This week’s Advocate Spotlight is Shirley H. Young. Shirley is a sexual assault and domestic violence advocate at Metro Centers for Community Advocacy. She provides emotional support and resources to survivors to help them heal. 

Shirley’s favorite thing about being an advocate: “I use my knowledge and experience to support clients as they work towards their own goals. I see how resilient people are and how hard they work to survive negative circumstances and learn to thrive.”

Challenges for advocacy: “It is challenging to hear stories of extreme violence and emotional pain on a daily basis, and not be able to fix what is lacking in our society with a magic wand. It is hard to work to make change, and we do it every day, little by little.”

Fun fact about Shirley: “I was born in the Big Apple and live in the Big Easy.”