Advocate for Others—Five Practical Steps (Part 3)

by Annie Yorty ©2021

I didn’t know I had a knack for advocacy until God gave me a daughter with Down syndrome. But time and experience advocating for her needs have honed my skills, so I’m sharing what I’ve learned about how to advocate for others.

Sooner or later, everyone needs an advocate. Someone who cares about our needs when we can’t properly care for them ourselves. Someone who is for us. No matter what.

How God Advocates for You (Part 1) and Advocating for God’s Cause (Part 2) discuss God’s heart for advocacy. But Romans 5:6 best sums up Christ’s advocacy work:

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners (Romans 5:6 NLT).

The book of Proverbs extends God’s purpose of advocating for others to you and me. Some call this being the hands and feet of Jesus.

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice (Proverbs 31:8-9 NLT).

You may be thinking you don’t know anyone who falls into these categories. But have you considered these folks:

• A mom of toddlers diagnosed with illness
• The woman who just lost her husband
• Elderly parents or friends
• Children floundering at school
• A young man overwhelmed by depression
• An adult with Down syndrome

Advocate for Others—Five Practical Steps

Step 1—Pray

Pray for God to open your eyes to needs beyond your own limited vision. Only God knows everything about the individual you want to help (1 Samuel 16:7b). Ask God to give you creativity and His wisdom as you seek solutions to challenges. Keep praying through all the other steps. Prayer is the glue that holds your efforts together.

Step 2—Identify the needs of the individual

Never assume you know how to advocate for others until you get to know their needs. Usually finding out what a person needs is as simple as asking. But some individuals may not know what exactly what they need. Others may not even be able to communicate. In these cases, if there is a diagnosis, you may need to learn more about it from the internet or professionals. If you’re patient and observant, though, you will discover both overt and deeper needs which will help move you to the next step of advocating for others.

Step 3— Investigate possible resources

The next step in advocating for others is to identify possible supports and solutions. Start by brainstorming and making a list of everything you can think of that may help. Nothing is too outlandish for this list. Be sure to consider the following resources:

• Family
• Friends
• Education
• Community/Government
• Medical
• Social/Recreational
• Emotional
• Mental health

These ideas will be the springboard for research. Google is your friend. Make phone calls, ask questions. As you dig into the details, you will eliminate some ideas. Others may emerge as viable possibilities.

Step 4—Create a realistic plan

Once needs and resources are identified, begin to mesh the two into a realistic, achievable advocacy plan. For each part of the plan:

• Identify the person responsible for implementation
• Set a timetable for completion
• Determine how to evaluate the outcome

If the needs are simple and/or temporary, you alone may be advocating for others. But if an individual’s needs are complex and ongoing, there may be more than one person on the advocacy team. In this case, it is helpful to assign a coordinator who monitors ongoing progress between the members of the team. Also, don’t forget that the individual, depending on capability, may also assume self-advocacy responsibility.

Step 5 – Access identified services and resources

The final step to advocating for others is to follow through with implementation of the plan. You should be:

• Consistent—Pay attention to details, take notes, and follow up.
• Persistent—Focus on what you hope to achieve and release your inner bulldog (in love, of course).
• Resistant—The road to success is often paved with rejection. Be willing to flex as necessary.

Let’s finish with two practical examples of how to advocate for others.

Advocate for Others—Scenario #1

Tiffany, a pregnant mom with young kids, is put on bed rest for three months. She is unable to cook meals. Your plan:

• Pray about this situation, asking God how you should help.
• Ask Tiffany about her family’s food needs. She says she could use meals every other day and tells you about gluten-free dietary needs.
• Make a list of friends at church who might be willing to regularly provide meals. Research a gluten-free recipe site, food delivery services, and an app to coordinate meal sign-ups.
• Set up the app, identify dates for meal provision, and create a notice about possible ways to help.
• Send the informational links to your friends and pray they will come together to bless Tiffany and her family by providing meals.

Advocate for Others—Scenario #2

Katie, a young woman with autism, loves social activities in the community. But she rarely goes out because she has no transportation. Your plan:

• Pray about this situation, asking God how you should help.
• Spend time with Katie and learn that she would like to go out one afternoon and one evening per week. She likes activities such as bowling and eating out. She may need assistance finding someone to go with her to these activities.
• Brainstorm a list of possible sources of transportation and/or companionship including accessible public vans, Katie’s extended family, and church friends.
• You learn there is a public van available to transport people with disabilities during the day. Communicate with ten individuals who will offer to take Katie out once every month. Finally, with input from Katie, create a schedule of activities.
• Teach Katie to put new contacts in her phone and keep track of her schedule. Also, help her to contact a couple friends who might want to go out with her and help them all to learn to use the public van service. Then follow up regularly to ask Katie about any part of the plan that’s not working.

Imitating Christ by advocating for others is a high purpose and privilege given by God. Let’s look for opportunities be the hands and feet of Jesus.

Join the conversation:

What challenges and encouragement have you experienced when you advocate for others?

Would you share about a time when someone advocated for you?

I welcome your comments!