An advocate is someone who champions, supports, and fights for someone else. And at Casa de Esperanza, their 15 Advocates are champions for women and children survivors or violence. They’re in great need of the support that Casa provides – things like family advocacy, shelter, community engagement, and more.
The Advocates meet participants where they are, which means that they’re out in the community – in their homes, at their school or workplace – helping them in a variety of ways. As you can imagine, they start to feel like family to each other.
Rosario – the Community Advocacy and Partnerships Manager at Casa – describes the advocates as “the core of the organization. They’re the ones who have everyday contact with the survivors.” And sometimes, they experience vicarious trauma as a result. But their well-being is also so important – without it, they wouldn’t be able to do their jobs.
“In order to be there for the participants, the Advocates themselves need to be well,” Rosario says. “When working with survivors, having strength is critical.”
One way to lend them some extra strength? A little appreciation. For Day 53, we joined forces with The Progressive North to give these incredible people a day of thanks. We thought massages could be a great way to relax and take a moment out of their day to pause. And the icing on the cake for a relaxing massage day? Breakfast for all!
“I feel wonderful! I feel like I could take a nap right now,” said Zoe, one of the advocates.
These women do so much to help others. Taking one day to do something for them was easy – a small change that means so much.
