Last Word 9 July 2025

Last word: Voice

The word "voice" in bold black letters on a light gray background. The letter "o" is stylized with concentric purple sound wave lines inside it.

Isaac Harvey MBE

Disability advocate

reading time: 2 Mins

Accessibility & inclusion Communities

It can be harder to stand up for yourself than for everyone else

What does it mean to have a voice? Not in the way of speaking or creating content, but in how I show up for myself when it really matters. Especially when dealing with local authorities and trying to secure basic support. I’ve started to see just how different it can be to use your voice for others versus using it for yourself.

I’ve always understood advocacy – I’ve done it for years. But self-advocacy is different. Speaking out for the wider disability community feels easier than speaking out for myself and my own disabilities. When I advocate for others, I share stories, raise awareness and so much more. But when I have to advocate for myself, it means talking about everything that I can’t do in my own life. And that can become challenging.

To access everything that I am entitled to means having to say things that make me uncomfortable. I’ve had to share my vulnerabilities, again and again, with people who often don’t listen. Or be punished for showcasing what I can do. I have a platform that allows me to be seen and heard, but so many don’t. Or, if they do, it doesn’t carry the weight it should.

Voice is not just about speaking. It can also be written. It can be shown through creativity or quiet determination. I’ve used it in blogs, videos and public speaking engagements – moments where I’ve tried to turn difficult experiences into something that might help someone else feel less alone. And even though those moments are meaningful, they don’t take away how hard it is to keep fighting for your own rights.

There’s also this strange disconnect between being seen as ‘inspirational’ in public and being questioned behind closed doors about whether I really need help. My voice has helped me achieve high accolades, including receiving an MBE. Yet in the same breath, I still can’t secure the basics. A lack of communication from systems meant to help suggests that they’re not using their voices appropriately.

So yes, I’ve used my voice to advocate. To self-advocate. To raise awareness. To create change. But I’ve also used it to survive.

When we advocate effectively, we create pathways of opportunity, mobility not just for ourselves, but for communities who have long been limited by silence and systemic barriers.

Maybe that’s what voice is really about. Not just being heard but being believed. Not just having something to say, but seeing actionable steps being put in place.

And maybe the real question is: if even the loudest voices are dismissed, what happens to the ones that are barely heard?

Isaac Harvey MBE is a disability advocate, creator and speaker who uses his voice to challenge systems, share lived experiences and amplify the voices of others who too often go unheard.

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