A Day in the Life of a Community Advocate

Each day as an advocate is different, and that’s why I love this job! Normally, each day starts out by checking emails and messages from clients, fellow advocates, and community partners. In DVHFI, we have partnerships with various agencies that support our survivors to find safe, stable housing, so ongoing communication with them is important.

After responding to messages, I may have an appointment with a survivor I am meeting for the first time. For survivors, this can either be an exciting or nerve-wracking day. Working towards entering safe, stable housing can bring a lot of hope and peace of mind to some, but for others, can be very uncertain and leave a lot of “what-if’s?”. That’s why we are here as advocates, to provide support and help survivors navigate a lot of these difficult processes and systems.

During that first appointment, I’ll get to understand the survivor and their situation a little more in-depth. What are the most pressing needs and concerns? What can I do as an advocate to help them feel safe? I’ll talk about what safety means for them and where they currently reside because safety planning looks different for everyone.

After this appointment, I will have gone over the DVHFI and EDEN programming to ensure survivors understand the process. I will talk about what safe housing looks like for them. What areas do they feel safe and unsafe in and essentially what do they need to feel safe, to grow and feel empowered?

The Journey survivors have in finding housing can have a lot of ups and downs and that is why my favorite part of the job is to be able to see survivors get the keys to their new home and to see them thrive!