Advocacy and Protection of Civil Rights

Advocacy and Protection of Civil Rights

American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults Outreach Worker Handbook
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ADVOCACY AND PROTECTION OF CIVIL RIGHTS
All Americans are affected by the actions our government takes. However, blindness entitles individuals to participate in certain government programs. As a result, people who are blind feel the impact of government actions more directly. Blind people simply need to know more about government than their sighted neighbors.
American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults outreach workers are frequently called upon to teach blind people how to make public programs work for them. Outreach philosophy is a paraphrase of Gandhi's philosophy: "If you give me a fish, I will eat for a day. If you teach me to fish, I'll eat for a lifetime." Your job is to teach blind people to "fish" for themselves.
To further this self-help objective, the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults sponsors seminars and encourages self-organization among the blind. You may be called upon to plan and conduct seminars on Social Security law, rehabilitation theory and practice, or nondiscrimination statutes. The executive director can help you find additional resource people to take part in these seminars.
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