The Dadvocating Podcast
The Dadvocating Podcast
Podcast Description
Host Simcha Weinstein; Brooklynite, rabbi, author, clinician‑in‑training, family peer advocate, and proud “dadvocate” talks disability advocacy through a dad’s lens. Hear unvarnished, strength‑based conversations with advocates, parents, self‑advocates, systems leaders, policymakers, clinicians, changemakers, and the occasional disruptor about where we’ve been and where we still need to go. Come for the advocacy, stay for the dad jokes.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on disability advocacy, personal stories of empowerment, and systemic change within the disability rights movement. Each episode features themes such as legal battles for disability rights, personal journeys of parents advocating for their children, and discussion of current policies affecting the disabled community. For instance, the debut episode highlights Willie Mae Goodman’s advocacy journey, touching on significant issues like abuse in institutional settings and transformative legal action.
Host Simcha Weinstein; Brooklynite, rabbi, author, clinician‑in‑training, family peer advocate, and proud “dadvocate” talks disability advocacy through a dad’s lens. Hear unvarnished, strength‑based conversations with advocates, parents, self‑advocates, systems leaders, policymakers, clinicians, changemakers, and the occasional disruptor about where we’ve been and where we still need to go. Come for the advocacy, stay for the dad jokes.
In this episode, we sit down with self-advocate Shamika Andrews, Community Outreach Coordinator at the Self-Advocacy Association of New York State. Shamika shares how growing up in an inaccessible neighborhood helped shape her passion for disability rights and advocacy.
She reflects on key moments that launched her advocacy journey, from challenging an inaccessible graduation stage to becoming involved with Miss Wheelchair New York and working directly with policymakers.
We discuss the power of storytelling in advocacy, the importance of mental health supports in the disability community, and the principle of “nothing about us without us.”
Shamika also offers advice to new self-advocates: value your voice, ask for help when needed, and remember that everyday advocacy matters.
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