Healthy Advocate Initiative

A domestic violence advocate’s work is rewarding, challenging, empowering and vital to providing services to survivors of domestic and sexual violence.  An advocate is a unique person; their mission is to provide safety, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  Advocates also work to support survivors in sustaining positive change in their lives, often at the cost of the advocates’ own self-care.  FCADV is committed to providing advocates the support, tools and recognition they deserve for the critical services advocates provide each day in their community. 

As part of that commitment, FCADV created an annual Healthy Advocate Initiative which consists of a multi-week Healthy Advocate Challenge culminating in regional trainings or workshops presented at the FCADV Biennial Statewide Training Institute. These trainings and workshops provide the advocates with tools to reduce and recognize possible compassion fatigue and tips to including self-care in an advocate’s daily routine.

The Healthy Advocate Initiative is a time FCADV encourages advocates at the certified domestic violence centers to do something positive for their health whether it is beginning or enhancing an exercise program, choosing healthy meals and snacks, quitting smoking, improving financial health, or taking 30 minutes a day just for you.

Previous centers that have won the challenge are SafeSpace 2012 and Women In Distress 2013. The center that receives the 2014 Health Advocate Challenge will receive travel scholarships to attend either the upcoming FCADV Rural Institute or the FCADV Biennial Statewide Training Institute. In addition, a small reward for each advocate to help with their self-care journey is included.

This year the six week Healthy Advocate Challenge will begin on May 12^th, 2014 and end on June 20^th, 2014.  And as part of the Initiative, advocates are invited to attend one of the three regional trainings scheduled for June 2014 and facilitated by the National Domestic Violence Hotline with a focus on compassion fatigue and self-care tools. These trainings will provide advocates with concrete tools to use in their advocacy work to manage and detect signs of compassion fatigue, burnout and advocate self-care.

Which center will win the Healthy Advocate Challenge in 2014?

Stay tuned for the winner……………………………………………….