Transcript Slide 1

CIL-NET Presents…
A National Teleconference & Webinar
Get to the Core of It:
Systems Advocacy
May 2, 2012
3:00 PM – 4:30 PM EDT
Presenter:
Chris Hilderbrant
CIL-NET, a project of ILRU – Independent Living Research Utilization
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CIL-NET Presents…
A National Teleconference & Webinar
Get to the Core of It:
Systems Advocacy
May 2, 2012
3:00 PM – 4:30 PM EDT
Presenter:
Chris Hilderbrant
CIL-NET, a project of ILRU – Independent Living Research Utilization
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Introduction
Systems Advocacy is a core service!
– What is it?
– Can we do it?
– Why would we do it?
– How do we do it?
– What are we going to do?
CIL-NET, a project of ILRU – Independent Living Research Utilization
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Learning Objectives
 Explain the philosophy and role of systems
advocacy as a core service that builds community
and changes people’s lives.
 Describe the five elements of an effective systems
advocacy model that, when used together, serve
as effective catalysts for change.
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Learning Objectives
 Describe how social media can be used as a highly
effective advocacy tool for communication.
 Explain strategies for measuring success of a CIL’s
systems advocacy efforts.
 What exactly is the first thing you’re going to do to
get this started?
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Who is Chris Hilderbrant?
• Spinal cord injury at age 14, just before enactment
of Americans with Disabilities Act
• Started work with Center for Disability Rights in
March 1999, just before Olmstead Decision
• First jobs were providing direct service,
Independent Living Skills Training
• Then supervising programs and services
• More and more involved in advocacy…
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Who is Chris Hilderbrant?
• Director of Advocacy at CDR (March 2003 –
February 2010)
– Focus on Systems Advocacy
• Local
• State
• National
• Chief Operating Officer (February 2010 – present)
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Who is Chris Hilderbrant, cont’d.
A few of the things I’ve done in my time…
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Met with Governors / Shouted down Governors
Opened doors to new relationships
Blocked doors with my wheelchair
Went wheeling in the snow with our Mayor
Been the target of our County Executive
Passed legislation to create new community-based
services
– Been arrested a dozen or so times
– Hundreds of local, state and national media stories
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Systems Advocacy is a Core Service!
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It’s OK to do!
It’s required of all Centers!
It’s a critical means of changing the world!
It’s fun!
Not the same as lobbying
Symbiotic with individual services
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Why Systems Advocacy?
Have you ever had a problem…
– Securing accessible, affordable, integrated
housing?
– Securing needed home care services?
– Getting and keeping a job?
– Getting into or through public venues, stores,
government offices, etc.?
– Finding accessible parking?
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Why Systems Advocacy, cont’d.
What CAN YOU do about IT?
– Struggle as individuals trying to conform to the
demands of an able-bodied world?
Or…
– Mobilize a community wide effort to remove
barriers?
– Pick priorities and fight for them?
– Educate the community about living with a
disability?
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Why do Systems Advocacy?
• We have the obligation to make this world better
for others.
• We have the privilege to be the voice of many who
cannot, yet, be their own.
• We are the lucky ones.
• We have our “Independent Privileges.”
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Why do Systems Advocacy, cont’d.
• If we don’t speak for ourselves, who does speak
for us?
– The “Experts”
• Parents
• Doctors
• Unions
• Staff, social workers
• Service Provider Associations
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Why do Systems Advocacy, cont’d. 2
What are the “Experts” going to say?
– The group home needs more funding?
– The staff need more vacation days?
– They need to be ‘less burdened’ by personcentered paperwork?
– Disabilities are the problem, they need to be
cured / eliminated
– Quality of life with disability isn’t really all that
good, why provide health care?
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Why do Systems Advocacy, cont’d. 3
• Advocacy is not something “those other people”
do
• Systems Advocacy and Direct Services are
interdependent
– Direct services identify the barriers
– Systems Advocacy removes the barriers
• We need to support one another wherever
possible
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Questions and Answers, Part 1
Questions… Answers…
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The Systems Advocacy “Pitchfork”
• ADAPT’s Pitchfork of Systems Advocacy
• In no particular order…
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Public Education / Media
Legislative Advocacy
Judicial Process
Executive / Administrative
Direct Action
• More prongs on a pitchfork are more effective!
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The Systems Advocacy “Pitchfork,”
cont’d.
• Media/Education: Use media to influence public
policy, educate public and explain how public
policies affect lives of people with disabilities.
When general public becomes passionate about
our issues, elected officials have less chance of
resisting our demands.
• Judicial Process: This prong deals with using
existing anti-discrimination laws in court to
challenge discriminatory practices.
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The Systems Advocacy “Pitchfork,”
cont’d. 2
• Legislative: Influencing elected officials and their
staff in order to affect public policy.
• Executive / Administrative: Influencing
administrative or regulatory entities.
• Direct Action: Non-violent direct action, such as
civil disobedience, street theater and rallies can be
used to bring about systems change. One of the
strengths of our movement is the number of
people we have who are fiercely committed to
creating change.
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How to do Systems Advocacy
• Putting the Pitchfork into action
– What’s the issue?
– What are your goals?
– What are your strategies?
– How do you know when you’ve won?
– What’s your exit strategy?
– How do you celebrate your victories?
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How to do Systems Advocacy, cont’d.
• From Organizing for Social Change
• A good issue matches most of these criteria:
– Result in real improvement
– Give people a sense of their own power
– Alter the relations of power
– Be winnable
– Be worthwhile
– Be widely felt
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How to do Systems Advocacy, cont’d. 2
– Be deeply felt
– Be easy to understand
– Have a clear target
– Have a clear time frame that works
– Be non-divisive
– Build leadership
– Lay groundwork for next campaign
– Be consistent with your values
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How to do Systems Advocacy: Saul
Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals
A sampling of Saul Alinksy’s Rules for Radicals:
Rule 2: Never go outside the experience of your
people. The result is confusion, fear, and retreat.
Rule 6: A good tactic is one your people enjoy. “If
your people aren’t having a ball doing it, there is
something very wrong with the tactic.”
Rule 7: A tactic that drags on for too long becomes
a drag. Commitment may become ritualistic as
people turn to other issues.
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How to do Systems Advocacy:
Alinsky’s Rules, cont’d.
Rule 8: Keep the pressure on.
Rule 9: The threat is more terrifying than the thing
itself.
Rule 11: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it,
polarize it. Don’t try to attack abstract corporations
or bureaucracies. Identify a responsible individual.
Ignore attempts to shift or spread the blame.
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How to do Systems Advocacy:
McNeilly’s Six Principles
Now, something entirely different…
McNeilly's six principles are: (partially derived from
Sun Tzu – Ancient Chinese military Philosopher)
1. Win All Without Fighting: Achieving the Objective
Without Destroying It
2. Avoid Strength, Attack Weakness: Striking Where
the Enemy is Most Vulnerable
3. Deception and Foreknowledge: Winning the
Information War
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How to do Systems Advocacy:
McNeilly’s Six Principles, cont’d.
4. Speed and Preparation: Moving Swiftly to
Overcome Resistance
5. Shaping the Enemy: Preparing the Battlefield
6. Character-Based Leadership: Leading by Example
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How to do Systems Advocacy:
Tips to Remember
Some other tips to remember:
– Anyone can be a leader
– Invest people by using their strengths
– The most important victory is the group itself
– “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” –
Margaret Meade
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Questions & Answers, Part 2
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Social Media and E-advocacy
• Just what the heck is social media?
– Facebook
– Twitter
– LinkedIn
– YouTube
– Instagram
– Others…
• Can you really change the world in 140
characters or less?
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Social Media and E-advocacy, cont’d.
• “Just because I am a woman who uses a
wheelchair, does not mean anyone should be
patting me on the head. That is so 1950s.”
• 124 characters, including spaces and quotations.
• Debbie Bonomo, Rochester, NY, regarding then
presidential candidate, Senator John Edwards
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Social Media and E-advocacy, cont’d. 2
• Campaign Volunteers directing wheelchair users
to inaccessible entrance
• Sign language interpreters cancelled
• Senator Edwards’ head-pat heard round the
world
• CDR issued a press release, including the quote
from Ms. Bonomo
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Social Media and E-advocacy,
cont’d. 3
• The next day, the local newspaper ran an article about
all three of our concerns.
• The next day, the local Fox affiliate interviewed us and
ran a story during their evening news.
• The next day, National Fox cable news ran the story
during the evening news with Brit Hume.
• The next day, there were articles and responses and
blogs all across the nation.
• The next day, it was in the Guardian newspaper in the
UK!
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Social Media and E-advocacy,
cont’d. 4
• Democrat blogs condemned the story as being
fabricated by Republicans
• Some editorial boards condemned us for being an
overly sensitive culture
• Local shock-jocks blasted us, then had us on their
show
• 124 characters created an international dialogue about
the treatment of people with disabilities
• And this was before Facebook and Twitter!
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Social Media and E-advocacy:
Facebook
Facebook
– The Facebook page for the Center for Disability
Rights has 4,051 fans as of 4/17/2012
– 1,807,827 Friends of Fans on Facebook
– CDR has 1,653 followers on Twitter
– Retweets of action alerts
– People report complaints to us on Facebook and
Twitter
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Social Media and E-advocacy:
Success Story
Facebook success story
– A number of local reporters are my ‘Facebook
friends,’ follow on Twitter, G+
– Posted a status update on a Sunday morning
about an issue
– Reporter called my cell on her day off and mine,
asking for an interview
– Generated a news story for the evening on the
most watched local channel
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Social Media and E-advocacy: Twitter
Twitter
– Tiny bits of information for the short attention
span generation, microblog
– News propagation
– Follow people and they will follow you
• Reporters
• Politicians
• Legislative staffers
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Social Media and E-advocacy:
YouTube
• YouTube
– Zillions of videos, short and lengthy
– Create your own channel, get subscribers
• Create your own propaganda
– When budgets were stalled, we got creative
– Our bill sponsors were on a white stallion
– Gov and Lej leaders were three men in a smoke
filled room
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Social Media and E-advocacy:
Our Video
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Our video advocated for CIL funding
2,644 views as of 6/4/2010
Multiple blogs linked to our video
We (comically) portrayed the problem that
everyone knew was there
• Simplified our issue to be readily understandable
• Many views by legislative staff
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Social Media and E-advocacy: Capwiz
• Capwiz and other E-advocacy tools
– Quick and easy
– High quantity, low quality
– Tools are evolving quickly to improve quality of
constituent contact
• You MUST Remember this…
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Social Media is dialogue, reciprocal
It is not your one directional propaganda machine
Engage people, ask questions, answer questions
Say and do interesting things
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Learning Objective 4
Explain strategies for measuring success of
their CIL’s systems advocacy efforts.
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Why Measure Success?
• Some states require systems advocacy successes
• Board wants to know
• We’re responsible to our consumers and members
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Measuring Success
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Establish attainable goals
Goals need to be in line with community priorities
Quantify what can be quantified
Know your goals!
Monitor progress regularly
Celebrate the victories
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Questions & Answers
Got questions?
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Contact
Chris Hilderbrant
[email protected]
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Wrap Up and Evaluation
• Click the link below now to complete an
evaluation of today’s program found at:
https://vovici.com/wsb.dll/s/12291g4f580
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CIL-NET
Support for development of this Webinar/teleconference
was provided by the U.S. Department of Education,
Rehabilitation Services Administration under grant
number H132B070002. No official endorsement of the
Department of Education should be inferred. Permission
is granted for duplication of any portion of this
PowerPoint presentation, providing that the following
credit is given to the project: Developed as part of
the CIL-NET, a program of the IL NET, an
ILRU/NCIL/APRIL National Training and
Technical Assistance Project.
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