Support the people you serve to speak for themselves, when they freely choose to, with their safety and their choice above the campaign at every point.
In Build Power with Others and the People You Serve, after you have begun genuinely centering the community, when someone you serve may want to speak in their own voice.
Some voices you do not put forward, however powerful they would be. Participation is always the person's free choice; a no, or a later change of mind, is honored fully, with no effect on the services they receive. Where speaking could expose the person to retaliation, harm, or shame, you do not put them forward. Where someone is in a vulnerable position, or dependent on your services for whom a request may not feel refusable, take extra care that the choice is genuinely free. Consent and dignity for their story follow the storytelling ethics in brand, awareness and storytelling. Privacy for protected populations routes to compliance, legal and risk. Any real safety concern routes to the right professional. This gate protects a person, and it outranks any advocacy goal.
The most powerful voice on any issue is the voice of the person living it, and supporting the people you serve to speak for themselves is the fullest form of centering them. But it carries real risk, and it is only right when the person freely chooses it and stays safe. If anyone feels pressured, or if speaking could endanger them, you do not proceed; no advocacy win is worth harm to the person you claim to serve. When in doubt, protect the person and slow down. Governed by the Centering the Community Guide.
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