Reversal of fortune: A self-advocacy primer

Credit to Author: Canadian Immigrant| Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2024 18:51:42 +0000

There can be little doubt that making your voice heard takes courage, especially when adapting to life in a new land. There are ways to make your voice heard, and skills to cultivate that can aid in doing so.

A Reuters article from 2023 stated the dream of living in Canada had ended for 42,000 immigrants during the first half of 2023, as they were unable to make ends meet and chose to abandon their adopted homeland.

That figure added to the 93,818 people who departed in 2022 and the 85,927 who left in 2021. While those numbers represent a mere drop in the bucket compared to the 485,000 arrivals last year, the departures are significant enough to look a little deeper at why this phenomenon is occurring in the first place.

Among the most commonly cited reasons are the high cost of living, being unable to find work in one’s chosen field, not fitting in, an absence of support networks and the impact of any racial discrimination. While all of these are valid and unfortunate, there is also a startling number of immigrants who, for various reasons, have no idea what their rights are. While this is sad, language barriers, limitations caused by cultural roles and rank in society intersect with and only compound the issues people experience trying to make their voices heard while adjusting to the norms and values of a new country.

The term advocacy literally means to plead for, and self-advocacy is about being able to not only identify your needs but to make your voice heard without fear of reprisal. Being able to advocate for yourself involves more than just learning the answers to a problem, it’s about knowing the right questions to ask as well.

Self-advocacy also means being able to speak clearly and succinctly about matters that impact you and others; it’s about building supportive networks with allies and identifying resources that amplify your needs, even if you happen to be unsure about how things work in the new terrain. Good self-advocacy also enhances mental health, enabling you to live your best life.

There’s a unique envelope of skills that make for good self-advocacy. Below are three of them to consider.

Realistic goal setting
The SMART model is often cited as a good example of realistic goal setting, and it’s not a bad place to start. SMART goals are: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. What do you want to accomplish or change? Once you’ve identified this, try the process of chunking, which is breaking a larger issue down into smaller, manageable steps. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or guidance along the way, and remember that even small steps forward are worth celebrating.

Cultivate resources
Knowing where to turn is almost as important as identifying the issue. There are settlement services in just about every Canadian city, and these agencies can play valuable roles with connecting you to community legal aid centers to everything from employment to language resources to housing help to form filling to translation.

Resources can get you moving along your pathway to accessible achievements and help you build a network. There are always webinars, workshops, conferences and social opportunities where you can begin to cultivate helping relationships, and these are usually free. Begin with a site like settlement.org that can help steer you in the right direction and start nurturing those relationships.

Amplify your voice
Almost as important as making your voice heard is active listening. In some cases, messaging from “the other” – be it landlords, employers or others – often contains veiled attempts to limit your progress. It’s important to feel (or fake it till you make it!) confident and be able to own your voice, even in trying circumstances. Chances are, if you are struggling in your situation, others are as well. That just might help make your voice even more heard. Knowing how, when, why and to whom you’re communicating is critical to getting your message heard.

There can be little doubt that self-advocacy takes practice, rehearsal, dedication and to some degree, a tolerance for uncertainty. By nurturing this critical skill, you will find that doors will eventually open and you’ll find yourself in places you were meant or desired to be.

Carter Hammett is a freelance writer with two decades of experience in social work, employment counselling and adult education.

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