What is Advocating? From dicitionary.com the definition is: to speak or write in favor of; support or urge by argument; recommend publicly: to act as an advocate.
Advocating is not just something done when there is a huge problem. Advocating can also mean carrying on a continuing discussion about a topic or potential issue. This month I hope to cover some of the different challenges to advocating, what advocating involves, how can you advocate, how to be a part of a group for companies and businesses to help with advocating for blind people.
What are some areas you already advocate in, and how can you get friends and others to help you advocate for change. I hope these are tips that you can use.
I will also be sharing some links to ACB’s advocacy group. Some of the things they are working on and some of their podcasts that help explain different ways to advocate.
I really hope you enjoy this topic. As always feel free to share this information with your friends and groups!!
Advocating for yourself and others isn’t always easy. Some days this means politely voicing your opinion about the treatment you have received. Other times you might have to fill out a survey or write an email to a company. And yet other times you may need to get involved in your local law makers to have them address an issue.
One question may be, but this happened to someone else and not to me personally. I am here to tell you that it is ok if you give them how you saw things play out. Or speak on behalf of your friend or family member, Due to some people’s fear of people with disabilities sometimes having someone “like them” speak in regards to the issues. Be willing to speak up for someone who might not feel comfortable doing so. Also you can always ask if you can help them with a situation.
Who do you report an issue to? How can you know if you are talking to the right person?
Depending on the situation you can speak to a supervisor/manager or you can find a place to write comments and concerns. One way our family did this was when we had an issue at our local baseball park. We had always been allowed to use the turnstyle when we came into the ballpark with moms dog. One day we were forced to use the handicapped entry. It was embarrassing as there were 5 of us, but also the inconvenience of having to switch lines. I was so upset I filled out a comment email section on their website about our experience and how we had been long time fans and usually visited once to twice a year and had never dealt with this type of an issue.
From that complaint we were some of the founding people for that sports teams ADA committee that they started. We were also given opportunity to give feedback before and after the construction of their new stadium. This helped us not only feel apart of team in a better way, but we were also able to talk about proper training and ways they can help those who are blind in the ballpark!
On to our second question: How do I know I am talking to the right person? One way to know if you have the right person is by title. A lot of people who deal with these complaints and who are also able to do something is a customer service manager. Sometimes if it is a restaurant on smaller business you might be able to speak to the business manager themselves.
Remember when you are writing this complaint that you need to make sure to give clear details. It is also helpful to offer tips or ways that the issue could have been resolved to your satisfaction. One thing we also suggest is to help them with their training of staff. We should always be willing to offer resources like a a good website that gives them the details of ADA laws and rules, possible information about having blind people in their place of business. We also offer to go in person when possible to talk to the staff and help them understand how to work with blind people or others with disabilities. There is always a learning opportunity available to both parties. Sometimes it is just a misunderstanding and others the parties were both wrong in their response. Tempers flair and people say or do things that they shouldn’t.
The next question on your mind might be how do I help advocate?
One is staying in contact with those you have reached out to. If it is a place you frequent keep an eye out for them adding those changes you mentioned. if you haven’t seen any changes write them again. We have done this many times with the airport.
There have been many issues we have experienced on the airport. We have called and given complaints to our local airport and others we have visited when we experienced issues. This is one way to help advocate fro change.
This is where getting involved in a local group helps. There are many local groups for blind people and their families. These local groups can help you learn more about the blind community and the way that things need to be fixed. These people will introduce you ways you can help.
There are also other groups who work at making life so much easier for those with disabilities. Your help in researching laws, helping to navigate those who need to be talked to and many other things. Your help is going to be invaluable. Sometimes the most help I am is driving people to the location that they need to go. Other times it is helping get the attention of those we need to peak to.
Be willing to speak up for those around you. Be willing to be in the background and just be the “guide.” Be willing to help when people need you.
The current Big issue I am helping to advocate for is voting rights for the blind. Here in my current state the Secretary of States office decided to upgrade their talking voting machine. However, they did not have enough people look it over. And it is very confusing. Yes this is an election year, and yes this is something that icould be political, but I hope you don’t take it that way. We have all been given the opportunity to voice our opions through voting. But as a child of a blind person it has been very frustrating to currently take my mom voting this year only to have her in tears and being very confused. This is my current avocation work. I have had conversations with the SOS office. I am also working with a few other groups about how to help solve this problem. For me it is not just telling them their system stinks and doesn’t work. But for me it is also telling them the ways to make this better.
I have written to them ways that they can make the system better. Ideas about written directions for those who are not auditory. Also ideas about how to test it themselves and act like a blind person. Many ideas for them to think about.
How about you? Are you working on ways to help make things more accessible around you?
I have joined a couple of local groups in my state. These help me know what the major issues are. There are also times when doing your own research can help. Find a mentor, someone who has been living in the state and having issues who can help give you an overview of previous issues.
One thing you can do to help educated and advocate for people who are blind is by sharing your story with others. You could get involved in a community group. Also look into talking to your local schools about blindness and ways they can help anyone they see who are blind. Sometimes advocating looks like just telling your story to people so the next time they see another blind person they are prepared.
Clearing a path forward:
Keep in contact with local lawmakers and groups to know ways you can advocate. ACB as well as NFB have groups who work on advocating for a change in national and local legislation. Also look for people to talk to about your own accessibility options. This may be in the form of website builders, app builders, phone carriers, or even a place you visit frequently. Look for these opportunities to share how they can do better to serve you.
We as people who can understand and share these issues need to do just that. We need to stand up for what we see is going wrong. We also need to make a list of ways these issues could be improved and bring it to our local and state groups. Let’s change the world one small step at a time!
Monthly Round up on Facebook link below.