Advocacy Program Launch
We anticipate building an Advocacy Program that uses a range of strategies: public awareness raising, leadership capacity building within our community, coalition building, and elected official awareness raising (town, county, state, and federal levels).
In 2021, we formed an Advocacy Committee comprised of Board, Staff, and Community members to help guide Room One's advocacy efforts. We have spent time learning reporting requirements at the State and Federal levels as a non-profit organization engaging in this work. With support from Bolder Advocacy, we were encouraged to know that non-profits not only can engage in advocacy and lobbying, but that we should! In their words, nonprofits are often the ones closest to the community and the lived experiences that policymakers and lawmakers need to understand.
As we prepare to bring on a new staff member to lead this program for the first time, our Advocacy Committee spent time identifying what is foundational about how Room One engages in advocacy.
In brief, we are committed to:
- Amplifying the voices and experiences of those with lived experience
- Being responsive to community
- Building power and capacity
- Focusing on strengths and resilience
- Working in collaboration, partnership, and allyship with other community organizations
Based on our strengths and experience, we anticipate building an Advocacy Program that uses a range of strategies: public awareness raising, leadership capacity building within our community, coalition building, and elected official awareness raising (town, county, state, and federal levels). From here, the sky is the limit in terms of what we can do - together!