What is Advocacy?
Advocacy is speaking up to educate and bring awareness to a specific issue to bring about change. This can mean contacting legislators or other people in government, but it can also mean connecting to people you interact with regularly, such as counselors, teachers, family members, or local businesses. Here are some common terms that you may come across as you advocate for yourself and your community:
Individual advocacy means speaking up for yourself to make sure your needs and rights are recognized and respected. This can include asking for support or changes in your daily life — at work, school, a healthcare office, or when using public services.
Sometimes, it involves taking action when your needs have not been met. For example, if a doctor’s office fails to provide an interpreter, you can advocate by explaining why it’s necessary and asking them to fix the issue so you can access proper care.
Being a strong advocate often requires preparation. It helps to plan what you want to say, identify what you need, and think about how to clearly explain your situation. You might write down your main points, practice with a trusted friend, or bring notes with you.
Individual advocacy is a key step toward making sure your voice is heard, and your needs are met.
Systems advocacy is when a person or group works to change policies, laws, or practices that affect a larger community. The goal is to make systems—like government, transportation, education, or healthcare—more fair, inclusive, and accessible.
For example:
You might speak out against a bill in the state General Assembly that proposes cuts to limit access to home and community-based services for people with disabilities.
Or you might support a bill that would require all polling places to be physically accessible and offer accessible voting machines.
Another example is advocating for improvements to public transportation. If buses in your area don’t have working lifts or audio announcements for stops, or if paratransit is unreliable or hard to schedule, you can speak up to demand changes. Systems advocacy could involve working to pass a local ordinance that expands funding for accessible transit or requires better driver training.
There are many ways to push for change, including:
Organizing or joining a rally or community event
Sharing your story in a social media campaign
Meeting with elected officials to explain how a policy affects your life
Writing letters or giving public testimony
Systems advocacy helps improve conditions for entire communities, not just one person . When you take action, you’re helping to make systems more responsive, equitable, and inclusive for everyone.
Advocacy vs. Lobbying
What’s the Difference Between Advocacy and Lobbying?
You may have heard the terms advocacy and lobbying used interchangeably, but they’re not the same. Advocacy is about raising awareness, educating others, and promoting change — and most of it is not considered lobbying.
Lobbying specifically means trying to influence lawmakers to support or oppose a particular piece of legislation.
Some organizations, especially certain nonprofits, have limits on how much lobbying their staff can do as part of their official duties. But individuals are always free to engage in lobbying and advocacy on their own time.
Here’s how advocacy can happen without being lobbying :
Providing Education
These actions inform others about how systems work, what the issues are, and how people can get involved — without referencing specific bills or legislative outcomes.
Explaining how government works or how laws are made
Distributing nonpartisan information about civic processes or policy areas
Meeting with elected officials to educate them about an issue, as long as you don’t ask them to support or oppose a specific bill
Attending public hearings or town halls to listen or share information
Teaching people how to engage, such as how to register to vote or contact their representatives
Raising Awareness
These actions highlight important disability issues and real-life impacts, often using facts, stories, or lived experience — but without promoting or opposing a specific piece of legislation.
Sharing your personal story to show how an issue affects your life
Hosting or joining community events to highlight access barriers or inequities
Creating materials like flyers, videos, or social media posts that explain why an issue matters (without mentioning a specific bill)
Sharing facts, research, or data to show the scope of a problem
Raising Public Support
These actions build interest, motivation, and public momentum around an issue, encouraging people to get involved or express their opinions — without making a specific legislative ask.
Organizing awareness campaigns on social media or in the community
Hosting events like forums or rallies that engage the public in dialogue (without a direct call to action on legislation)
Motivating people to share their concerns or experiences with decision-makers, without pushing for a specific vote
