Advocacy Learning Log/Reflection Paper: The honesty of my Learning. By: Shannon Krystine Sperberg. Western Washington University, HSP 404

Transcription

1 Advocacy Learning Log/Reflection Paper: The honesty of my Learning By: Shannon Krystine Sperberg Western Washington University, HSP 404

2 As a student in the human services program, I feel that our major encourages us to become advocates and stand up for social justice within our community. Our program teaches us how advocacy can help implement change by impacting the decisions made by our government. But how do we impact those decisions without understanding the process? How can someone create effective change in their community having diminutive interest in politics? Overall, what does it take for someone to find the importance of their political voice? In the beginning of the quarter I felt like I knew what it meant to be an advocate. I understood the idea of standing beside others and supporting a cause. In fact, I think advocacy is something that is practiced among almost every human service professional. But, how does advocacy affect social change? Even though advocacy is a familiar topic to most of us in the human services program, I feel that I had little knowledge of our political system and the concept of lobbying itself. Politics has always been like a foreign language to me. I tend to distance myself from politics due to the confrontation and conflict that seems to arise from it. I usually have the courage to voice my opinions; however I lack courage when it comes to defending them. Finding my political voice has always been a challenge for me. I did not register to vote until this year (and to be honest it s because my mom told me to) and until lobby day, I had not taken the opportunity to write or meet with my legislature. Overall before this quarter, I hardly knew about our Washington State Legislature, the process of lobbying, and how to impact our decision-makers. As a future human service professional, the laws our legislature makes or change, can impact the delivery of our services. Using the find my legislature website was the first time I had explored information about the representatives in my district. I am registered for Peirce County, so it was interesting to compare my representatives to the representatives here in

3 Whatcom County. One thing I learned was that the representatives in my district are all Republican, whereas in Whatcom County they are Democrat. I also learned that my representatives serve on committees that advocate for higher education, health, agriculture and rural economic development, and government appropriations. Looking into the committees my representatives serve allowed me to gain a better understanding of where they may have a higher influence, and allowed me to pin point areas my representatives might pay closer attention to. Exploring this website influenced me to take a closer look at the people representing my district. It helped me decipher whether or not they would support bills related to my interests and human services, and how I might approach them on Lobby day. Before looking at the legislature website, I felt more connected to the representatives serving Whatcom County, since those are the representatives I hear the most about. I enjoyed learning more about my district and the people who were chosen to represent Peirce County. Along with learning about my legislature, learning how to lobby, and attending lobby day in Olympia were the greatest learning experiences I have had this quarter. As Lytton said, what we do here in Olympia affects your lives at home. (Personal communication, February 18 th, 2013). This was put in perspective the moment we arrived in Olympia. Hundreds of people were there that day lobbying for bills and issues they felt connected to. It was inspiring to see people speaking out and taking action by participating in rallies outside the capital building. The different acts of lobbying I observed during our time in Olympia reminded me of the continuum Liz Jennings presented in Hope Corbin s class. The continuum she displayed helped demonstrate the overall range of lobbying and political action. The beginning of the continuum starts with small actions such as research, public education, and reporting. Illustrated in the middle of the continuum are somewhat larger acts such as marches, rallies, legislative education,

4 and lobbying. The end of the continuum is where the larger acts take place. These acts include taking entities to court, holding your representatives accountable, and getting out the vote. Looking at political action as a continuum was helpful for me to gage where I would resonate on the scale, and how the range can fluctuate from simply providing research to ballot initiating. I thought Olympia was a perfect example of this continuum. Some people were there to provide research and education, and others were lobbying for personal bills and organizations. Lobby day and meeting with representatives felt like a whirlwind of information. The overall prep that went into lobby day seemed demanding and repetitive, but once we scheduled our appointments, it felt good to be prepared. The main things I learned about meeting with your legislature connect with the advice that was given to our class by Dave Finet: Accept change, be proactive, be engaged, develop relationships, be strategic, create a plan, and participate. (Personal communication, February 12 th, 2013). All of these concepts help bring issues to the forefront, and educate our decision makers at all levels. Being a part of lobby day made me feel like I was really participating in decision-making. Sitting down with representatives and providing them with a detailed fact sheet made me feel like they were engaged and actually listening. For lobby day, I chose to support a bill I was personally passionate about. I lobbied for HB 1204 concerning sibling visitation for children in foster care. Presenting the importance of this bill to our representatives provided advocacy a whole new meaning. As they say, a life lived for others is a life worth living. (Anonymous) These children may not be able to advocate for themselves, but this is why we are needed. If we aren t sharing our voice, then who is? Getting involved in the legislative process is not just an appropriate role for nonprofits it is vital. If nonprofits aren t speaking up for their often-vulnerable communities, chances are

5 nobody else is either. (Castilla, 2013). Getting the opportunity to share information about this bill gave me confidence in my voice. It helped me realize how privileged I am to be given this right and these opportunities. After our Olympia trip, I felt embarrassed at how little my participation in political action has been in the past. I feel that this trip not only encouraged my voice and participation for the future, but helped me become a better advocate. Another aspect I took away from our Olympia trip was the importance of cultivating relationships. A large part of lobbying is connecting and establishing relationships with your legislature. Creating a professional relationship with those who have power and influence in decision-making can help your voice be heard. I have learned that elected officials want to hear from you. By participating in political action such as voting in elections and sharing your opinions with your representatives, you are helping cultivate those relationships. As Lytton stated in Olympia, When we think the same we make the worst decisions. (Personal communication, February 18 th, 2013). Decision-makers should be challenged and provided with alternate perspectives. Providing research, education, and your opinion may not change the world, but it could influence a decision. Overall, the knowledge and experiences I have gained this quarter have helped challenge my previous outlook on politics. I realize that not all politics are as complicated as they seem. Not all politics involve confrontation and conflict. If conflict does arise, I am now able to trust my opinions, and know that in order to implement social change and justice, voices like mine need to be heard. After having my first experience meeting with a representative, investing time in research about my legislature, and advocating for a legislative bill, I feel I have witnessed first-hand how simple it is to participate and engage in local community action. With these experiences, I feel I have personally progressed towards the middle of the political action

6 continuum. These experiences have helped shape my understanding of our political system, and what it means to be an advocate. According to Alliance for Justice, Advocacy is the most effective tool nonprofits and foundations can use to advance their mission and serve their communities. (Alliance for Justice, 2013). Therefore, these experiences have shown me how politics play an important role in the survival of nonprofit organizations and the lives of human service professionals. I hope that in the future I will continue to utilize my rights, privileges, and voice to advocate for social justice and community change.

7 Learning Log Date What I learned Level of interest Other connections/thoughts How to utilize the find your legislator website. Found out my district # and the name of my senator & representatives. (Had little knowledge of this before) -first time looking into my district Today I learned about the Alliance for Justice Website. This website taught me the difference between 501(c)(3) and 501(h) status. -I also learned about direct lobbying & grassroots lobbying. -Found out what nonprofits cannot do in terms of lobbying Found a bill today! HB 1250 concerning runaway youth. -Low interest since I feel I am more connected with Whatcom representatives than Pierce County (where I am registered) -I found this information extremely interesting! I have never heard of 501(h) status this can be useful for the future. -I am excited about this bill since it is This website is awesome since it allows you to look at ANY district! -learning about nonprofit lobbying today inspired me to attend the lobbying 101 next week. I think hearing more about lobbying in a nonprofit role will be helpful! -Listening to Liz Jennings made me feel

8 (Modifying reporting requirements for licensed youth shelters.) -Found out the prime sponsor & how to track the bills progress! -Realized today how helpful the bill information site is! -Attended Lobbying 101: Listened to guest speaker Liz Jennings and learned the concept of a lobbying/advocacy continuum. (very helpful chart) Today I took time to watch the public hearing on my bill. The hearing was held in the House of Early Learning & Human Services Committee. The prime Sponsor (Senator Orwall) spoke, as well as the director of the Mockingbird society. -Learned more about the public hearing process (reading of the bill, testimonials etc.) something I am passionate about. -The lobbying continuum that Liz Jennings showed us was a helpful visual for me. It allowed me to see where I lie on the continuum, in terms of lobbying and advocacy. -Watching the video of the public hearing was inspiring. It made me appreciate that this is the bill I chose to lobby for! -I enjoyed listening to those who are in support of the bill. like I do not involve myself in enough political action within the community. (Nervous and excited for lobby day to come) -It seems like the bill is moving forward -The testimony from Jim Theofolis (director of Mockingbird Society) stated the exact reasons why I want to support this bill Today our guest speaker Frank -I thought our guest -I am interested in

9 Ordway spoke about lobbying. He taught us about the differences between the house and senate. -I created my first ever fact sheet. Even after looking at examples, I was unsure of exactly what to put on our fact sheet for our bill, however creating the fact sheet helped put in perspective what we would be addressing during our meeting with our legislators. (Background of the bill, its importance, who s supporting it, why we want it passed etc.) -I attempted to make appointments with my legislators, they were all busy Monday the 18 th therefore I ended up ing Senator Randi Becker (Waiting to hear back) Today Dave Finet taught our class about OPPCO being a Community Action Agency. -One of the most important things I speaker was very informative. I felt like he needed more time than he was given. -Creating the fact sheet was fun; however I wish examples were given in class. -I did not want to make an appointment with my legislator Only because I am nervous they will be mean. -I loved listening to Dave Finet. I was happy that he recognized me (since learning more about the League of Education Voters. -I like that they advocate for early learning & higher education! -OPPCO is an amazing organization! I am so glad I intern there!

10 took away from today is to accept change and be proactive. -Dave Finet highlighted the importance of being engaged and forming relationships LOBBY DAY!!! -Learned that meeting with representatives is not as scary as I thought. - The original bill I was tracking (HB 1250) passed last night, so I teamed up with a group & lobbied for sibling visitation rights for children in foster care. (HB 1204) -I learned that I dislike Vincent Buys -I learned that being in Olympia made all the prep work (aka homework) worth it. -Quote from Lytton: When we I am currently an intern at Oppco!) -I like how he said to not be afraid to engage & educate decision makers at all levels of government -Olympia was a great experience! I am glad I went. Originally I was really nervous and unsure about this trip, but after being in Olympia & lobbying for a bill that deserves our voice I would do it again! -I appreciate being a part of a community action agency! -Lytton: What we do here in Olympia affects your lives at home. (That quote really put it in perspective for me we all need to be proactive & involved in decision making!)

11 think the same, we make the worse decisions

12 References Alliance for Justice (2003). Worry-free lobbying for nonprofits. Retrieved from: Nonprofits.pdf Bill information. Retrieved from: Castilla, I. (2013, 2 21). Yes nonprofits, you can lobby. Retrieved from Find you legislator (n.d.). Retrieved from: