Citizen Advocacy
Diane Haney, Coordinator
123 S. Locust, Suite L101
Grand Island, NE 68801
308-385-5542
Email: gicitadv@kdsi.net
Web Site: n/a
Joined Heartland United Way in 1974

Citizen Advocacy supports advocates who are concerned with making life better for children and adults who have developmental disabilities or mental illness.

Programs:

Citizen Advocacy is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to initiating and supporting a variety of one-to-one, personal, long-term advocacy relationships between ordinary citizens in the Grand Island community and people who have developmental disabilities or mental illness. It provides an opportunity for one person at a time to make a positive difference in the life of someone who has a disability or mental illness. A citizen advocate is someone who represents the interests of a person with a disability or mental illness and is committed to helping him or her experience life fully as a valued member of the community.

Citizen Advocacy actively seeks out people with disabilities who are exceptionally vulnerable: people who have no family members actively involved in their lives, are at risk of exploitation or abuse, or have little or no control over their daily lives. A Considerable amount of time is spent getting to know each person well in order to understand the major issues that confront him or her. This helps to determine what will be asked of an advocate and the qualities the advocate should possess.
Advocate recruitment involves a persistent search for the 'right' advocate in a careful, focused, and deliberate manner. Citizen advocates and people with disabilities are matched according to the "fit" between the needs, interests, and expectations of the person who has a disability and the abilities, resources and commitment of the citizen advocate. The matching process is very personal and individualized. The needs of the person with a disability are the primary consideration in determining the "fit."

When a potential advocate is identified for a specific person with a disability, the Coordinator brings them together several times at different locations, if possible, to help them get to know each other and make a commitment to the relationship. Both people choose whether the relationship will continue.
Each advocate is oriented about typical life experiences of people who have disabilities, as well as the issues and needs of the person with whom he or she will be matched. The role the advocate has been asked to assume is clarified. Then, open-ended questions that relate to the life and circumstances of the person with whom they are matched are posed. The advocate is encouraged to ponder these questions while building their relationship. Ongoing support is available to the advocate after the relationship has been established.

Citizen Advocacy is a community-based organization. People who have advocates, as well as people who are advocates, Board members and staff are all local citizens. The Grand Island program has more than a 30-year history of bringing people together who would not otherwise meet. It is the oldest continually operated Citizen Advocacy program in the world.