How to Be an Advocate?

Advocate

To be an advocate, one must understand the responsibilities of one. In definition an advocate is someone who speaks up for someone else on their behalf along with having their best of interest in mind. An advocate for a person with disabilities will deliver services as requested by their client, be an active member of the community of social services, leading workshops on disability issues, does research and writes reports. Their main goal is to help them learn to be independent and not have to rely on others to be able to live effectively in their every day lives. Through out this paper I will be discussing the ways an advocate helps a person with disabilities with housing, treatment, short and long term health care and education.

Housing

There are many ways to help your client find affordable and accessible housing. One way is to go or call your local housing authority unit and fill out the paper work, they will go over your income with you and your rent is based upon your income. Another solution is assisted living centers where your client would be placed in a home with other people. The advocate would be in charge of dealing with landlords and any other personnel. "Language of both the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (FHAA)2 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)3 is rooted in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.4 Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (§ 504) prohibits discrimination against handicapped individuals in any program or activity that receives federal funding-this includes federally assisted housing programs".

HealthCare

To be able to apply for health insurance your client must prove their disability. People with disabilities as a group rank highest among populations with elevated need for short- and long-term health services. People with disabilities have significantly higher rates of physician contacts and hospitalization compared to those without disabilities and 3.6 times higher per capita costs of care in 1980 (Rice and LaPlante, 1992). Like other nonelderly Americans, children and adults with disabilities are at risk of being uninsured for health care (Mathematica Policy Research, 1989) and as a result may receive less care than the insured (Davis and Rowland, 1983). In the state of Massachusetts, a person who is not working can apply for Mass-Health and or Medicaid, if the person is disabled and working then he/she goes through their employer for health insurance and if they cannot afford it would result in going through the state.

Education

An advocate, who works on behalf of a person with disabilities, will work to get the needed services. They will work with the parents, teachers, and schools by conducting research. It varies from disability to disability and what the person needs for the advocate