Hands On Advocacy! A Video Series

Hands On Advocacy!
A Video Series

Legal advocates across the country provide vital support to survivors navigating a confusing and overwhelming system.

VRLC’s Legal Empowerment Advocacy Project provides support to advocates facing difficult cases, looking for additional training, or working through questions. But it can be hard to fit a full hour (or 90 min!) training between preparing for survivor meetings, running to court hearings, and connecting with service partners.

So—we’ve created a few short videos (all around 5 minutes!) to cover important topics that advocates regularly have questions about. You can watch one below, and follow the links in the descriptions for the others!

1. Legal Advice vs. Legal Information – VRLC regularly gets questions and training requests on this important distinction. This video reviews why the distinction matters and a few key elements to help identify legal advice.

2. Connecting with Attorneys – Advocates do amazing work with, and on behalf of, survivors. But sometimes an attorney is necessary. This video highlights 4 key places advocates may be able to connect with attorneys and the best search terms to use when looking for attorneys in your area.
3. Mandatory Reporting Guiding Questions– Advocates in many jurisdictions are mandatory reporters. It is important to understand what this means for you and the survivors you serve. This video presents a flow chart of questions to help you determine whether a report is needed.
4. VAWA Releases– Protecting survivors’ privacy is a core aspect of an advocate’s work. But, there are times when you need to share survivor information. This video provides guidance on VAWA compliant releases of information to implement in your work.

Each of the Hands-On Advocacy videos is just an introduction to these important topics and doesn’t include information specific to your jurisdiction. Remember, if you have questions or want to talk through more specifics, the VRLC TA team is happy to meet with you anytime! We are here to make your work with survivors easier.