareness as well as find resources is to join boards and councils relating to what you need. If you regularly work with the homeless or displaced, jump at the chance to join your county’s housing coalition meetings. If you are employed with a child advocacy agency, find out when the school board meetings are (they are usually open to the public) and go sit in to listen. Smaller councils and boards are typically invite only so you will just have to ask around as you grow your contacts, but when the opportunity comes up, take it. This is how you make connections, start collaborations, and education the community about your agency and clients’ needs.  All in all, just get used to talking about what you do. If you truly have a passion for it, it will come naturally.

    One more incredibly important aspect about advocacy, and I cannot stress this enough: Take care of yourself too. This was a lesson I had to learn the hard way and in talking to colleagues over the years, it seems to be that way for everyone. I tell worn out parents all of the time “take care of yourself because if something happens to you, who is going to be there for your child?” Just like you can’t pour a drink from an empty pitcher, you can’t care for others if you aren’t caring for yourself first. Set an alarm at night so you can get those 8 hours of sleep, carry that water bottle around with you everywhere you go, pick up your phone and make that therapist appointment, and just do things to make yourself happy and restored. This job is not easy. It is heavy, it is emotional, and it is tolling on your mental and emotional health. You will give everything short of the shirt on your back to help these clients get where they are going. Please, don't forget to take care of yourself.

    I hope that this will be at least a small glimpse into what life working in advocacy looks like. I have no doubt that all of these topics will come up again later in more detail. Don't let any of this sway you from your desire to get into this field. It is one of the most rewarding experiences a person can have. Even if you don't make it your forever, job, consider trying it for a short time. These causes and people need caring individuals to fight for them, speak for them, and hold their hand through the darkest points of their lives. Just be aware of what it entails and prepare yourself to fulfill the duty in the healthiest way possible. I hope this helps you even the tiniest bit on your own journey.

Good Luck & Keep Fighting,    

Jess♥️