Citizen Advocacy is a powerful, grassroots initiative that fosters voluntary, enduring, one-to-one relationships. Citizen Advocacy programs connect ordinary citizens and people with developmental disabilities, who are too often vulnerable to isolation or exploitation. The Citizen Advocate learns to understand, respond to, and represent the person’s interests as if they were the advocate’s own. The advocate brings the person’s gifts and concerns into the rhythm of ordinary community life, while protecting against abuse, neglect, or social isolation. By supporting these ongoing, potentially life-long, relationships, Citizen Advocacy fosters a community where all people’s gifts and talents can be shared and celebrated.
In Georgia, the Georgia Advocacy Office (GAO) has played a foundational role in sustaining this effort since its inception in 1977. GAO has prioritized the support and funding of Citizen Advocacy offices across the state, recognizing that these personal relationships are among the most powerful ways to protect the rights and well-being of people with disabilities. Through this partnership, Citizen Advocates stand with individuals not only as allies but as friends, protectors, and champions of their inherent value, dignity, and autonomy.
