Book of Self Advocacy (1)

Who? What? Where? When? How?

RESOURCES ARE THE PEOPLE , PLACES, OR THINGS, THAT CAN HELP AND
SUPPORT YOU!

It is very important to know what your resources are in your community, school, and,
personal life so that you can successfully advocate for yourself!

Our resources can be:
mental health like your school counselor
medical like your doctor
financial like a job
basic needs like a food pantry or a shelter
academic like your teachers
employment like a job website (indeed.com)
and much more...

HAVE NO FEAR, HELP IS NEAR!

Yup! Help and support is all around you!
The city of Reading has many great resources and support
services for you and your family. There is help in your school!
There is also help in your own home. The people who are around
us most (like our families, friends, care takers, siblings,
grandparents, teachers, counselors, and others who are close to
us) often know how to help us best! If they can’t help us, or if they
need help too, you can use the resources in your community and
school to help you all!

Let’s hunt for RESOURCES!

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Our home is the closest and fastest resources we can access
because WE LIVE THERE!

We can quickly find an adult that can give us information or help us
get the things we need. Part of our home is also the people in our
personal lives like our other family, friends, and neighbors. Our
homes should be our quickest resource for shelter, food, support,
and safety! Sometimes we don’t have some of those things at home
and that’s when you can use your other resources like SCHOOL and
your COMMUNITY!

** if you often don’t have food at home or feel unsafe please let someone
(like your counselor or teachers) know right away so you can get help.

Did you know?....
Central Middle School is located at 215 North 12th street

School is another resources that we can access quickly most
of the time, but not always. School resources are available
Monday through Friday and generally during the school year.
When school is closed it is important to know that we have
Community resources to help us too.

At school we can find our teachers, counselors, the nurse, the
principal. social workers. aides, and many other people that
are there specifically to HELP US! Their job is to help us
succeed and to check on our safety and needs. School can
help our family too by giving us information about where to find
the things we need at home!

Did you know?
Our city is: Reading our county is: Berks Our state is: Pennsylvania

This community has many ways to help and support you and your family!

● When someone is sick they can go to places like the Reading Hospital or The
Berks Community Health Centers

● When someone is in danger THEY SHOULD ALWAYS CALL 911 FIRST. But
they can also call places like Safe Berks and get help or information about how
to get to a safe place.

● Places like Opportunity House or Family Promise can give you a place to
stay. Also places like Berks Community Action Program can help your family
pay bills and rent.

● The Salvation Army also helps with living and bills. They provide food or
groceries too just like the Berks Schuylkill Helping Harvest Food Bank.

There are many more organizations that are happy to help you and your family
with many different things you may need!

Name How can they help?

Click the links to find information!

Police / Firefighters/ Emergencies- if you are physically hurt, someone is going to hurt you or someone else, in danger, lost, fire, an accident, see
Ambulance someone else that’s hurt, someone breaks into your house… any emergency DIAL 911 !
Important: 911 IS NOT FOR PRANKS OR JOKES OR NON-EMERGENCY THINGS. PLAYING WITH 911 CALLS IS A CRIME
Salvation Army
Berks county Assistance Office Programs include social services, housing, education, referral services and much more
Family Promise
Opportunity House Caseworkers are available at the county assistance office to help you and answer your questions. They offer help with
Safe Berks home needs, cash, food, health, childcare and more
Provides services to homeless families, youth and individuals facing a housing crisis. Also helps with employment, shelter, bills, and
rent.

Helps with emergency shelter, food, clothing, child
care, and abuse counseling for kids

Helps with emergency abuse shelter, legals services, and counseling.

Hispanic Center (Centro Hispano) Helps with scholarships, referrals, interpreting for Spanish speakers, activities for elderly people, peer mentorig, financial education,
student career planning, and taxes.

BCAP (Berks Community Action Helps with rent, bills, homeless assistance, pre-k access, budgeting skills, employment skills, mentoring, taxes, parenting clases, and
Program) more.

Other information for you and Click for a list of housing resources
your family! Click for a list of food resources
Click for a list of other resources

OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Guess what? … you can call the police department for
information and help that is NOT an emergency too.

Your local police station :
Reading Police Non-Emergency # 610-655-6116

*if you are in danger always call 911 right away!
REMEMBER THAT 911 IS NOT FOR PRANKS OR JOKES.
MAKING A FALSE CALL TO 911 CAN HAVE YOU ARRESTED!

When you search but can’t find the help you
need you can contact the information hotline!

Just dial … 211
They are open all day every day! You can talk to someone that

will help you find what you need!



YOU HOLD THE
KEYS TO
SELF-ADVOCACY
IN YOUR LIFE…

Let’s reflect on our journey to self-advocacy!

We have learned that…

Self-advocacy is knowing what you need and making decisions that help you
get it!

Self-advocacy is based on ...

KNOWLEDGE MAKING
LEADERSHIP COMMUNICATION INFORMED DECISIONS
(AWARENESS OF SELF
AND YOUR RIGHTS)

It is important to know how the people, places, and things around us can help us when
we need help. It is important to understand that it’s okay to ask for help to get the things

we need and know who and how to ask

Knowledge is… information or skills that you get from experience (doing
things) or from education (learning things). Knowledge only has power if you
understand how to use it to your advantage.

Self-awareness is the first step to being a great advocate. It is the ability to
identify our feelings, beliefs, strengths, and weaknesses. It also means
understanding how our feelings and thoughts affect what we choose to do.

Rights are things you are allowed to have and do as a human being and a child. They
are there to protect you and make sure you are taken care of. Always stand up for
your rights, but remember that they are not privileges. Privilege are the things you get
by earning them through work, good behavior, or gifts.

Communication is sharing and receiving information with others. Good
communication is clear, respectful, and achieves its purpose. Miscommunication is
when the information that we share is not understood as we intended and can cause
problems between people.
To practice being good communicators we must listen, speak or write with clarity,
respect, have patience, and be confident

Leadership is what leaders do! Being a leader doesn’t come from having power over people or being at a
higher level. Leadership comes from your ability to connect with people and influence them. Anyone can be a
leader if they have the right skills. You can be a leader in your own life by making appropriate choices. Leading
yourself means being able to empower and motivate yourself to use your knowledge and skills to find and ask
for the things or help you need!

Autonomy is the ability and the right to make your own decisions. We can make our own decisions, but we
don’t always get to choose the consequences. This is why it is important to make decisions that have positive
consequences.

Informed decisions are the choices we make after we get information, think about the options and
consequences, and choose what is most helpful to our situation. Making informed decisions requires that we
think about the benefits, risks, options, and a plan. Negative emotions can lead to poor decisions that are not
helpful. Always try to make decisions when you are calm and can think clearly about the situation.

Resources are the things, places, and people that can help you get
what you need or support you in difficult times. There are resources in
your home, school, and community! We can find resources by talking
to the people around us, visiting or calling the places in our
community that offer services, asking the people at school, or using
the internet. Your resources are there for you to use whenever you
need them! Don’t be afraid to use them!

Yes...Sometimes things
don't work out

And that is OKAY! There are solutions...

Yes, sometimes we have all the skills and do all the right things, but we don’t get the
results we want or the help we need.
It’s okay!

If you use your skills and take the right steps to ask and find help or support, but you
don’t get it right away or from the person you asked, YOU CAN FIND SOMEONE ELSE
OR GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. The cool thing about self-advocacy is that you can use it

anytime and you can always adapt it to whatever situation you are in.

IF YOU NEED HELP & SUPPORT DON’T GIVE UP… MOVE ON TO
THE NEXT RESOURCE!

It has been a great journey!

1.Your needs are important!

2. It is okay to ask for help! We all need help and support!

3. Self-awareness, Leadership, communication, and informed-decisions are

important skills that you will use through life!

4. We need to keep practicing our self-advocacy skills in order
to get better at it. It is a journey; we learn as we go.

5.You are your best advocate, because nobody knows you
better than YOU!

6. You have resources all around you and there are many people
that want to see you succeed! USE YOUR RESOURCES AND
SYSTEMS OF SUPPORT.

Be proud of your efforts and keep striving to
be the best self-advocate you can be!