Advocacy

4 Min Advocacy V

Each student will select a  social issue relevant to social work clients  and a policy, bill, or program that seeks to address that issue (yes- it CAN be the same one you pick for your policy analysis) and make a 3-minute verbal presentation that succinctly covers:

(For this assignment – Please use the topic of subsidized housing/affordable housing in Greater Toronto Area – how’s its affecting folks that are homeless and are on the wait list for subsidized housing) Also look at point 3 below to include facts, statistics. Please make this assignment in a way that it’s easier for me to read off it and make a video for 3 mins> the video part I’ll do it myself. I just need the content.

1. Introduce yourself briefly- your name, role (job or student) and what you will be presenting about.

2. Provide a  brief overview of the issue, so that someone unfamiliar with this issue has appropriate background information. For example, a lack of Medicaid beds in assisted living facilities, environmental toxins that are causing health problems in a low-income neighborhood, childhood hunger, mental health parity, the opioid crisis, etc.

3. Include facts, data and/or statistics to support your claims. How do you know it’s a problem? What evidence do you have? Be specific!

4. Give compelling case example to illustrate the problem. Data is important, but giving a personal story is very impactful. Do you have a family member, friend, or client who has been negatively impacted by this issue? If not, find a case example from the news or by asking an expert.

5. “The ask”- recommendations. Imagine that your audience is a panel of elected officials. Provide specific recommendations for these leaders to act on. This part must include reference to a specific policy, bill, or program. For example, you could ask for increased funding for a program, revisions to an existing policy, and urge them to vote a certain way on a current bill.

REMEMBER,  you also need to add your video to a post on  Discussion 4: Advocacy Video Responses .