[Counselor_Educ] Advocacy for Upward Bound

[Erby, Adrienne]

Hello all,
I wanted to share an advocacy opportunity for Ohio University Counselor Education Program students and alumni through the counselor education program listserv. The Ohio University Upward Bound<https://www.ohio.edu/education/centers-and-partnerships/centers/upward-bound/> program will be permanently closing on June 30 due to the loss of grant funds from the U.S. Department of Education. See the following news story for more information: https://woub.org/2017/06/10/ou-upward-bound-on-its-way-out/.

Many of you may be familiar with this program, which has facilitated equitable access to higher education for many low-income and potential first-generation students in our region. Some of our counselor education students have been student participants in their high school years, have worked their way through the counselor education program as Upward Bound graduate assistants, and have provided career psychoeducation to Upward Bound students to further their career goals. In the 20/20 vision for the future of counseling<https://www.counseling.org/knowledge-center/20-20-a-vision-for-the-future-of-counseling/consensus-definition-of-counseling>, we define counseling as a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families, and groups to accomplish mental health, wellness, education, and career goals<https://www.counseling.org/knowledge-center/20-20-a-vision-for-the-future-of-counseling/consensus-definition-of-counseling>. Counselor advocacy is promoting social justice in each of these areas for the clients we serve and the communities in which we live and work. Consistent with the American Counseling Association (ACA) Advocacy Competencies<http://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/competencies/advocacy_competencies.pdf?sfvrsn=9)>, we have an opportunity to engage in social/political advocacy in the systems that affect our students and clients. I invite you to consider this call to action and engage in social/political advocacy as a constituent, and as a counselor-in-training, counseling practitioner, or counselor educator.

Thank you for your consideration. Please see the attached for ways to get involved. For additional resources, see ACA's Government Affairs webpage<https://www.counseling.org/government-affairs/public-policy> and tip sheet for effective advocacy with members of Congress<https://www.counseling.org/docs/public-policy-resources-reports/effective_advocacy-2011.pdf?sfvrsn=2>. Thank you to Dr. Courtney Koestler of PCOE's OHIO Center for Equity in Mathematics and Science for her advocacy work and sharing this call to action.

Thanks!

Adrienne N. Erby, PhD, NCC
Counselor Education Program Coordinator
Lecturer and Interim Director of the George E. Hill Center
Department of Counseling and Higher Education
The Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of Education
Ohio University
McCracken Hall 432V
100 E. Union St.
Athens, OH 45701

Phone: (740) 593-4457
Fax: (740) 593-0477
Email: erby at ohio.edu  <mailto:erby at ohio.edu>
Website: www.ohio.edu<http://www.ohio.edu/>



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.ohio.edu/pipermail/counselor_educ/attachments/20170612/2aa8d650/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Take Action for Upward Bound.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 221488 bytes
Desc: Take Action for Upward Bound.jpg
URL: <http://listserv.ohio.edu/pipermail/counselor_educ/attachments/20170612/2aa8d650/attachment-0001.jpg>