Advocacy Principles

DRCVI Advocacy Principles

Our advocacy will be zealous, dedicated, effective, creative, innovative and daring.

We will take on issues of importance to the disability community.

We will integrate a variety of advocacy approaches in all of our work, including self-advocacy, legal, non-legal, media, and public policy and investigatory.

We value diversity. Our staff should reflect the ethnic, language, and disability diversity, and demographic diversity of the U.S. Virgin Islands: rural, age, sexual orientation, a range of different life experiences that reflect the disability community.

Our advocacy efforts will affirmatively address the needs of traditionally underserved and under-represented communities through partnership with such communities.

Our advocacy will be of high quality regardless of the type of service, the nature of the problem or who the client is. We will be honest, prepared, truthful, and informed.

All staff is expected to contribute and their contributions will be valued and respected.

When representing individuals:

• We will respect the client’s wishes.
• We are honest about our limitations, values, resources and the likely outcome.
• The client chooses their service goals and we will work jointly with the client to achieve their goals.
• The client actively participates in every stage of the process.