Alouise Urness, Community & Member Organizer

Since I last wrote about the Emerging Advocates Program, a lot has happened.

• Alicia met with her state senator over coffee.
• Dawnell recorded her experience of homelessness with StoryCorps.
• Mindy arranged a meeting with her representative on her way down to Olympia.
• Julia pulled her legislator off the House floor to try to change her mind about a bill.
• Nick M. and Susan were named Real Change Vendors of the Year.
• Robin volunteered at a fundraiser for housing champions.
• Lisa ran into a legislator at a community event and knew what she wanted to say.
• Kirk was interviewed by a reporter.
• August is in Washington, D.C. advocating on federal homelessness issues.
• Rebecca is speaking out on tenants’ rights.
• Andrea now uses social media to advocate for homelessness issues.
• Shelby was featured in a press conference and is working to help get a bill introduced.
• Nick R. is active with the Real Change Speakers’ Bureau and Path with Art.
• Jamal now knows the staffer for his state senator.
• Glenda is finding new ways to support her peers.
• Kim has arranged to lead local legislators on a tour of the only homeless shelter in her town.

These are some of what advocates have been up to since completing the program. It’s exciting to get calls, emails, and visits from the 38 individuals who have completed the program so far. I get to hear about and support their endeavors and, I’m excited to see the Housing Alliance’s connections growing through the grassroots work of our enthusiastic program participants!

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The advocates aren’t the only ones who’ve been busy! This summer, Housing Alliance staff ran the Emerging Advocates workshop series not once, but three times due to increased demand. We worked with one group of Emerging Advocates who met on Monday evenings, and another group on Tuesday afternoons. They heard from Housing Alliance and Washington Housing Alliance Action Fund staff on a broad range of issues including the importance of political work and using social media for advocacy. We brought in community experts as well. Nancy Amidei of the Civic Engagement Project taught advocacy skills. Western Regional Advocacy Project’s Paul Boden shared a history-based framework for understanding homelessness. And several former EAP participants returned to share what they had learned. A state representative even stopped by one of the sessions to meet participants.

In early September, these two groups joined together for a day trip to Olympia, where our own Ben Miksch (formerly a legislative staffer) led them through the journey of a bill becoming law as they moved through the spaces where the process occurs. Next came a mock hearing in a senate hearing room where several advocates practiced testifying, others tried out the lawmakers’ roles, and all got a deeper look into the legislative process. To wrap up the day, we pulled chairs into a circle in that same hearing room for a wide-ranging conversation with the Housing Alliance’s lobbyist and two legislators’ aides. Tara Jo Heineke, of Senator Karen Keiser’s office (33rd District-Kent), shared an incredibly moving story about a letter she wrote long ago as a young advocate and labor organizer, which was instrumental to passing a bill. Senator Adam Kline’s (37th District-Seattle) aide Bryn Houghton tirelessly answered questions. Lobbyist Nick Federici helped us see that laughter goes well with advocacy.

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These emerging advocates put their skills into practice on the final morning, some choosing to hone their public speaking by presenting to the congregation upstairs, others leading Housing Alliance staff on a tour of places and services important in surviving homelessness in Yakima. The sessions finished with a round table conversation among the emerging advocates and local housing development leaders. The advocates talked about their barriers to accessing affordable housing, and the nonprofit leaders shared some of their challenges in building it. There appeared to be a lot of common ground.

Much has happened, and there is so much more to do. I’m looking forward to working with these advocates, as we approach the next legislative session and beyond.

Photos: (Top): The combined Monday & Tuesday Emerging Advocates groups in Olympia. (Right): Rep. Brady Walkinshaw (43rd District-Seattle) meets the Monday group. (Left): Monday group participants talk advocacy. (Below): Yakima emerging advocates on their lunch break with Housing Alliance staff, Mateo Arteaga, and Gabriel Munoz.

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Edited 11/11/14.