Last night’s #dsma chat was a terrific one, focusing on how people in the diabetes community define “advocacy.” I wanted to summarize it here (at least the parts that resonated for me) because it could serve as a catalyst to inspire.
[For information on what the #dsma chat is, click here. And to learn more about connecting with people with diabetes on Twitter, click here.]
Q1. What is your definition of an advocate? #dsma (typo)
— DiabetesSocMedAdvoca (@DiabetesSocMed) January 16, 2014
Q1: I think there are a million definitions b/c there are a million ways to advocate. And they are all important. #dsma
— Karen Graffeo (@KarenBittrSweet) January 16, 2014
Q1, an Advocate Is a Voice, not an Echo… #dsma
— Patrick McConnell (@PatrickMcConnel) January 16, 2014
Q1. Anyone touched by diabetes who speaks up on behalf of their community and experiences. #dsma
— Kerri / Diabetes (@sixuntilme) January 16, 2014
Formally, advocate applies voice to legislative process to encourage desired change. Generally, to raise awareness & be supportive. #dsma
— Kelly / Diabetes (@KellyRawlings) January 16, 2014
@SweeterCherise IMO sometimes advocates can be meek, dispassionate, and afraid, but still connecting to someone regarding a cause #dsma
— Maria Qadri (@somebody_exotic) January 16, 2014
The community shared their advocacy “origin stories:”
Q2. When and how did you become an advocate for people affected by diabetes? #dsma
— DiabetesSocMedAdvoca (@DiabetesSocMed) January 16, 2014
Advocate: scary word when it applies to one, empowering word when it applies to many #dsma
— StephenS (@StephenSType1) January 16, 2014
Q2: I think I became an advocate when I found the DOC & started blogging – although I didn't realize it at the time. #dsma
— Karen Graffeo (@KarenBittrSweet) January 16, 2014
Q2. My advocacy journey started when I was a kid and needed to advocate for myself in school & w/ friends. #dsma
— Kerri / Diabetes (@sixuntilme) January 16, 2014
Q2. Recently, for selfish reasons! The more I advocate the more comfortable I am with d-me. #dsma #sorrynotalwaysselfish
— EllenQ (@ellenqueue) January 16, 2014
Q2 when I realized traditional diabetes education needed a facelift. #dsma
— Rachel Head RD, CDE (@rachelheadCDE) January 16, 2014
And then we compared notes on what we’re most passionate about:
Q3. In diabetes advocacy, What is the one topic or area you are most passionate about? (there is a follow-up question) #dsma
— DiabetesSocMedAdvoca (@DiabetesSocMed) January 16, 2014
Q3. Sorry if this is biased, but I am most passionate abt access to treatments for T2s. It's surprising how little they think we need. #dsma
— Rosie (@Rosie_Tomato) January 16, 2014
Q3. The poor and disenfranchised T2 population; those whose income, cultures and families stand in the way of getting appropriate care #dsma
— Brenda Bell (@tmana) January 16, 2014
Q3: Making mental health care and education accessible to more than a tiny fraction of PWDS #dsma
— Dan Fleshler (@fleshlerd) January 16, 2014
… segueing into reasons why that topic is something that touches our advocacy hot spots (sounds sassy …):
Q4. What is it about this/your issue that makes you passionate? (follow-up question) #dsma
— DiabetesSocMedAdvoca (@DiabetesSocMed) January 16, 2014
Q4. When I'm emotionally equipped to manage diabetes, I do it better. I want that feeling for anyone who wants that, too. #dsma
— Kerri / Diabetes (@sixuntilme) January 16, 2014
Q4. Science gets a bad wrap & is under-appreciated. Plus it's my personal/career passion. We learn more about the human body everyday #dsma
— Maria Qadri (@somebody_exotic) January 16, 2014
Q4 Education, because otherwise how silly it is to expect ppl to daily manage a disease that brings new challenges at each life stage. #dsma
— Kelly / Diabetes (@KellyRawlings) January 16, 2014
But of course, the road towards getting something done is often paved with obstacles. For many of the folks on the chat, “fear” played a huge role in holding us back:
Q5. As an advocate, what is the biggest obstacle you had to face? How did you over come it? #dsma
— DiabetesSocMedAdvoca (@DiabetesSocMed) January 16, 2014
Q5. Inspiration and motivation. But I'm working on it. 😉 #dsma
— Cara (@cerichards21) January 16, 2014
Q5 My biggest obstacle was/is myself. Putting myself out there and maybe being wrong is a massive fear of mine. #dsma
— Jennifer Christensen (@JennMamaBear) January 16, 2014
Q5: feeling valuable in the community. I always felt like I didn't need to speak bc someone else could say it better. #dsma
— Heather Gabel (@HeatherGabel) January 16, 2014
So how do we, as the “diabetes ONLINE community,” remove the Internet component and bring advocacy offline?
Thought provoking question….Q6. What can WE do as a community to advocate “more “offline for diabetes? #dsma
— DiabetesSocMedAdvoca (@DiabetesSocMed) January 16, 2014
Q6 Guerilla advocacy! Reach out at community events! Talk to your CDE! Slam diabetes stickers and poetry! Test in public. BE FEARLESS #dsma
— Maria Qadri (@somebody_exotic) January 16, 2014
Q6. Don't undervalue the fact that you are telling your story with diabetes. No such thing as an advocacy act too small IMO. #dsma
— Scott K. Johnson (@scottkjohnson) January 16, 2014
q6: open your mouth and talk to people in real life – And smiling helps. Smiling's my favorite. #dsma
— Kelly / Diabetes (@diabetesalish) January 16, 2014
Closing thoughts: #dsma
— DiabetesSocMedAdvoca (@DiabetesSocMed) January 16, 2014
Closing: Diabetes was like a jigsaw puzzle to me… 500 little pieces… The DOC put the pieces together and showed me a picture. #dsma
— Patrick McConnell (@PatrickMcConnel) January 16, 2014
Closing: don't be afraid, speak out, educate, anything you can do to make our community known, do it. It counts. Your effort counts. #dsma
— tx diabetic (@txdiabetic) January 16, 2014
Not everyone has to be an advocate for diabetes, and not every advocate raises awareness in the same way. But every voice matters, and no effort is too small. How do you advocate for diabetes? And how can we, as a community, help move your efforts forward?
This really spoke to me:
Q2. Recently, for selfish reasons! The more I advocate the more comfortable I am with d-me. #dsma #sorrynotalwaysselfish
— EllenQ (@ellenqueue) January 16, 2014
For me, advocacy changes as I go along. Like my life, advocacy is written in different ways all the time. Today I advocate by writing, participating in clinical trials, and in our efforts in recognizing PWDs who accomplish athletic goals. I also know what I’d like to do next, but who knows if something will happen to change that and move my focus elsewhere if necessary? I’m okay with that if it happens. Supporting people is one of my strengths, and like the statement above, when I support others, I feel good.
Good topic. I don’t tweet so it’s great to see these tweets posted. Thanks. I advocate all the time outside the DOC. I am the go to person when somebody I know is diagnosed with diabetes. Because I do a lot of research in books and on the Web. I always refer them to ADA and websites I have found. Including this and other blogs. But when it comes to commenting on these sites, I feel hesitant. I’ll have to work on that.
Thanks to all who add to the diabetes discussion.
Christine
[…] I sat down to write this blog, I read Kerri’s post on Six Until Me, aptly titled “What is a Diabetes Advocate?”. I read it about eight times, closely scrutinizing each excerpted Tweet and trying to see how it […]
I missed the DSMA chat last Wednesday, but this is a topic I’ve thought a lot about and struggled with quite a bit. Thanks for pulling out a few select tweets to help clarify the issue for me and put it in a clearer perspective.
[…] read these posts by Kerri and Scott E for more thoughts on the […]
Thank you for sharing this information its indeed very helpful.