Advocacy and Linkage to Resources
This domain tests whether you can connect people to real resources without doing the work for them. Items cover advocacy levels, warm handoffs, resource navigation, recovery capital, and eligibility barriers.
Three levels of advocacy
Self-advocacy: coaching the person to speak for themselves, with scripts and rehearsal. Individual or case advocacy: intervening on a specific person's behalf with an agency or landlord. Systems advocacy: changing policies, waitlists, or discriminatory practices affecting many people. Peers do all three; self-advocacy is usually the first choice because it builds durable skill.
Linkage versus referral
A referral is a phone number. A warm handoff is a direct, personal connection - calling together, introducing the person to a named contact, staying until the appointment is scheduled, and following up afterward. Know the actual details: eligibility, hours, cost, wait time, required documents (ID, insurance, proof of income), and language access. Outdated information damages trust more than admitting uncertainty.
The resource map
Housing (recovery housing, Oxford House, rapid rehousing), employment (IPS supported employment, vocational rehabilitation, second-chance employers), benefits (SSI/SSDI, SNAP, Medicaid), transportation, childcare, legal aid and record sealing, medication for opioid use disorder, harm reduction and naloxone access, mutual aid, faith communities, peer-run organizations, VA services, and 988. Recovery capital - the total resources a person can draw on - is the frame: relationships, health, housing, employment, and community all count.
Worked example
A man on parole wants work but has a felony and no driver's license. Do not simply list employers. Explore the goal in his words, assess recovery capital, then sequence: vocational rehabilitation or a second-chance workforce program; legal aid for record sealing or expungement; a state ID and transportation plan; and mock interview practice so he can self-advocate. Make the first call with him, confirm the contact's name, and set a follow-up date.
Traps that cost marks
Deciding for the person or doing what they can do themselves, which builds dependence rather than agency. Rescuing with your own money or resources. Promising an outcome you cannot control. Skipping follow-up. Ignoring the person's preferences, culture, language, or past negative experiences with systems. Sharing information across providers without a signed release.