On World Mental Health Day 2024, the ABA Children’s Immigration Law Academy (CILA)is excited to share a new resource with advocates, “Self-Care for Advocates Working with Unaccompanied Immigrant Youth.”
Compassion and empathy drive this work, and those who engage in this work often find themselves in a state of compassion fatigue at the end of the day. Burnout and retention are very real phenomena in this legal sphere, as vicarious trauma, high caseloads, and more can promote exhaustion. Caring for others is not sustainable if you are not caring for yourself, and compassion fatigue can be inevitable if an advocate is not incorporating self-care into their routine. CILA created this resource for advocates to learn more about self-care and all that it is (and what it is not), tips on practicing self-care, and the overall importance of self-care to one’s mental, physical, and emotional health. If you are new to your self-care journey or if you need a refresher to help you prioritize self-care, we hope that this resource serves as a good starting point, and we welcome you to the personal and fulfilling endeavor to taking care of yourself.
The resource is available here. You will need a free CILA account to access it. Sign up for an account here. Contact CILA at cila@abacila.org if you need additional assistance accessing this resource.