How to Develop Student Advocacy Skills

Lets understand the issues!! Supporting participants who don’t have Support Coordination can be challenging. When new clients come through without coordination or clear guidance, it often falls on frontline providers to help them understand the system — where to go, how to review their plan, and how to advocate for themselves. While we can’t advocate in the formal sense, we can support capacity-building by: helping participants understand their rights, connecting them to the right NDIS contacts or advocacy services, and empowering them to navigate their own journey with confidence. It’s a fine line, but a crucial one. How do others in the sector support participants in this space while staying within their role boundaries?

I’m so glad to see The Intentional Catalyst offering this workshop. Advocacy is more important now than ever. In a climate where so many of the issues our neighbors face are shaped by policy, nonprofit organizations have both the opportunity and responsibility to lift up the voices of the communities we serve. Advocacy doesn’t have to mean confrontation. Collaboration, partnership, and storytelling can all help move decision-makers toward solutions that work. Strong advocacy starts with listening, learning, and building relationships rooted in respect and shared goals. Workshops like this help equip nonprofit leaders to do that well. If your organization is looking to deepen its impact, this could be a great place to start.

📢"Advocacy helps ensure that someone's on their side, you know what your rights are, you can effectively engage in these decisions about your life, rather than being passive in that process." This Care Experienced Week, our member Emma and CEO Louise joined BBC Radio Scotland to speak about the vital role independent advocacy plays in Care Experienced people's lives. Our Action on Advocacy campaign is calling for every Care Experienced person - no matter their experience of care, where they live, or their age - to have the right to access independent, advocacy.

🗣️Repeat after us: Housing is a human right. Here are ways you can advocate for affordable housing in Illinois: 📣 Engage with policymakers: Contact policymakers about issues that impact the affordable housing space. 📣 Sign up for housing advocacy alerts: There are countless organizations that are regularly sharing opportunities to advocate. Sign up for advocacy alerts/updates to stay on top of what you can be doing to help. 📣 Educate yourself and others: Be aware of what the issues are, their root causes, and what solutions are available makes your housing advocacy more effective.

Organizations that invest in strong alumni programs understand that relationships don’t end with employment; they evolve into powerful ecosystems of knowledge, advocacy, and opportunity.

It's essential for tenants to be well-informed about their rights. Seeking out educational resources, benefits advocacy, and understanding social security options are key steps to ensuring their well-being and security. Knowledge empowers tenants to navigate their housing situations effectively and advocate for their needs. Being proactive about learning your rights can make a significant difference. #TenantRights #HousingSecurity #SocialSecurity #BenefitsAdvocacy

In the 'Championing Dyslexia: Families and Educators Join Forces for Student Advocacy' session at #IDACon2025, Decoding Dyslexia state leaders demonstrated a stakeholder process bringing together individuals with dyslexia, parents, educators, and researchers to empower family engagement effectively. The session emphasized the significance of incorporating diverse voices in decision-making processes. How will you integrate a stakeholder process to guarantee inclusivity and engagement in your decision-making efforts? #StudentAdvocacy #FamilyEngagement #DecodingDyslexia

Effective advocacy isn’t about being the loudest voice; it’s about being the most constructive one. Parents and school teams share a common goal: helping the child succeed. The challenge is maintaining connection while standing firm on what matters most. A few ways to balance advocacy and partnership: - Lead with data and clarity. Keep conversations focused on facts and goals. - Maintain professionalism. Calm, documented communication builds credibility. - Show respect, even when you disagree. Collaboration doesn’t mean compliance; it means progress through understanding. At Ballou Education, we help families navigate this balance so advocacy becomes a bridge, not a barrier.

Effective advocacy isn’t about being the loudest voice; it’s about being the most constructive one. Parents and school teams share a common goal: helping the child succeed. The challenge is maintaining connection while standing firm on what matters most. A few ways to balance advocacy and partnership: - Lead with data and clarity. Keep conversations focused on facts and goals. - Maintain professionalism. Calm, documented communication builds credibility. - Show respect, even when you disagree. Collaboration doesn’t mean compliance; it means progress through understanding. At Ballou Education, we help families navigate this balance so advocacy becomes a bridge, not a barrier.

🏙️ “You’ve got to have a code.” CITYBUILDER’s Hannah Moell shares how that idea shapes her approach to community advocacy: being open, vocal, and unapologetically pro-housing📣 💡 Being pro-housing isn’t always easy, but it's how we build the future.