The Theory
Resilient Advocacy is a framework that adopts a trauma-informed and antiracist approach and encourages greater resilience of the advocates and impacted communities. This approach consists of four key elements:
- Awareness. Advocates must develop an awareness of trauma and the various levels of racism that may impact our clients, colleagues, communities, and ourselves.
- Collaboration. As taught in community and movement lawyering disciplines, advocates must engage deeply with the communities and clients we serve and act as creative accomplices.
- Adapt Strategically. Advocates must constantly evaluate and reevaluate strategies in our advocacy using a multidisciplinary systems-theory approach, both to ensure effectiveness and to adapt to changes impacting our work.
- Transform the Trauma Response. Finally, to preserve our own capacity as passionate advocates who care deeply about our work, we must learn how to recognize our own trauma exposure response warning signs and transform our trauma exposure responses with multilevel resilience.
The institute
When advocates join our Leadership Institute, they will be joining a community of advocates committed to engaging in Resilient Advocacy together. During the Institute, advocates will learn new concepts, tools, and frameworks and practice the material in carefully curated interactive activities and small group discussions. The Institute has been meticulously designed based on feedback from legal advocates already doing the work to make sure our approach is relevant and replicable. Based on this feedback and analysis, the Institute builds on the following topics:
The first Leadership Institute is scheduled to take place in September 2024. Registration is scheduled to open May 2024. Stay tuned for updates!
- Resilient Advocacy - an overarching review of the Resilient Advocacy framework
- Trauma-Informed, Inclusive Communication Strategies - communication strategies for dealing with conflict, tension, and overwhelm, using hypotheticals reflective of experiences internal and external to legal services and advocacy organizations
- Trauma-Informed, Holistic Supervision - supervision tools and frameworks with special consideration for the complexities that arise when work is rapid response, high trauma-facing, high volume, or occurring in collaborative spaces with diverse participants.
- Organizational Transformation & Design - strategies to begin transforming organizational architecture, policies, practices, workflows, and other components to empower colleague to engage in work more sustainably that does not cause harm.
The first Leadership Institute is scheduled to take place in September 2024. Registration is scheduled to open May 2024. Stay tuned for updates!
The Network
We're not just another training provider - we're a community of advocates committed to leveraging meaningful change within systems of in/justice. Advocates committed to engaging in Resilient Advocacy will be invited to join the Resilient Advocates Network. The Network will offer ongoing opportunities to learn and connect with network members and to foster ongoing peer-to-peer support for our Resilient Advocates through Network Convenings and Monthly Moments. Learn more about our network and offerings by visiting Join Our Network and News & Events.
The Project
Our Resilience-In-Action Project (RAP) is a small but mighty component of our programming through which the Resilient Advocates Collective receives funding from small, grassroots community-based-organizations to provide the legal services they need for their communities. This can range from designing and implementing legal services delivery projects to discrete opportunities to support our community partners. RAP practices the Resilient Advocacy framework in action, using systems theory tools to map, analyze, and strategize to support community legal needs.
RAP uses an innovative pro se plus model - we use hubs to make sure all diverse voices with different access to power can collaborate effectively to leverage meaningful systemic change. Through our Community Hub, we use our expertise in coalition-building, training, and law to organize, educate, and shift power within the directly-impacted communities we collaborate with. Through our Legal Hub, we provide training sessions on substantive legal topics and skills to our advocate communities, and provide supervision, and coordination for the attorneys and advocates that provide pro bono and other support to our project participants.
RAP's work is already underway. Contact us if you would like to be involved.
RAP uses an innovative pro se plus model - we use hubs to make sure all diverse voices with different access to power can collaborate effectively to leverage meaningful systemic change. Through our Community Hub, we use our expertise in coalition-building, training, and law to organize, educate, and shift power within the directly-impacted communities we collaborate with. Through our Legal Hub, we provide training sessions on substantive legal topics and skills to our advocate communities, and provide supervision, and coordination for the attorneys and advocates that provide pro bono and other support to our project participants.
RAP's work is already underway. Contact us if you would like to be involved.