Advocacy and Mediation BSHS 442 December 11, 2011 Advocacy and Mediation The right righteous work of the advocate is not always a glamorous job. Wess Stafford said it best when he said, “I spend most of my tome comforting the afflicted and the other half afflicting the comfortable” (Good Reads, 2011). Human service workers spend their lives dedicating themselves to helping improve the quality of live for those they serve by either directly serving them or advocating for them.The goal is to help the client through their time of need and find the resources they need to live a happy healthy life.

The resources needed range from a friend to talk to finding help with getting food and shelter and everything else in between. These duties often include some type of mediation as well and because of that advocacy and mediation work hand and hand. Exploring some websites one will see how the human services, mediation, and advocacy go hand and hand.The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Speak in depth about how the humans service worker’s role extends too many different roles to include but not limited to mediation and advocacy. There is an article that reads, “Social services include helping people obtain adequate financial resources for their needs, evaluating the capabilities of people to care for children or other dependents, counseling and psychotherapy, referral and linking clients to resources, mediation, and advocacy” (National Association of Social Workers, 2011).This article breaks down many details of the human service worker’s duties and responsibilities and directly links the need for advocacy and mediation in the human services field.

This organization is dedicated to human services and has put many hours into research and building to become a powerful force for human services. That alone speaks volumes to the validity of their findings of advocacy and mediation. Another website that offers the same ideas is the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Here one who is seeking help in the human services field can find references and information on many topics which also include mediation and advocacy. There are social service workers there to assist people and get them through the mediation process. The website explains how a mediator can be beneficial because parties involved in a dispute are often reluctant to share information. That leads to decisions being made without considering critical factors (U.

S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011).A unique website which shows the connection of human services with mediation and advocacy is the Special Needs and Special Education Advocacy Services web page. While this website does not layout and specific literature explain the connection, it does provide many links to resources that would be needed by someone who was searching for help with special needs or special education.

There are links for just about everything a person might need to include finding advocates, mediators, and even hotels that have special accommodations (Special Education & Learning Disabilities Resources, 2010).Conclusion After a quick search of just a few websites one can see the direct connection between human services, mediation, and advocacy. While each title carries its own list of duties and responsibilities the human service worker must fill the role of each in order to be fully successful in the field of human services. Some of the largest human service organizations not only recognize the connection but also promote the use of each. References Good Reads.

(2011). Quotes About Advocacy. Retrieved from http://www. oodreads.

com/quotes/free-essays/advocacy National Association of Social Workers. (2011). Social Work Speaks Abstracts. Retrieved from http://www.

socialworkers. org/resources/abstracts/abstracts/socialServices. asp Special Education & Learning Disabilities Resources. (2010). Special Needs and Special Education.

Retrieved from http://www. iser. com/CAadvocacy. html U. S.

Department of Health and Human Services. (2011). Mediation. Retrieved from http://www. hhs. gov/dab/divisions/adr/mediation/process.

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