CIL-NET Presents

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CIL-NET PresentsA National Teleconference
Webinar

• Get to the Core of It
• Systems Advocacy
• May 2, 2012
• 300 PM 430 PM EDT
• Presenter
• Chris Hilderbrant

CIL-NET, a project of ILRU Independent Living
Research Utilization
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CIL-NET PresentsA National Teleconference
Webinar

• Get to the Core of It
• Systems Advocacy
• May 2, 2012
• 300 PM 430 PM EDT
• Presenter
• Chris Hilderbrant

CIL-NET, a project of ILRU Independent Living
Research Utilization
1
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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?

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Learning Objectives

• Explain the philosophy and role of systems
  advocacy as a core service that builds community
  and changes peoples 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
  CILs systems advocacy efforts.
• What exactly is the first thing youre 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, contd.

• A few of the things Ive done in my time
• 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!

• Its OK to do!
• Its required of all Centers!
• Its a critical means of changing the world!
• Its 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, contd.

• 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, contd.

• If we dont 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, contd. 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
  person-centered paperwork?
• Disabilities are the problem, they need to be
  cured / eliminated
• Quality of life with disability isnt really all
  that good, why provide health care?

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Why do Systems Advocacy, contd. 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

• ADAPTs Pitchfork of Systems Advocacy
• In no particular order
• 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, contd.

• 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, contd. 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
• Whats the issue?
• What are your goals?
• What are your strategies?
• How do you know when youve won?
• Whats your exit strategy?
• How do you celebrate your victories?

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How to do Systems Advocacy, contd.

• 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, contd. 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 Alinskys Rules
for Radicals

• A sampling of Saul Alinksys 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 arent 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 Alinskys Rules,
contd.

• 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. Dont 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 McNeillys 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 McNeillys Six
Principles, contd.

• 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, contd.

• 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, contd. 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, contd. 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, contd. 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

• 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
• 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
  CILs systems advocacy efforts.

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Why Measure Success?

• Some states require systems advocacy successes
• Board wants to know
• Were responsible to our consumers and members

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Measuring Success

• 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
• childerbrant_at_cdrnys.org

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Wrap Up and Evaluation

• Click the link below now to complete an
  evaluation of todays 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.