Aftercare in Activism

✨absolutely✨ pic.twitter.com/03iUVUtNsw

— 🤠 (@heavensbvnny) September 15, 2024

At the Anglicare panel, we were asked advice about supporting people with lived experience to participate in awareness, activism, PR and so forth. I referred to a couple of concepts borrowed from other spheres – looking after your “talent” and “Aftercare”.

As the tellers of our stories, we own them, we are the ones that went through the childhood, the illness, the trauma, racism, that a not-for-profit, or a politician, or other person or group promising to do good with this is looking to use to push forward their agenda. Of course it’s often not nefarious – some people are genuinely doing good or at least believing they are. And so, like you would if you were using a famous child star, puppy or washed up celeb to promote your brand of toilet paper, you need to treat the talent right.

The talent also needs to know they are the talent. They can’t be being talked into doing promotion for your cause out of guilt or sense of obligation because they have received some help in their time of need. It needs to be mutually beneficial, that might be a simple as paying your talent – giving them payment for the photo shoot, paying them for the article written about how awesome being supported by your organisation was. Because they are giving over more of themselves in this instance. They are selling their image, their story, their trauma, for you to promote your cause or service or product or scheme.

Us talent understand that different places have different budgets, but there are too many out there making way more from us than we’ll ever feel or be helped by them. Be the bigger party and start offering it. Start offerings stipends upfront for your clients to speak at your events about how awesome your are. This isn’t just for their time, it’s for their skill, and for them giving their story over to the audience and any trauma that comes from reliving that for your morning tea fundraiser.

The other concept I brought up, with a giggle, was Aftercare. A concept from kink communities, but very relevant when someone with lived experience is engaged for that lived experience. Not to say all kink is traumatic, but the kink side at least brings up discussing boundaries, setting limits, hell even safe words. On the panel I was on, I knew the other panelist and the facilitator and could tap out of the conversation if it got too tricky at the moment. But it’s discussing that before hand. Running through boundaries and questions and topics beforehand. What if you freeze in the kink play scene or speaking onstage. Who knows the signs to look out for. Is your talent someone with known mental health difficulties, diagnosed anxiety, or not diagnosed, and may know when they are getting past what they’re comfortable with. Ask if they need a support person with them, or who to call on.

After the event, what does your talent need? Are they able to stay on and chat with others or will they need time to regroup, duck to the loo, have a cold drink and then get back to it. Or is that it for the day, call them tomorrow to check in?

I’m still new to all this, but just know that your person with their lived experience, the talent, is vulnerable. You often have a lot of power in their relationship, particularly if you are or have been a service provider for them. People may not feel safe to back out if the situation goes beyond their comfort, but you need to make sure it doesn’t. You need to look after your talent, and make sure they are safe before, during and after. You want them having a great experience, and wanting to come back to do more, to let their peers know you’re safe to work with. That you’re one of the good ones.

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