Finding a Way: Reflections on Advocacy

Some moments don’t just change how you see your work; they change why it matters.

Friday, October 17, 2025, was one of those moments. What began as a routine virtual meeting turned into something far more meaningful: a moment of recognition that was both humbling and motivating. It offered a powerful reminder that advancing inclusion, participation, and equity for people with disabilities is never the work of a single voice. It is collective work, built, sustained, and moved forward by many.

Inclusion means more than simply allowing people into a space; it requires intentionally creating environments where everyone feels genuinely welcomed, respected, and valued. Participation is not just about being present—it involves having meaningful opportunities to learn, work, and engage in the community, with the ability to contribute on equal footing.

Equity means recognizing that some individuals encounter different challenges in accessing opportunities, and it calls for addressing the conditions that limit full participation. The goal isn’t just to open doors, but to remove the barriers that prevent people from advancing and fully engaging.

From Purpose to Practice

Advocacy has always been both a calling and a necessity, shaped by the need to bring about meaningful change. A lesson learned early on proved simple yet enduring: find a way.

This means working within circumstances when possible, navigating around obstacles when necessary, climbing over them when required, or even creating entirely new paths when none exist.

Regardless of the method, the goal has remained the same. Each challenge was approached as an opportunity to solve a problem and to leave things better than they were found. Over time, this mindset evolved into the very foundation of advocacy. It is defined not by waiting for opportunity to arise, but by creating it through steady, purposeful, and deliberate action.

This approach fosters change through collaboration rather than conflict. It often begins subtly, through the discovery of new perspectives, gradual adjustments in practice, or decisions that evolve over time. Relational advocacy relies on understanding, a shared sense of purpose, and a sincere commitment to inclusion. It encourages individuals to recognize both the need for change and their own role in making it happen.

Relational Advocacy

Advocacy takes many forms, each shaped by different approaches and contexts. One of these is relational advocacy, which is based on understanding and the ability to influence through ongoing personal connection. Instead of using force, it moves ideas forward through collaboration and shared effort. This kind of advocacy can arise in thoughtful conversations, in working toward a common goal, or in quiet moments of listening that spark meaningful progress.

This approach fosters change through collaboration rather than conflict. It often begins subtly, through the discovery of new perspectives, gradual adjustments in practice, or decisions that evolve over time. Relational advocacy relies on understanding, a shared sense of purpose, and a sincere commitment to inclusion. It encourages individuals to recognize both the need for change and their own role in making it happen.

Systemic Advocacy

Another form of advocacy is systemic advocacy, which focuses on policy, structure, and institutional practice. It works directly with the systems that create or sustain barriers and calls on those systems to change and evolve.

Systemic advocacy may involve developing policy recommendations, presenting public testimony, or ensuring that meaningful changes are carried out. Where relational advocacy fosters understanding, systemic advocacy translates that understanding into action. It ensures that good intentions become tangible outcomes. This form of advocacy requires persistence, discipline, and clarity of purpose, especially when progress is slow or the path becomes complex.

Balancing the Two

The most effective advocacy brings both approaches together. Relational advocacy fosters collaboration and shared understanding. Systemic advocacy translates that collaboration into meaningful change. Each strengthens the other. Connection without structure can lose direction, leading to good ideas without the framework to carry them forward. Structure without connection can lose its meaning, becoming more about process than people and overlooking the purpose that gives change its true impact.

Lasting change depends on both. Listening lays the foundation, and action carries the work forward. When the work is grounded in purpose, progress takes shape through effort, informed decisions, and a clear understanding of why the change matters.

Always Finding a Way

That moment of recognition was not an endpoint—it was a reminder. Advocacy is not measured by accolades or titles. It is defined by steady resolve and the belief that even uncertain paths can be navigated.

Finding a way requires determination, not perfection. It means working with what is available, adapting when needed, and continuing even when the outcome is not guaranteed. It is grounded in consistency, reinforced by resolve, and strengthened by purpose. Every step, whether bold or quiet, helps shape a future marked by genuine inclusion, equitable access, and meaningful opportunities for participation.

Advocacy is both collective and humbling. It is a shared effort, sustained by the voices of the present and the promise of those still to come. It honors those who came before and clears a broader path for those yet to follow.

The role of an advocate is to advance inclusion, participation, and equity so that these values become everyday expectations rather than distant goals. The aim is not only to push for change, but to help shape a future where advocacy itself is no longer necessary. That future has not yet arrived. Still, two questions remain: What will it take to reach it? And how long will it be before we do?

---